Water Bottles

Rhythmweb homemade percussion home

We call polycarbonate resin containers "Moondrums" because they're the first drum light enough to be carried into space...the underrated sound source of the 21st century.

We began using and experimenting with them in 1994. They have served us well, lightweight and reliable tools, whether with a batch of kids in a school or community center somewhere, in the streets of Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth, or in a recording studio somewhere.

When played with the hands, they take on a dreamlike, reflective quality, and played with one wrapped stick or mallet and one hand they are useful in drum circle situations, where a loud instrument is a must...

Choosing the right ones - The various makes and brands have many subtle variations in shape and sound. Some have sharper rims, and some have very rounded rims; many have textures that are good for scratching, or flat panels that give a lower bassy pitch (like the one on the right in the picture). It's good to develop an eye for noticing the water bottles and other hollow shapes in various stores and venues, and make it a point to collect any interesting shapes that you don't already have.. If you are a true sound aficionado, they all come in handy sooner or later.

When choosing water bottles for instruments, test all the pitches by playing with a flat hand on the bottom; some will be lower than most and some higher, with many almost alike in the middle.. Don't mind all those regular customers, acting as if you are ready for the funny white coat with the really long sleeves ;-). You are on a mission.

You will want to obtain pitches that relate well to each other, an interval of a step apart, or a third or fourth. The higher pitches seem to be more rare..

Playing methods:

One Hand and One Mallet - One advantage to this style of playing water bottles is that you get plenty of volume and projection.

There is a low note in the sweet spot (halfway from center to rim). Image forthcoming.

There are six basic tones available from the rim. They are: wide open(on the seam and non), with the thumb or finger pressed lightly in the center, (on the seam and non), and then a note with the other hand fully muffling the center of the head, (again, on the seam and non).

here are the sounds of the six rim tones.
Each pair is played twice before moving on to the next.

More will be offered on the rim tones very soon.

FOR NEWBIES: The rhythm 'NUBI'

Let's start by getting comfortable with using the low note. All the main notes will be made with the right hand (left if you're left handed)The other hand will muffle the head lightly to make the closed notes. Play lightly from the edge and move in slowly. At one point close to midway between the center and the edge, the tone will open up and sound very round and warm. that is the sweet spot. (an image will be up soon.)

Experiment with holding the bottle more or less tightly too, because this makes a big difference in the sound. If you hold the bottle as lightly as possible, the bottle will almost seem to breathe, and the tone will be very open..

For now, no rim tones are used. An o is an open note, and the x is the closed note. The t is a light touch with the left hand to stop the drum from ringing. A and B:

Listen [A]

Listen [B]

Now, having mastered these two, you are ready for the first part of the rhythm "Nubi". It consists here of a roll [rumble] at beginning and end, with this rhythm in the middle:

A twice, B once, and A once again, to form AABA | LISTEN to NUBI bottle part 1

This ordering of very simple rhythms into different forms is one of the secrets to getting an effortless groove. Suddenly, although the individual rhythms are only four beats long, you are playing a loop that is 16 beats long (four 'bars' of 4), giving more order to the scheme of things. its like looking to the horizon instead of the next vehicle: a bigger viewpoint, the big picture. Then you can alternate these with other 4 and 8 bar sections, and so on. [A series for teachers is forthcoming. Stay tuned.]

We have played the rhythm approximately 4 times through in this example; notice that during the second half, we played the LEFT HAND TOUCH more loudly, so you can hear the left hand stroke. Both ways are valid and usefu. You can then vary the tones to include the rim tones. Here is an example of that type of thing.

Using only what we have learned so far, it is possible to construct useful polyrhythms for water bottle ensembles. When you add claves, coffee can drums, and Wambano agogos, you have a very colorful range of sounds for a low price.

Two Hands - This type of playing is great for solo or living room playing and for recording, when high volume and projection are not required. one can achieve a great many useful tones, including scratching and rubbing sounds. Virtually every part of the bottle is useful for something. The low note is fattest when played by the hand. Nothing beats that wide mallet..The techiniques vary widely according to whether you play with the bottle between your knees conga style or over your lap doumbek style.

At left is a third style, the 'floating' style, holding the bottle from only the nodal points, to maximize resonance. The player is free to turn the bottle or throw it into the air and catch on the beat and so on. a little water in the bottle livens things up pitchwise sometimes. What is interesting when recording in this style is how much difference mike placement makes to the sound. to demonstrate this, I have played without varying the rhythm, while moving the bottle, four bars with the microphone closest to the bottom, four with it in the middle, and four with the spout pointing closely at the microphone. i did it twice, SLIGHTLY varying placement, to give you an idea of the range of sound available recording in this style. No effects are used on any of this.

example in 5 | example in 6

A beautifully resonant bass gong is possible by cutting the top off at the right spot in the shoulder. we will post on that when we have time.