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Three images side by side: the book "Nighttime Symphony" to the left, an image of a black tube with nails being hammered into it in the center, and a black tube with silver nails being held in the air on the right

Black Voices, Black Joy: Rainmaker Tutorial

– By Kenturah Davis

In 1997, Timbaland produced Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's song "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", which sampled Ann Peebles' 1973 single "I Can't Stand the Rain." This tutorial honors Timbaland's popular tune and theme of his book Nighttime Symphony by showing you how to make an instrument that sounds like the rain.

Note: this project is designed for kids ages 8+ with grown up help. For younger ones, the alternative supplies are included in the list below.

Supplies Needed:

  • shipping tube with lid
  • glass or plastic beads
  • flathead nails (should be slightly shorter than the diameter of your tube)
  • hammer
  • scissors
  • tape
  • decorative paper
  • coloring tools to decorate your tube (pencils/markers/paint)

Alternative:

  • t-pins
  • uncooked beans
Cover of the book "Nighttime Symphony" with a gold bowl of multi-colored beads in front, multi-colored colored pencils on the left, silver nails in the foreground, cardboard tubes behind the book, and masking tape to the right.

1. Cover your tube with your decorative paper. I used black butcher paper. Tape it down at the top and bottom.

Cardboard tube covered in black butcher paper

2. Draw a spiral along the length of the tube.

Black tube with silver nails being hammered in, hammer and Scotch tape pictured in the upper right hand corner

3. Begin to hammer in your flathead nails along the spiral you drew. Try to space them out evenly. The nails will help decorate the tube and secure the decorative paper in place. If you need help, ask your grown up to give you a hand by hammering in the nails part of the way. You can follow behind them once the nails are partially inserted. 

If you are using t-pins, use a pencil to mark where you want the pins before gently pushing them into the tube. 

Close up image of black tube with silver nails inserted being held up against a gray background
Open tube pictured from the top showing nails criss crossing in the center of the tube

4. Securely seal one end of the tube using the lid, then add a handful of beads or uncooked grains to the tube. If you don't have a lid, use tape to cover one end of the tube.

Multi-colored beads in a small gold dish held above the opening of a tube covered in black, one silver nail visible at the tube's opening

5. Seal up your tube and decorate it.

Black rainmaker with silver studs dotted across the tube

6. Once you are done decorating the tube, you'll have an instrument that mimics the sound of rain. Slowly tilt the tube back and forth to hear the sound of the beads tapping on the nails as they travel along the length of the tube. Feel free to add more nails for a more nuanced sound.

Tag us @hammer_museum to show us what you've made! 

This project is a part of the Black Voices, Black Joy reading series co-presented with the Felipe de Neve branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. Visit the program webpage for more book titles and projects that will engage the whole family! To read this title on your own, check out the e-book using your library card. 

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