UPDATE: April 26, 2024 - The Home Bucket Drumming for Beginners Series is now retired. More info here. 

Hello music teachers and parents and students!

I've created a short, online bucket drumming course for your students to use while we're all distance learning/teaching due to Covid-19. The goal is to get your students making music and have some fun while doing it.

The curriculum is hands-off for teachers and hands-on for students and includes some 'greatest hits' from my 15 years of teaching bucket drumming to students ages 8 to adult. It's all road - tested and ready to go; these are all activities I've used with countless students between grades 3 and adult. I've included a lot of play-along/backing tracks in the videos so students get the feel for playing with musicians. Many of the videos even have a Jam Session with my musician buddies who are stuck at home. 

Honestly, just send these videos to your students and they'll do all the work for you. I even include pdfs notating some of the material in the lessons if you'd like your students to read.

Here is the playlist containing all the videos (with more on the way!)

The course runs itself: just have the students get a bucket and sticks and play along with the videos. But here are some ideas to increase student engagement and interaction.

Post individual videos to Seesaw, Google Classroom, Schoology, Veracross, or whatever learning management system your school uses. Or post the entire playlist and have students work at their own pace. 

Give students a chance to prove that they are learning by providing prompts for your students to respond to. They could respond with a comment on your LMS, or better yet audio or video. My favorite option is have students post performance videos on Flipgrid. If you haven't used Flipgrid before, it's awesome. It's a site where your students can share videos with you and other students in your class and students respond with videos of their own. It's worth your time to check out.

Here are some prompts you might use:

• Lesson 1 - Submit a selfie of you with your bucket and sticks
• Lesson 2 - Submit a video of you playing "8 on a hand"
• Lesson 3 - Submit a video of you playing one of the grooves
• Lesson 4 - Submit a video of you playing along with a song of your choosing (school appropriate!)
• Lesson 5 - Submit a video of you playing the bucket song
• Lesson 6 - Submit a video of you teaching how to do one of the things you’ve learned to a family member OR submit a video of a groove or unison that you composed
• ANY Lesson - Have students perform from the included pdf sheet music 

Think of each video like a workout or better yet: a rehearsal for a performance. Students should play through each video several times to build their skill level.

​You could set a requirement such as: "Play with this video three times between now and next week." I've tried to keep the videos on the shorter side (2-10 minutes) so students would be more apt to repeat. them

Students can speed up or slow down the tempo by clicking on the gear icon on YouTube.

Too easy? Tell them to speed it up Too hard? Slow it down.

​ Just like you would do in an actual rehearsal. 

The videos are designed for rote learning AND I've included PDF sheet music for most of the videos. Below are the links:

Feel free to get in touch with any feedback, ideas, suggestions, or problems (or successes!). Stay tuned for the 15 - Minute Bucket Drumming Challenge, which is a video series for older students. 

TWITTER: @DavidBirrow
EMAIL: [email protected]

Teaching a new unit is hard. Especially getting started. Here are the resources that I get asked about the most when it comes to teaching bucket drumming in a k-12 setting. Each item is a link to a blog post with more information and help.

The good news is that most instruments/accessories are readily available and cheap. Which is one of the biggest selling points of bucket drumming. 

There's no perfect solution for this problem, but this post gives three different ideas.

The #1 complaint from teachers about bucket drumming is that it's super loud. Which is a completely fair criticism, but not one that should discourage you.

​I've previously posted a bunch of things that you can do to reduce the intensity and duration of bucket drumming. I'll also be posting a giant list of things you can do to reduce volume next month, but right now I thought I'd go in depth on one of the best techniques: Partner Drumming. 

Drumming in partners allows you to cut your bucket supply in half which in turn helps to reduce the volume of your classroom. I started having students play in partners out of necessity: I simply didn't have enough buckets or sticks for all the students. But the math soon became clear:

                     Fewer Buckets = Better Music + Happier Music Teacher

Nowadays I never use more than 12 buckets at any one time which reduces volume and makes setup/hauling far easier. Students work in partners which accommodates 24 students plus a few keeping the steady beat with a glass bottle and shakers and you now have 30+ students. 

