The Strum Drum By Phillip R. and Chandler B. (Essay by Phillip)      The name of our instrument is The Strum Drum.  The way we got the idea was we both had different ideas so we mixed them together and got The Strum Drum.  The instrument families are the strings and also percussion.  The sound it makes isn’t very loud except for the drum because the drum makes a kind of a loud noise.      The materials we used were a shoebox, a 2X4, a 2X3 rubber band, and a drum.  We also used paint and tape.  The 2X4 is about 2 feet long, and the shoebox is about a foot long maybe shorter.  The 2X3 rubber band is like 2 feet long.  The drum is about 6 ½ inches long and 2 ½ inches tall. We also used about twenty small rubber bands.     First of all, we got the shoebox and attached the 2X4 to the box with the rubber bands. My grandpa helped me saw the 2X4 in half.  We made the design with tape and we also tried to attach the drum.  We couldn’t attach the drum with tape so we found bolts to attach it. We also couldn’t attach the rubber band.      The way we play the instrument is Chandler plucks the rubber band while I bang on the tiny drum.  We drew frets on the fret board to put our fingers on. While Chandler plays "Smoke on the Water", I bang on the drum with him. We can also change places so I can play the rubber band and Chandler can play the drum.  We can also hit the side of the drum.     Our reaction was pretty good because it turned out pretty good.