Making an Udu Drum

[IGOTTHESHAKESBAD]

Also what are the proportions of the hole on it ?

[IGOTTHESHAKESBAD]

Do you glaze this afterwards ? Inside or outside ? Or both ?

[dreamgirl1234567]

Is there's a site where the steps are written down?

Or a list of materials needed to make one?

I need to make one for my music class!

Thanks!

[bitchslap46]

@Luftgeschaef can you make a video or recommend a video where it shows how to make and udu drum with coils?? and a cool desgin i have to d o it for my class

[estoboy29]

ever play the didgeridoo along with this??

[Luftgeschaeft]

Not really.

[Luftgeschaeft]

Now that i have understood your question better, yes, i have, and you can : ).. Recommending making the tube longer though. Thank you.

[acidfriend47]

Does it change the sound if you were to glaze the udu?

[Luftgeschaeft]

Yes. It would add more Ping, a sort of sound you hear when you beat on a glass bottle using your fingers.

The seal around the openings would improve as well. Having said that, an unglazed Udu sounds great. I would not expect glaze to change the pitch, and (though you did not ask) We never glazed an Udu from the inside. 

[acidfriend47]

@Luftgeschaeft

wait so what happens if you glaze an udu from the inside? I just made an Udu and it sounds way way way better than the first one I made. the sound quality went up, and its much lighter than before. i'm just not sure if i should glaze it, because it doesn't look that cool unglazed. ( it looks naked ) lol

you think i should glaze it?

oh and if I dont glaze it would i still be able to put water inside the udu? like a water udu?

[Luftgeschaeft]

You seem to want to glaze it. To improve its appeal.

No one really knows what will happen if you glaze the inside of your udu, but I would speculate that it should hold water much better, important for reducing the overall weight of the udu. Unglazed clay absorbs water like a sponge.

I would really like to see your improved Udu, (even unglazed)

I will probably pour water into one of my udus tomorrow. To hear what it sounds like.

[acidfriend47]

@Luftgeschaeft I do want to improve its appeal because it just looks mest up since i rushed. but I guess if I do glaze it i'll just go with the outside. and this time Im going to record it when its not glazed during the bisque-ware and when its glazed see if it changes. I wont be making another udu maybe till next year because those take a lot of time for me since I get rushed in the process of making them.. I will make a video when it gets done.

[penafortbx]

make one for me!!!!!

[Luftgeschaeft]

Inform me if you ever plan to visit the Netherlands, And perhaps I will.

[GregoryCulverSmith]

i would love to try this, what is the best material to use? also how important is it for the udu to be perfectlly circular as im not sure my skills will be as good as yours.

[Luftgeschaeft]

Do try this ! I used fine white clay on this video since it seemed to stretch well. You can (carefully) test the sound of the instrument before you fire it, say, 20 min or so after initial assembly - so, if it has poor sound due to its form- rebuild it... We have made an Excellent sounding Udu having an egg shape with flat base, using rough clay... so ANYTHING GOES really. Tips to succeed - Make a medium size Udu - Try Limiting diameter of tube and opening to 3 fingers wide or so. Good luck!

[Shad0ww29]

is there a good thickness for a good sound?

[Luftgeschaeft]

A thin Udu will Have more added Ping sound and a thicker one will add depth. 4mm is really thin , 1cm or so, i would call thick. A good sound surely is the sound type you prefer. Having said that, A bad sound or no sound can occur if the diameter of the tube is far from 5cm or so. Also if the Instrument is really tiny or really huge. The only way to know is by experiment.

[gamerguy9312]

That was really cool thanks for posting.

[sarahkellett]

The pieces that you cut off when trying to make the circle, have you ever made a piece that kept those one it?

[Luftgeschaeft]

The pieces i cut off to make the circle were kept aside. I added more clay to them and used those later ,to create the tube with. I try to waste little.Cutting pieces off allows for a smooth connection line. You CAN keep the pieces uncut. I even did that once myself. Experiment.

[drowe77]

these things remind me of Q-Bert the vidoe game character.

[Luftgeschaeft]

In fact, the very invention of the original Udu, owes itself to Q-Bert the video game.

(disclaimer : in fact is not :) I see what you mean though. Do you think it is possible to play an udu drum and Q-Bert the video game at the same time?

[closereplysend]

very good video :D conratulations. i love udu drums

[cyroluzindo]

is it necessary to take the udu in the fire?

[Luftgeschaeft]

Yes.

[poopiemicpooppoop]

what did you use for a form and where did you get it?

[Luftgeschaeft]

I used an unglazed clay hemisphere. I Made it myself. You only need to make one, then fire it. A Plaster form would also work.

[fsdrm12]

was that the same udu that made the sound for the video?

i prefer the half molding of the bottom, and then coiling the rest of the way up, method, it seems like u can really work the inside more evenly that way, and produce a better sound. but, hell u knocked that out in like 20 mins. i tip my hat to that!

[Luftgeschaeft]

Not the same one, but nevertheless an udu we made here.

Thank you for the idea. I am sure to try it! (though it does cost some more time:)

I think you are right on the money about the time used to make this udu, even though the film was made using time-laps, and i tip my hat to that as well!

[jsanchezpcr708]

THANKS A LOT FOR THE INFO YOU GAVE ME LAST TIME!! i already did 3 udus, one like yours, one like an utar and the 3rd one like the LP's mbwata model. ill post a video ass soon as the las two are fired. thanks again!

[Luftgeschaeft]

Can't wait to see them!

Wondering what an LP's mbwata model is..

[nullclean]

Do you sell these?

[Luftgeschaeft]

we did sell some in close proximity.

[nullclean]

Do you sell these?

[jsanchezpcr708]

WOW this is amazing!

im on the way of trying to do one an i hope you could help me with a couple of things

i wonder if you could tell me which is the normal thickness of the walls of this kind of drums and which temperature do you use to "cook" this? maybe 1200º? THANKS!!!

ps: i want to do an utar udu drum :)

[Luftgeschaeft]

we didn't try an utar yet, but we think that normal thickness is best under 1cm, maybe half a cm. otherwise it gets too heavy.we fire them at 1035°, depending on clay 1200° is fine too. anyway good luck with the utar, maybe you can share results here with us.

[jsanchezpcr708]

Oh! wow! thanks a lot! i'll surely upload a couple of videos when it get finished. Again THANKS!

[dedgeridoo]

super ce que tu fais , mais en quelle matiere est la boule qui te sert de moule ?

[Luftgeschaeft]

Merci pour votre commentaire ! Le matériel que nous avons utilisés créer le moule de, est en fait une base d'argile j'ai fait Précédent. J'aimerais faire un autre film pour expliquer comment faire cela, mais fondamentalement, ce doit être circulaire et sans le glaçage.

Puisque j'utilise une matrice de traduction, l'anglais - français, j'espère dire que j'ai eu l'intention de dire, donc dire.