So here are some thoughts about how to get it going:

More math: 2 kids + 1 bucket + 1 pair of sticks

Have partners sit across from each other like so: 

Whatever music you happen to be teaching (Grooves, Unisons, Play along etc.), have one partner use the sticks and the other person do something else. Here are some ideas for the non-stick student:

1. Air drum with imaginary sticks
   
2. Chant the rhythm out loud
   
3. Use body percussion to play the part
   
4. Play a body percussion groove with their left/right neighbor
   
5. Keep a simple, steady beat with body percussion.
   

Reminder: Make sure the students face each other.

Honestly, the most productive choice is for the non-stick partner to chant and air drum while watching their partner. Here's why: If their drumming is in unison with their partner, then they both know the part and are good to go. If they are not in unison, something is wrong but facing their partner gives them a chance to see what it should look like and hopefully adjust.

I know what you are thinking: "What if both students are confused?" Check out #3 for a partial (yet effective) solution.

Actually two circles. And only if you have the room as other shapes can work too (ex. parallel lines). As you are teaching/rehearsing, have the inside circle rotate even minute or two so the students get an opportunity to work with many different partners. Have them rotate or dance to the beat (Thanks Jim Solomon for that idea). Make sure the students take turns using the sticks (don't worry, the students won't let you forget!)

Not only do students get to move and work with different people, but it also creates an opportunity for student feedback: ask students to give a tip to their new partner after seeing them play.  Students know how to talk to other students more effectively than grownups. 

You've made sure that everybody has something to do. Great. Now make sure the jobs all feel legit; students will know if you are giving them busy work. Here's an example of a legit job: one student tilts the bucket while the other student drums on it with sticks. This changes the timbre and may logistically sound chaotic, but it's not. Take the first measure of Unison #7 for example:

This type of arrangement helps to involve all the students all the time. To provide stick equity, work in a four beat stick hand off at the end of the unison. Make sure the switch is in rhythm as this will help keep everybody on beat. It might look like this:

Remind the students handing off the sticks to simply hold them out front in the air; the other student just grabs them and is ready to go. Stay on beat. The form of all this would be:

         Student 1 Plays Unison #7   -  Hand off Sticks  -  Student 2 Plays Unison #7

So hopefully some of these ideas will be useful for your classroom. Let me know if you have any questions.

​If you'd like to learn more in person, I run an all-day bucket drumming workshop each summer. Details can be found on the workshop page.

​Junkyard percussion is an extremely practical and musical performance ensemble for your students.

Unfortunately, some teachers who want to teach bucket drumming don’t feel comfortable enough to get started. Others just don’t know where to begin.

​Here are some solutions to those common problems.


1. “It’s too loud."  

It’s true: bucket drumming has a higher volume ceiling than other ensembles. But that should not deter you from teaching bucket drumming. Earlier this year, I described three simple/quick/cheap ways to reduce the volume of your classroom. With a little care, nobody should ever worry about hearing damage when teaching bucket drumming. ​
​

2. “I don’t know where to get the instruments."

Don’t worry, I do! Just use this shopping list to gather the instruments you need. The list explains what, where, and how much stuff you need. If you are looking for buckets on the cheap (or free) take a look at this list of bucket sources. ​

Mistake #1: Focusing on novelty instead of music
         
It is unique and unusual to use a bucket as a musical instrument. Use this novelty to grab the attention of your students but don't over do it. Don’t waste too much time marveling with your students about how unusual it is that a bucket or chair leg can make a great timbre. In other words: Ignore the instruments and focus on the music.  

FIX: Instead, focus on the timbre each instrument creates. Emphasize the character of the sound, while de-emphasizing how strange the instrument is. Capture the attention of your students by performing different timbres on the same instrument.  

Mistake #2: Getting students hopes up by showing Stomp at the beginning of the unit

Don’t get me wrong: Stomp is great. But it’s a theatrical show performed by adults, so don't show it at the beginning of the unit. The danger is that your students could be disappointed when they realize their performance isn't as fully choreographed or sophisticated. 

Fix: Show stomp when you need to increase the creativity in class. Manage student expectations by showing videos that are similar to what will actually happen in their class, especially videos with performers close to the students' actual age. 

Or better yet, at the beginning of the unit, YOU perform for the students. You don’t need a masters degree in percussion to sound like a boss on a bucket. Just practice two or three fancy sounding things; students will assume that you can play 100 fancy things(even if you can't!). More importantly, performing for your students shows that you are competent and capable. And nothing is more realistic or motivating than live performance. I will perform for two or three minutes at the beginning of the first class to prime student interest. Which leads me to #3...

