DIY: Rainstick - Traditional Music Instrument

To make it clear, originally rainsticks are made from dried cactus, filling them with small pebbles. Who has a dried cactus available? Unfortunately, not me. Another traditional option - filling reeds (like bamboo) with hard seeds or pebbles. But there is alternative!

When you look into history it's not really clear where the rainstick comes from, but majority of resources say the music instrument was designed by Aztecs. Here is a good, short read on NativeVillage.org of what is rainstick,where it comes from and how it spread: Rainsticks

That stick sounds magical, so it's not a wonder people believed in it as a tool for calling rain. Rain wasn't in my interests, but the sound was. 

So, Youtube helped. This lady on behalf of Expert Village explains the process in details in a few videos on Youtube:

Warning from my side: making a rainstick takes less time than watching those videos.

I used cardboard tubes and toothpicks to craft the stick. You can find online also easier version - putting pressed, shaped aluminum foil inside the tube. Well, I tried that one as well, but didn't enjoy the sound. Pressing toothpicks or little nails into the tube creates a lot more enjoyable sound as the filling material hits against them creating a sound.

The longer the tube is, the nicer and longer the sound of rain will be. That's how the tube looks after you've put the toothpicks through it: 

After preparing the tube, I sealed one end of each stick. It happened that I had at home a few little 30ml jars perfectly fitting as a lid for the ends of the small rainstick tube. Well, this won't change the sound. I just thought it looks cute and it also adds a different shape to the stick. You can close the ends with fabric and rope, paper or whatever else - there is open place for creativity. 

Cut the outside parts of toothpicks - you don't need a hedgehog. And the fill the stick! 

I filled the small one with pearl barley and the big one with dried orange peels. Sealed the ends and decorated my rainsticks. 

The small one is about 40cm long, but the big one about 1m. Of course, the bigger the rainstick, the longer the sound of rain. :) 

The result: I've got sticks that sing! And the shorter ones can be used as musical shakers as well. Mine are already in use when jamming and playing music with friends :)

If you are making these for kids to play with, small jars at the ends of rianstick is not an option. Make soft, upholstered tube ends, so it won't be a trouble if the stick falls on someone's head etc., like this one: 

Just in case this one caught your attention in pictures...

... that's a handmade jingle bell stick. You can find tutorials here on Pinterest, although making it is so simple and easy that you probably don't need any tutorial. In short: prepare a stick, string jingle bells on a thread or wire and wrap around the stick. Another simple, easy, but pretty great sounding rhythm instrument.