
Instructions
- Remove the handle from the bucket. You can do this by slightly bending the metal and jimmying the tab out of the hole.
- Using strips of colored duct tape, apply as shown here:
- For a quieter, more mellower tone, make your own mute pads as described in the following Drummer Cafe article — DIY: Homemade Mute Pads. However, to match the color-coded system outlined here, apply the stickers to the shelf liner surface using the pattern shown in the following photo below. Scotch Tape placed over the stickers helps make the stickers last longer.
Other Considerations
If you plan on purchasing a classroom set of buckets, you will soon discover how difficult they are to pull apart. Here are two solutions that I use:
- When you go to Home Depot (or Lowe’s) to buy your drums, pick out the buckets that come apart easily from the rest of the stack.
- Apply constant pressure — but not with maximum effort — as you pull. Rotate the bucket and repeat.
- Throne — An additional bucket becomes your seat.
- YouTube Playlist — The following playlist includes clips of songs from my bucket drumming classes. This will give you a better idea of how the color-coded system works with buckets.