Mistake #3: Thinking you can't do it because you're not the drumming type

Just because you aren't a card-carrying drummer, doesn't mean you should be intimidated by bucket drumming. I'm not the world's greatest singer, but I sing in my class because my students need to sing in order to learn. Your students also need to drum, so pick up those sticks and fake it until you make it.   

Fix: Even if you’ve never touched a pair of drum sticks in your life, you simply need a little practice(maybe 5 minutes) and you will be more awesome at drumming than a 3rd grader (or whatever grade you teach). Maybe attend this workshop and keep your goal realistic: "I just need to drum two grade levels about my students. I don't need to be a pro."

Mistake #4: Using too many buckets

Big Classes + Buckets are loud = Cacophony (and maybe hearing damage)

FIX: Have students work in partners. Both students have sticks; one drums on the bucket, the other drums on their legs. This cuts your bucket count in half. Your ears will thank you.

Mistake #5: Forgetting about movement

Fix: Get those students out of those chairs and moving around the classroom. Here are some ideas to start with:

Also check out this post for another example of bucket movement: Chaotic But Awesome Bucket Movement Activity

Learn how to avoid these mistakes and a lot more by attending the Summer Junkyard Percussion Workshop. Hands on experience, lesson plans, and food!

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Today I started the bucket drumming unit at New City School for grades 4/5. Reality is almost always different than theory, so I thought I'd post what I actually did for this lesson plan compared to what I might have written in The Bucket Book. 

23 Students, 7 buckets, enough sticks for every student. 

1. Intro: I performed a bit to hook the students
2. How to Hold Sticks
3. Stick Mirror
4. Echo patterns on floor and legs
5. Floor Leg Chair (we sit on the carpet, so I changed it to: Floor, Leg, Air)
6. Unison #4
7. One Bucket Groove (see below)

This took 35 minutes of class time. We also covered resting, relaxed, and ready position. Placing the sticks on the carpet is a good relaxed position while sitting on the floor. I don't often spend an entire class period on buckets, but this was the introductory class, so I wanted to budget enough time for teaching routines such as holding sticks and resting position. 

The rationale for only 7 buckets for 23 kids is mainly volume and classroom management. I teach in the student's homeroom classroom (so not a music room) and it's pretty loud acoustically. Fewer buckets = less noise. We made 7 buckets work by sitting in a circle and rotating the buckets around every 30 seconds or so. It also controls off task behavior because students don't have a bucket right in front of them to distract them. And yeah, it's easier for the teacher to haul them in and out of the classroom. Always a plus!

Here is a lesson plan that you could use with students in grades 3 and up and should take about 15-20 minutes to complete. 

Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Move sticks with basic coordination
2. Describe what bucket drumming is
3. Play a basic One Bucket Groove

1. Priming (5 minutes)
Hook the student's interest by either performing for them on a bucket or by showing them a video of bucket drumming. Try to find a group (rather than solo) bucket drumming video with performers about the same age as your students. This will help to excite the students and also manage their expectations.

Make sure to give them a prompt before you hit play so they are not just listening vicariously. ex. "Can you tap the steady beat on your shoulder during the performance?" or "Are they drumming in duple or triple meter?" Here are two videos you might consider:
For younger students:                                         For older students:

2. Introduce Sticks with Stick Mirror (3 minutes)
All music teachers have different ways of introducing sticks. Have your students get used to moving sticks in a coordinated way by using this activity:

3. Echo Patterns (2 minutes)
Teacher plays a pattern, then students play it back. Since echo patterns are used all the time(and often misused), students will immediately feel successful. At first, use just hands together and two sounds(Center and Rim).You could even play this audio file for students while you walk around and help with technique:

4. Repertoire (5-7 minutes)
Drummers often play grooves so it makes sense to start with a One Bucket Groove like this:

Be forewarned: Students of all ages will start to chant "We will rock you" once they begin playing this groove. How any kid knows a tune from 1977 is beyond me, but if it helps them get started drumming quicker, great! With everybody playing the same rhythm pattern on loop, your students will quickly be able to hear and see if they are out of sync. 

This lesson serves as an introduction to bucket drumming and doesn't focus too long on specific skill building.  The goal is to get your bucket drumming group up and running in minimal time with minimal stress (on both you AND the students).

For more lesson plans check out the following: