Making the $25k Odaiko Drum on a Budget

When I ask myself: “Why did I put so much time and effort into building such a crazy, big drum?” it is important to first set the context: we teach at a school that is committed to the Arts as well as to Global Education. Our school’s mission statement reads: “Preparing students for ethical leadership in a diverse and global society.”

With this in mind, our Arts faculty has always looked for memorable and creative educational experiences to provide our students (for example, our recent bridge project which was also covered by Make:). As you can see, over-the-top projects are something that we simply love to do with our students!

Oak Hall School is also proud to maintain the only high school Taiko drumming ensemble in the Southeastern United States. Taiko is a dynamic Japanese art form played on large drums. In support of this program, Music Director Jason Stahl and I attended the World Taiko Gathering in Los Angeles last summer. This conference featured the world’s greatest Taiko players and offered a variety of workshops, classes, and amazing performances.

“Tonka” at home in the Taiko Dojo!

From the “Silk Road and Beyond” concert.

“Tonka” and the rest of the band sounded great!

The centerpiece of a Taiko ensemble is typically a huge Odaiko drum, and this was one of the only instruments our school’s group, “Tsubasa,” did not have. After meeting professional drum makers at the conference, and examining their works, the idea of constructing a drum was born. As a professionally constructed drum this scale can cost more that $25,000, we figured the only way we would be able to obtain a drum this size would be to make one ourselves.

We did a lot of research, and when the school year started, we jumped in and started building (with the help of my Creative Design class). The focus of the Creative Design course can be described as: part art and part engineering. So, they were the perfect group to help with the design and construction of the drum. Over the next few months, however, numerous music and other student volunteers were able to get their hands dirty working on the drum.

We began by building a rotating form upon which we could attach the wood staves. Each piece was precut by students. The drum form was on wheels so we could move it outside to sand it.

We used over 4 gallons of wood glue!

Piecing the 2x4s together.

Each wood stave was screwed and glued in place.

Then wood dowels were added to each piece.

About a third of the way, we switched to Gorilla Glue as it foams up and fills in any seems entirely.

It took a couple of months, but we eventually made it around.

It needed a lot of sanding and shaping.

After staining it was time to take it off the form. A student alumni donated a hoist and gantry crane to us. This made lifting and moving the drum much easier and safer. We estimate the drum weighs about 500lbs.

Unscrewing the form.

Success! It didn’t break when we set it down!

Preparing the edges with wax. We were VERY generous with the wax.

The Odaiko drum is constructed out of about $400 worth of simple pine 2×4s. Our class began by building a drum form out of plywood, then slowly but surely constructing the barrel of the drum, screwing, gluing, and dowelling the 2×4s together piece by piece by piece. Many mistakes were made along the way; most commonly it was not cutting or lining up each 2×4 perfectly. This caused us a lot of extra work towards the end, but nothing that a good ‘Sawzall’ couldn’t fix!

Once it was constructed, sanded, and stained, we soaked and stretched two Florida Buffalo hides across the frame of the drum to use as the drumheads. When they dried, we used 1″ upholstery tacks to hold the hides in place; it took 665 tacks! It was messy work, and was a learning process for all of us, but, ultimately, we were pleased at how well it turned out. Our materials budget was around $1,500. We were fortunate that one of the most expensive part of the project, a gantry crane, which was used to lift the behemoth drum, was donated by a student alumnus!

For the heads we used Florida Buffalo hides. It was hard, so we had to soak the hides in our school’s fountain for three days to get it ready for stretching. I was not prepared for how bad it smelled when it came out of the water!

Readying the first hide.

We lined it up and temporarily stapled it in place. It was really slimy as well as stinky!

Time for the other skin.

Trimming the hides.

Time to start stretching! We made slits in the hide (12 on each side) and used 6 inch bolts pushed through the holes. This allowed us to thread the rope for tightening back and forth.

Once we had it in place, it was time to tighten.

We used dowels to spin the ropes tighter and tighter.

The stretching took a few hours. We tried to keep the hides wet by using a spray bottle.

After 10 days drying, it was time to tack the hides to the drum.

It took us 665 tacks! After the tacks were in place, we trimmed any remaining leather off.

After months of work, it was time to test out the drum! It shook the whole room and the vibrations were amazing! Everyone on campus thought it was beginning to thunder outside!

The drum has affectionately been given the name ‘TONKA.” This comes from the Lakota word ‘Tatanca’ which means buffalo. The drum measures 55″ wide and 44″ deep, and we estimate that it weighs about 500lbs. When mounted on its stand, Tonka tops out at nine feet tall! The technique behind playing this drum is extremely athletic and requires not only musical prowess, but endurance and tenacity. It sounds Thunderous!

Next it was time to build the drum stand. We used two 2x12s (which we shaped into the cradle), 4x4s for the legs, and 2x6s for additional strength. All was held together with ½” carriage bolts and lock washers.

After staining, we put on some heavy duty casters.

Time to move the drum from the Art building to the Music room! Our great maintenance men helped with every step of the process. They are always willing to offer advice and help. The drum could not have been completed without their help.

It was really satisfying seeing it on the stand for the first time!

Painting the head with oil paint. We painted a traditional Mitsudomoe on the head of the drum. It is a traditional Shinto design associated with the war diety Hachiman and often adopted by the Samurai. It is commonly painted on taiko drums and is representative of the threefold division of Man, Earth, and Sky.

Finally finished! One week before the debut show!

“This project exemplifies everything we are trying to do in terms of a 21st century education,” says Oak Hall Headmaster, Richard Gehman. “It is multi-disciplinary, problem-solving oriented, cross-cultural, creative, and technical. The result is a blend of all of those things.”

“Tonka” made its debut on May 9, 2015 at the “Silk Road and Beyond” concert to a packed house and much acclaim. We look forward to many more exciting years of hearing this Tonka sing!

To learn more about Oak Hall’s “Tsubasa” check out this short video.

Watch “Tsubasa’s” full performance at the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) conference below!