Ocean Drum: An Inventive Percussion Instrument That Mimics the Sounds of the Sea

The ocean drum is an unique percussion instrument that imitates the sounds of the ocean. The instrument was originally called the geophone and was invented by Olivier Messiaen, a composer and ornithologist in 1972, who was inspired by the Native American water drum. . The instrument was first designed to mimic the sounds of dry and shifting earth but was later applied to the sounds of the ocean. The ocean drum is held by the frame, with the heads horizontal and played by rolling the wrists so that the drum gently tilts in all directions. Different speeds produce different sounds, and stopping and starting suddenly creates crashing wave sounds.

The ocean drum is visually stimulating when filled with colorful or interesting objects, and the sound is hypnotic and calming. The traditional ocean drum can be almost any size and generally has two transparent heads with seeds, beads, bee-bees, or other small round objects between them. The sound of the surf is created as they roll back and forth, and it changes according to how the drum is handled. Many people find the sound and changing patterns of the ocean drum very calming and meditative, making it an enjoyable and relaxing drum to play by yourself.

For children who are blind, it may be helpful to use several drums in different sizes with varying contents, as the size gives the cue to the sound of the drum. For children on the autism spectrum, it is important to tune the drum for contents that sound right to the person using it, paying careful attention to what sounds are most pleasing to them.

Overall, the ocean drum is an exciting and unique instrument that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. It is a great way to relax and unwind, meditate, or even play along with soothing music. So, have fun and enjoy your drumming experience!

We collect very simple and well-known songs and melodies with easy rhythms to play on another soothing and beginner-friendly percussion instrument - the tongue drum. You can begin to play in just two steps. First, you will play using circles that contain either a number, without having to consider note duration, key, or time signatures. These numbers correspond to those on the keys of your tongue drum. So you just need to follow the numbers.