The paulownia tree, also known as empress tree or princess tree, makes little seed pods that are natural rattles. I picked this one up in Prospect Park.
instrument-a-day 20: paulownia rattle
Reply
Category Archives: instrument-a-day 2010
instrument-a-day 19: bang on a can ensemble
This actually sounds surprisingly good, considering my lack of rhythm! In case you were wondering, the ensemble members are (clockwise from top left) black beans, chickarina, tuna, italian beans in tomato sauce, and more tuna.
instrument-a-day 18: paper clips
It's a bunch of paper clips screwed to a chunk of wood with a piezo contact mic. It sounds kinda like 1960s electronic music. Kinda.
instrument-a-day 17: pickup glove
I took some scrap wire and wound it into coils, which I sewed to the fingertips of a knit glove. I tossed some extra magnets under the guitar strings, and then waggled my fingers over the strings while tapping the strings (still tuned to Open D) with a drumstick. It works ok, not great. The next version will use much finer, more sensitive coils, and probably only on the thumb and two fingers. It's hard to use all five!
instrument-a-day 16: guitar marxophone (marxotar)
As I said before, I love the sound of the obsolete Marxophone, but they're expensive on ebay. I made this guitar-marxophone with hex nuts glued to street-sweeper bristles stapled to a chunk of wood. The marxotar straps to the guitar's tailpiece and strap button with zipties, and can be attached and removed without any damage to the guitar.
Despite my unpracticed fumbling with the guitar marxophone and Open D tuning, I think this thing has a lot of promise. Hey manufacturers! You can have the idea, but I want credit and some free product! (Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has already had the same idea.)
instrument-a-day 15: mute accordion
I stuck a microphone inside the bass end of my accordion, where the vent is, so I could amplify its breathing and creaking.
I first played mute accordion with the glass bees. Speaking of whom, I'll be playing with them on March 3rd at Barbes!
instrument-a-day 14: musical saws
What could be more beautiful than the sweet, pure tone of a musical saw? How about FOUR saws? Being bashed with drumsticks?
instrument-a-day 13: EGurdy
Who needs an EBow when you can have an EGurdy? The spinning disc is coated with rosin to bow the guitar strings, kinda like the wheel inside a hurdy gurdy.
instrument-a-day 12: oak ocarina
I had a 20 by 1.5 inch slab of oak, so I designed an ocarina that could be assembled from cross-sections that would fit on it. I cut the parts on the laser cutter, glued them together, and it still didn't work until I took Bre's suggestion and coated the entire thing with glue to plug up any tiny holes.
If you have access to a laser cutter, you can get the plans and assembly instructions from http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1816
instrument-a-day 11: bottlecap rattle
It's a bunch of bottlecaps on a string. It sounds ok, looks pretty (I love the colors), and smells like a party!
p.s. I'll be performing with many of these instruments at Barbes in Brooklyn, Wednesday March 3rd, along with Chris Williams and thing-a-dayer Jason Das, who are the Glass Bees!
