Tambol sa Pasko

So you have some maracas and tansan tamborines. Great job! This recycling-reminiscing thing is also helping the Philippine environment since these supposedly trash items are put into good use. We've been making Christmas singing sound a lot better, and at the same time giving Mother Nature a break. But there's still one more instrument out there that Pinoy kids use in caroling, and this is the tambol.

Here in the Philippines, we love the sound of drums. The explosion of bass, the rhythmic beats and the hypnotizing effect, all of these are enjoyed throughout the islands. Part of the Filipino culture is making a lot of noise. In fiestas and rituals, there is an appropriate beat of the drum, so during Christmas, its not a surprise there are still drums being used. Of course you can't expect kids to bring real and expensive drums here. For this instrument, all we need is a big can, a broken umbrella and lots of rubber bands.

Its been weeks since I first started to look for some cans to become a tambol. The can of choice here is the big ones that used to contain powdered milk. But as the Philippines is a sachet market, the chances of finding these cans aren't as high as it used to be. As a last resort, I went to a local junkshop but they said they had it all flattened out. I ended up buying a huge can of juice.

The abre lata is put again to use here, removing the top and the bottom of an empty can. If you have a powdered milk can, you only need to take off the bottom.

Get the umbrella and do away with the frame. You would only need the skin, but be careful not to tear off or puncture a hole. Find the wide, clean area with no stitches and cover one side of the can. Hold it in place by fitting the rubberbands on the sides of the can. Be sure to put lots of rubberbands for a tighter fit. Trim off the excess umbrella skin with a pair of scissors so it looks better.

For the drumstick, get a rounded object like marble or something and a slender stick. Put the marble on one end of the stick and cover both the stick and marble with some umbrella skin and string it tightly with a rubber band. Now, its good to go!