Anybody have any playing experience with ocean drums? We just got a song that calls for an ocean drum and alas, we have none but my band director said that they shouldn't be too hard to make. Basically they said to get a container with a lid, put some dried peas or beads in it and there you have it. Does that sound about right? Any other suggestions?

if you have any used timpini, or concert bass heads, they can make a good ocean drum....

Simply take two heads of equal size (hopefully one of them is a fiberskyn head, it adds texture), add some beebees that you can buy for like $3.00 at the sporting good store in a walmart or kmart. place the beebees on top of one of the heads (well, on the bottom, so the rim prevents them from coming out). as far as how much to use, that depends on how loud and full you want it to be. place the other head on top, and use tape, or other adhesive at the rims to bind them together. By moving the heads around in a gyroscopic type motion , you should be able to get the sound you need. I've seen this done before and it works if you cant afford, or simply just dont have time/care to buy one.

I don't know if we have any fiberskyn heads but what about old heads from one of our ultralite bass drums? They are the pretuned heads with raised rims. Other than that I am sure we have some old heads laying around somewhere. Thanks!

Any head will be fine. fiberskyn adds extra texture to the sound though. Old bass heads without any holes would work fine.

just make sure when you play it, the beads go over the center more than the edges, it'll project the sound more.

ya they have the best sound with a fiber skin head on it. they dont cost that much if your going to use them every day and they will last if you take care of them.

I only brought this up because the Remo ocean drum i have has a clear mylar side and a fiber side, the fiber side seems to add more texture to it. That is all.