Take your creations beyond the workshop and onto the stage with diy music instruments! Let us show you how these creations range from simple, basic setups that produce beautiful sounds to more complex projects that require a greater level of engineering knowledge. With these tutorials and examples, we’ll guide you on this journey to make your own musical instrument for experimental, artistic or everyday use – so whether you’re starting out new or a seasoned sound creator, come explore the wonderful world of making your own music.
The “Cat Scratch” cardboard scratching toy for cats by SUCK UK is fashioned in the shape of a DJ turntable, with concentric rings of corrugated cardboard (which cats love to scratch) serving as the proverbial record. The turntable part is just for show, but it is a novel idea that (likely unintentionally) harkens back to an experimental instrument called the Savart’s Wheel.
This is a wonderful project made by one of my favorite creators of beautiful whimsey, Niklas Roy and his friend La belle Imira for Berlin’s Museum Night. He calls it a “water powered multi channel sound installation”. I call it awesome. Imira and I connected the huge water wheel in the outside area of Berlin’s […]
The amazing Vi Hart (daughter of our Math Monday columnist George Hart) has blown our minds again with this over 12 minute video explaining the math, science, and art behind sound. In many of Vi’s videos, she talks really fast, and it’s a style that works for her, but for something this info-dense, with lots of visual aids, it’s worth going through a few times to absorb everything.
Hunter McCurry brought the Pullcordion to Maker Faire Bay Area 2011. This handmade mechanical musical instrument is played by pulling on strings that are attached to pieces of dryer ventilation tubing with harmonica reeds mounted on them.
Daphne Oram headed up BBC’s electronic music department in the 1960s before starting heir own studio. In February 1962, she was awarded a grant to work on her “Oramics” drawn sound technique. This method of music composition and performance allowed the composer to draw an “alphabet of symbols” on paper and feed it through a […]
My buddies over at Open Music Labs have posted an excellent tutorial on how Force Sensitive Resistors (FSRs) work, as well as how to use them effectively in circuits.
Among other whimsical items, Xylocopa Design fabricates unique musical instruments, such as this 5 stringed boxy fiddle. These creations were born from Michele’s practice in musical instrument repair and grew into the design of completely new instruments that she demonstrated for delighted visitors at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011.
