Instructions For Making a Drum From a Gourd

Gourds are extremely versatile canvases when it comes to using them to make art and craft objects. They are easy to cut, you can use most paints on them and no two are ever alike so every piece you produce will be different.

Gourd drums are fun to make and fun to play. For today’s project we will be using a bottle gourd so that our finished project will be a Djembe like drum. On this type of drum the bottom is left open to let the sound out.

Materials needed for this project

• A bottle gourd – We will be using a bottle gourd so that our finished project
• Goat or deer skin, untanned, a least 1 ½ inches larger than the widest part of the gourd. Untanned leather is needed so that when it dries it will be stiff.
• A metal ring to attach the drum head. These rings generally come in 4″ and 6 ” and available at most craft stores. Be sure to get one big enough to go over the bottom of the cut gourd.
• Cord to attach the drum head to the ring. This can be nylon cord, which is what I prefer. I use 1/8″
• Ribbon or leather to cover the ring if preferred.
• Scissors
• Rough sandpaper 60 grit
• Pencil
• Awl or hole punch
• Saw for cutting the top and bottom off the gourd
• Drill
• Large Spoon or scaper to clean out the gourd
• Face Mask
• Black spray paint

Choosing your gourd

When choosing a gourd be sure to select a nicely formed, hard, solid gourd with no visible signs of cracks. We will be cutting both the top and the bottom of our gourd so bear that in mind when selecting your gourd. If you purchase an uncleaned gourd you will have to clean the outside first. There are a lot of instructions on the internet about that but I find the easiest way is to soak the gourd in warm water with some Dawn detergent for an hour or so and use a Scrubby to clean off the mold and dirt.

Preparing the Gourd

Cutting the top: We will be cutting the top and the bottom of the gourd.

• Place the gourd down on a solid level surface and scribe a line around the thickest part with your pencil.
• Drill a hole, slightly bigger than your jigsaw blade, in the throw away part of the gourd close to the scribed line.
• Using your jigsaw, place the blade into the hole you just drilled and cut around the scribed line until you cut the bottom of the gourd off completely.

At this point this has now become the TOP of your drum!!

HOLY MOLY what is all that stuff. The first time you open a gourd it is surprising just how yucky it looks. There are seeds and mold and all kinds of yuck stuff. We will be cleaning all that out so put on your dust mask ( you did get a face mask didn’t you). Breathing gourd dust is not a very good idea. Using your large spoon or scraper clean away as much of the guts as you can even the white filmy stuff.

Cutting the bottom (which used to be the top!):

• Lay the top of your drum down on a surface and scribe a line around the other end of the gourd to create the base of the drum. This line can be more free hand.
• Cut it using the drill and Jigsaw as you did for the top.
• There will be a little more cleaning to do on this end too but it’s not as bad!
• This end will not be covered with leather so spray the inside with the black paint.
• Sand the top of the drum. To insure that the drum head fits nice and snug it is a good idea to sand the top of the gourd to be very flat. Tape your course piece of sand paper to a flat surface. Rotate the cut gourd (the top of the drum) on the sandpaper until all high spots are removed and the opening is flat
• You can paint the outside of the gourd at this time. Remember that most of the top of the drum will be covered with the leather and lacings so if you want a design just concentrate on the bottom. I strongly suggest you clear coat your gourd after painting for extra protection.

Preparing the Drum Head and ring

• Place your piece of rawhide (untanned leather) top side down on a flat surface and place your drum on top of it.
• Using a pencil trace the outline of the gourd onto the leather. Make a small registration mark on the gourd and the leather
• Remove the gourd and draw another line about 1 ½ inches from the first line
• Trim the skin following the outside line you have drawn.
• Using a hole punch or awl, make 12 holes, equal distance around the skin. These holes should be about ½” from the edge. Up to an inch if you are using thin skin.
• Fill a sink with warm water. Your water should not be hot.
• Place the cut skin into the water, weighing it down if necessary so that it is fully emerged.
• Let soak until soft and pliable
• Cut a piece of nylon cord 120″ long for the lacing and allow it to soak for a bit with the drum head
• Cover the ring with ribbon, leather, cordage or whatever decorative thing you want.

Lacing the drum head to the gourd

• Lay the wet skin topside down on a flat surface and place the gourd on top, lining up your registration marks.
• Place the ring over the bottom of the gourd.
• Tie the nylon cord to the ring
• Start lacing the drum head to the ring.
• Go very slow and do not pull the lace taunt at this point. Keep this very loose at this point so that you can adjust and straighten later.
• Go through the first hole in the hide and then loop around the ring, then go through the next hole and loop around the ring. There are a lot of ways to do this but I suggest keeping it a simple up and over lacing. Watch how you do it and stay the same. For example if you go up and over the ring, always go up and over. Enter and exit the holes in the head the same way.
• Once you have all the lacing in place, turn the drum right side up and adjust it so that the ring and the head are all positioned the way you like it.

• Now we will begin tightening the drum head.
• Start at one end of the cord and begin gently pulling it and tightening and pulling out the slack, keeping everything as even as you can.
• Now do the same thing going the opposite way.
• Continue tightening and taking up the slack, first one way and then the other, until you do not feel there is any more slack
  BE CAREFUL WHEN PULLING THAT YOU DO NOT PULL SO HARD THAT YOU TEAR THE LEATHER. It will and has happened!!
• You will notice that when you are finished you will have even tails left of the cord. Tie the cords into a square know and decorate with beads or make into a handle.
• Let your drum dry

Now comes the hardest part… Not playing your new drum until it dries!

• Set your new drum in a warm dry place and leave it alone for about 24 hours.
• If you put enough tension on your head your drum will sound wonderful. If it sounds dull you may not have laced it tight enough. Remove the head and resoak. Soaking the nylon cord will allow it to stretch and in drying it will tighten, helping to stretch the head just a bit more.

If you would like to see some finished gourds and for a list of resources please visit my art website at www.danimontoya.net