Rain drums - drums played by the rain.

[James Gates]

I would call them "rain drums", but the idea is that when it rains and it rains alot in the Seattle area, that the rain plays the drums. Obviosly I would use a commercial drum hardware and drum head, but wonder what you would use if you made a drum to be left outside all year round for the rain to play? then likely will get a midi brain from www.paia.com or elsewhere and put a trigger on it so that it will play synths too

[Greg Robinson]

Anyone got any help for James?

[Tim Douglass]

Just spitballing, but I'd make redwood or cedar shells and use wood ring tensioned with stainless steel or brass screws. I think any normal drum hardware will corrode within a pretty short time. It's an interesting idea. Try just setting an old drum outside for a while to see what the sounds are and adjust from there.

[Simon Magennis]

I would call them "rain drums", but the idea is that when it rains and it rains alot in the Seattle area, that the rain plays the drums. Obviosly I would use a commercial drum hardware and drum head, but wonder what you would use if you made a drum to be left outside all year round for the rain to play? then likely will get a midi brain from http://www.paia.com or elsewhere and put a trigger on it so that it will play synths too

Probably need to get your house bullet proofed if you have any neighbors!

Any a bucket load of sleeping tablets for anyone living in the house...

[Eugene Coldrick]

If you could make a 'hang drum' it would be like chimes. Those things are magical.

[Alex Pettit]

Perhaps a 'regulator': a funnel or a cluster of funnels to expel water at a set rate, with some kind of overflow piping to offset overflow. A measured and integrated array of funnels could sequence rain drop patterns.

[JC Whitney]

Following up on the funnel and murderous neighbor ideas: perhaps your drum could sit undercover (i.e. not directly exposed to the rain), and have a valve to act as a shutoff switch from the funnel to direct the h20 to one or more drip tubes of different sizes and/or drip frequencies. Heck, you could even have the collector outside and the business end inside with a drain back to outside. Maybe add in a cymbal too....