Motor Rhythms

Motor Rhythms

August 28, 2010

Washer Bottle Foot Drum

Here is the latest finished piece of the project: a foot drum, made from a Mercedes Benz washer fluid reservoir. This reservoir was replaced because of a small crack in the bottom of the tank. It had potential so I saved it from the dumpster. I was not sure if it should be played by hand with drumsticks or if it should be played with a foot pedal. I decided it was more interesting to try and mount it for a foot pedal.


The reservoir while still in the vehicle.


The mount for this drum was somewhat involved. I wanted to be able to attach it to a foot pedal adapter that I already had. It took several different size pieces of scrap metal, but I managed to make the mount and it worked out quite nicely.
This is the finished foot drum.







Overall I am pretty happy with this drum. I like the sound and I like that it is foot operated. The mount was a little challenging, but it worked out in the end.
I have three other washer and coolant reservoirs, but I think those are going to be made into drums that are played by hand with sticks.

August 21, 2010

The Forgotten Foot

The Forgotten Foot is the title of the drum method that I co-wrote with Kofi Baker. Kofi is the son of legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker. The purpose of the book is to highlight the importance of left foot independence and 4-way coordination . The book goes through beginner to advanced lessons. There are six chapters which include Fundamentals, Rudiments, Rock Beats & Fills, Jazz & Shuffle, Double Bass and Foot Patterns. A CD is also included with the book. It is being published by Hal Leonard, and it is scheduled to be released this fall. I will post updates when I know more.

August 15, 2010

Bell Gong

This piece started out inside of the automatic transmission of a Dodge Dakota. It is actually called a 'drum'. This part was damaged and had to be replaced when the transmission was overhauled.






It did not take many modifications to use this 'drum'. I only had to weld a large washer on the top to have something to hang it from. It has a resonant sound, much like a bell or a gong. I hope to find two or three more of these to have a multi pitch set.