by Emily Hall

Created on: January 25, 2009

The rain stick is an instrument that dates back to ancient civilisations, and most probably has its origins with the rattle.* It has a distinctive sound which, despite its rhythmic imprecision, can be a great atmospheric addition to tracks and is a fun plaything for children. It can be used as a meditational tool and as a way to develop smoothness of movement in the upper body, particularly the hands and forearms, for dancers and gymnasts. A rain stick is also easy to make, and there are a number of variations you can impose on the basic idea to make the instrument truly your own!

The easiest rain stick to make, and the most child-friendly, is a cardboard one. You will need a long cardboard tube (the inside of a roll of wrapping paper is good), a cereal box, some tape (sellotape works but gaffer tape is better if you have it) two old balloons, two elastic bands and about 1 cup of rice or dried lentils. For the decoration, you need enough paper to cover the tube and some poster paints. You can also use wrapping paper if you're not feeling artistic.

First, draw around the end of the tube eight times on the cereal box cardboard, leaving plenty of space inbetween. Then draw circles about a centimetre inside the first circles, using a pair of compasses. Now do the same around the outside and cut the circles out around the outside circle.

Cut out eight triangles from the outer circle to the middle circle, with the points facing in. Now cut out the smallest circle altogether. You should be left with something that looks like a cog wheel.

Slit the tube along its length. Now fold down the tabs on your cog wheel shapes. This should leave you with a piece of cardboard that fits exactly inside the tube. If the circles don't fit, cut the triangles in a little deeper towards the middle and bend the tabs back again. Fit the cog wheel shapes inside the slit tube widthways and glue in place. Now tape the tube back up again, once along the length of the slit, and a few times around widthways as a safety precaution! Leave the glue to dry completely before the next step - undiluted PVA will take at least three hours.

Take a balloon and open up the aperture. Then place one end of the cardboard tube into the balloon, making a tight membrane over the end of the tube. Secure it firmly with an elastic band (or rice will go everywhere). Now tip the rice into the tube and repeat the process with the balloon and elastic band.

Now try it out for the first time! If it sounds too thin, add more

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>