The Thunderdrum is a pretty unconventional percussion instrument. To play it, hold the drum upside-down with the opening facing up, the head pointed at the floor, and the spring dangling down, as shown in Figure 10-10. Jiggling will give you a nice distant-thunder rumble, while flicking the spring (or rhythmically striking it with a stick) makes a booming crack. Grab the spring between thumb and index finger and run your thumbnail down the coils, as in the middle of Figure 10-10, for a very dramatic “washboard in the unpopular backwaters of a dead galaxy” sound. Or you can use the fingers of your free hand to beat out patterns on the drumhead itself. The suggestions from the previous drum project still hold: Start with a light touch (focusing on using the fingertips) and explore the drumhead for different tones.
