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In my junkbox I found this vintage 1977 (or so) 76477 synthesizer chip- this model used to be used in arcade machines. It was gonna be another Matchbox Synth - you can see I have the case all prepped - but, whether because it’s old and broken, or because I wasn’t using it right, I couldn’t get any sounds out of it except for these.
Still, you may not have seen and heard the last of Syntho ‘77!
The scraper-shaker has a graduated series of notches, an aluminum sound cone, and, of course, a walnut shell full of steel washers. It sounds like this.
It’s kind of surprising how much the little sound cone amplifies the sound.
I was inspired when I saw coconuts for 99c at the bodega, but when I got home it took me half an hour just to get all the delicious meat out of the nut.
I keep making instruments that are too long for my short arms to play comfortably. You’d think I would’ve learned from the rotten stick guitar.
The frets are bamboo skewers - I tuned them by ear so the tuning is kind of shaky. I might add more frets later. Note how the bamboo bridge rests on a point on the membrane (architectural vellum)- this helps to transfer the vibrations of the string. The pick is made of two layers of vellum glued together.
The coconut banjo sounds like this.
Hammered aluminum, old bbq fork with corks stuck on the tines to discourage autodisembowelment. If I’d known how much work it would be to hammer the thing and that it would turn out to sound like this, I wouldn’t have bothered!
The toehorn is made from a drinking straw double reed and a nerf missile launcher I found in the trash. It sounds pretty much like this.
(suggested use)
Gambang kayu is a xylophone used in gamelan orchestras. This thing isn’t really that much like a gambang. It’s made from rotten sticks (my favorite ingredient!), string, and a bamboo windchime that was on sale at Rite-Aid for $3.49. It sounds like this.
I carved this bowl out of some waste wood I found on the street. When I roll walnuts around in it, it sounds like this.
But the real reason I carved it is to use for hammering sheet metal into gong or cymbal shapes. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have any sheet metal.
Yesterday’s Thing was a breath controller- blow into it to control the volume of today’s Thing: the Fish Organ, so named because the box used to contain smoked fish. And it sounds a little something like this.
The keyboard is copper tape cut to shape. It’s tuned (approximately) to the twelve tone Just scale based on 2’s, 3’s, and 5’s. When the little red plug is plugged into the "No breath" jack, the thing plays at full volume without the breath controller.
I added a fingerboard to the rotten stick electric guitar for easier fingering– it’s still only long enough to play about 5 notes. And I made the worst bow ever from another rotten stick and some waxed string. Together, they sound like this.
Today’s instrument is a recurved brass horn with a plastic reed made from a drinking straw from these instructions. It looks so pretty, but it’s my solemn duty to inform you that it sounds like this.
It’s not very complicated, but it’s one of my favorite instruments-of-the-day so far! I found this piece of glass– I think it was a coffee table once– in the garbage. Suspended from jute and struck with a rubber mallet, it sounds like this. (Use headphones or good speakers if you can - the stereo effects are great.)
I think I should tie it to a frame in three directions so it doesn’t swing around so much.
Kalimba with steel and bamboo tines in an old tea canister, with piezo microphone and 1/4″ output jack. It sounds like this (I did a bit of simple layering with a Loopstation.)
Inspired by the amazing kalimbas of RP Collier - listen to his music at soundclick and see the beautiful instruments on flickr.
I only had a few minutes to play today, and my first attempt at an instrument today broke, so here’s a teeny tiny little wooden whistle. It sounds like this.
I’m proud of myself for drilling a 1/8" hole in a 1/4" dowel without breaking it!
Made of discarded wood from a nearby street construction project. It sounds like this
I’m making a new musical instrument every day in February. On March 1st I think I’ll have to have either a concert or a bonfire. Follow my adventures at flickr or thing-a-day.com!
Some highlights so far: matchbox synthesizer, diet cocarina, rotten stick electric guitar. You can hear sound samples from all of them at their respective pages.
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A whistle made from an eggshell, fimo clay, and a straw. It sounds like this.
With my egg and the earlier turnip whistle, I tried poking some holes in the body to make an ocarina, but I found that it just stops whistling unless I cover the holes. On the other hand, the soda can ocarina worked just fine, relatively speaking. Are there any ocarina experts out there who can shed some light on this?
For today’s thing-a-day: a damp, rotten stick from the park; an old guitar string; a hand-wound electromagnetic pickup.
It sounds like this. (Sorry, I’ve only had a few minutes to start learning how to play it)
Can I make another musical instrument every single day of the month? We’ll see if my head explodes first.
Today: An ocarina made from a coke can, straw, and poster gum. It sounds like this.
Sticking with the musical instrument theme: the teeniest little synthesizer. Video and sound here.
thing-a-day: matchbox synthesizer from ranjit on Vimeo.
Made from a turnip, held together with toothpicks. It sounds like this.
