Xylophones Xylophones are actually a set of instruments — a row of narrow boards tuned to single notes, rather like a set of panpipes. They’re easy to make and sound great even if they’re not tuned — but they’re not that hard to tune, and tuning is fun as long as you don’t spend your […]
To make a banjo, you’ll need a piece of hardwood for the neck, and some scraps of plywood or any boards for the body. And some goatskin. Make a box, and cut two notches that match the width and depth of the piece you’re using for the neck: Make sure the neck piece fits snugly. […]
Everybody should know how to make a box. When I do instrument-building workshops for adults, I am invariably amazed and horrified at the number of people who think this is some kind of incredibly arcane process. It’s not. People have been making boxes for a long time. If you make a box, but you don’t […]
L.G. Patron lives in the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi, a complex of shelters and dwellings that has housed refugees from several regional wars for many years. People in the camp and the surrounding area need guitars, so he’s been making them — using only a few basic tools and a lot of gumption. Check […]
Here’s how it goes: Step 1: Make a box. If you can locate a discarded chest of drawers, you can use that. The better the box fits together, the more resonant the sound will be. Step 2: locate a construction site and look around for some of the metal strapping tape that is used to […]
….was in 1970 or thereabouts. I was 12. I’d seen a jug band perform and was deeply impressed with the washtub bass (I have always had a thing for low frequencies). I went home and over the next few days…. Located a big square tin can (maybe 12″ high by 10″ square) that used to […]
While there are plenty of raw materials for instrument-making which have come under threat from climate change and environmental destruction (tropical hardwoods, to offer just one example), at least one type of instrument seems safe. Arundo Donax, the “giant reed” which provides the vibrating material for saxophonists & clarinetists worldwide, is not only critical for […]