Make your own Ashiko Drum

An ashiko drum is a traditional African drum known for its low bass sound and its cone shape. These drums are played with the hands only to get the signature low tone sound. These traditional drums are fun to play, and you can make your own easy recreation version for relatively cheap. A simple, fun craft to do on the weekend or if you just have some free time with the kids can give your home a new sound; the sound of an Ashiko drum. If they like it, buy them a professional drum!

What you need to complete your project includes one large (extruded) polystyrene drinking cup, one small (extruded) polystyrene drinking cup, hot glue, hot glue gun, tape, shoe polish, a rag, and some markers. With these few things that you probably already have lying around your home, you can make a drum for little to no cost.

Step one, take your hot glue gun, and put a glue stick in it. Plug it in so it can start to heat up. It may take 5 minutes for the gun to completely heat up. Once heated, take your two polystyrene cups, and put a ring of glue around the top edge of the small cup. Next, place the glue edge on the bottom of the large polystyrene cup. Doing this creates a nice cone shaped drum. Allow time for the glue to dry, may take another 10-15 minutes.

Once dried, take your cups and your masking tape. Cover the top opening with strips of tape until completely sealed. Next, you need to grab your shoe polish, and wipe polish over the tape and cups. Wipe away any extra polish with the rag, and let the polish sit to dry. Once dried, repeat the process by wiping more shoe polish on the cups and tape. Wipe away excess and repeat one last time. This process needs to be repeated 3 times in total, creating a nice dark tone color on the cups. This will make it look more like an ashiko drum. Once the last layer of shoe polish has dried, you can use your markers to decorate the drum if desired. Once any ink has dried, your last step is to get up and play the drum!

A basic ashiko drum is easy to make and should not take longer than 45 minutes to create your own drum to enjoy in your home. Making an ashiko drum can bring lovely low bass tones of fun ringing through the hallways in your home.