instrument-a-day 10: bowed scrapwood

Instrument-a-day 10: Bowed Scrapwood

I wanted to play with some of the leftover wood from the laser whistles, so I stuck a contact microphone to it, strummed it with a guitar pick, and bowed it. The strumming was pretty dumb but the bowing is at least a little bit interesting. It sounds like this.

instrument-a-day 9: marble gong

Instrument-a-day 9: Marble Gong

While walking the dog I found a slab of marble in a heap of renovation trash. So of course I took it home and made a gong. Beaten with one wooden drumstick and one plastic-tipped drumstick, it sounds like this.

instrument-a-day 8: more whistles

Instrument-a-day 8: more whistles

Instrument-a-day 8: more whistles (gluing pipe 6)

I assembled six more whistles from the pieces I laser-cut yesterday. Six more to go — you can probably guess where this is going. (One of these eight is a prototype that’s not going to be part of the final set.)

They sound like this.

instrument-a-day 7: laser whistles

Instrument-a-day 7: Laser Whistles

Instrument-a-day 7: Laser Whistles Instrument-a-day 7: Laser Whistles

Laser-cut basswood and wood glue. I took a laser cutter class today at NYC Resistor and decided to make whistles based on the classic design of organ pipes. If you have a laser cutter of your own, you can download the plans here.

The wood’s not polished or stained, just burned a nice brown around the edges by the laser. It smells terrible.

I made two sizes of whistle; they sound like this.

instrument-a-day 6: buddha bonk

Instrument-a-day 6: Buddha Bonk

Buddha Box, wire, brass, and conductive foam.

The Buddha Box is a little electronic gadget that plays any of 12 chants over and over again. I wired it up with a brass tablet and drumstick so I can play it like a drum– each hit switches to a new chant. (A little bit of conductive foam on the end of the drumstick muffles the tapping sound.)

It sounds like this.

instrument-a-day 5: zorba the fenugreek

Instrument-a-day 5: Zorba the Fenugreek

Not enough time today to build a harpsichord or a kazoo or something, so in honor of the solution today of the Mystery of the Syrup Smell of New York, I took a jar of fenugreek seeds and played along with a famous movie scene. The results sounded like this.

p.s. I cooked potatoes with fenugreek a few days ago. Delicious!

instrument-a-day 4: kelphorn

Instrument-a-day 4: Kelphorn

Instrument-a-day 4: Kelphorn

Made from a piece of dried up seaweed from a California beach, the mouthpiece from a junked clarinet or something, and a reed cut from the lid of a takeout food container. It sounds like this. (My fingers can only reach two sound holes, so I can only get three notes until I get more practice with breath and lip pressure on the reed.)

instrument-a-day 3: foldable squawkers

Instrument-a-day 3: Foldable Squawkers

Instrument-a-day 3: Foldable Squawkers

Noisemakers that can be cut and folded from a thin sheet of stiff plastic. This is a variation on the drinking straw double reed. They sound like this.

The plastic I used is Avery 11900 Insertable Dividers (this also works great in a Craft-Robo!) To make your own: cut a rectangle about 1.5 by 3 inches. Fold in thirds the long way to make a little burrito, and crease the folds. Cut one end to a blunt-ended triangle as in the photo. Unroll the burrito, cut off the outermost triangle, and re-fold. Squish it between your fingers a bit so that it bulges a little, put the pointy end inside your lips and blow. With some practice you can get a horrible squawk out of it.

instrument-a-day 2: rain simulator

Instrument-a-day 2: the Rain Simulator

Motor, battery, bead garland, and drum.

I made a failed whistle, followed by a squawky plastic double reed which didn’t seem worth calling an instrument-of-the-day. Then I bumped a bead garland off of the sewing table, and as it slowly drizzled over the edge, I had the idea for the rain simulator. It sounds like this. Video here.

instrument-a-day 1: the ten minute crapharp

I’m doing an instrument a day again this month! Here’s the first one.

Instrument-a-day 1: the Ten Minute Crapharp
Monofilament, wooden scraps and dowels, and staples.

It sounds something like this.