Making Maracas out of Gourds

My recent shekere post reminded me that I have also made MARACAS from gourds. So I'm posting a couple of pictures and basic instructions.

 

  Materials List

  Dried/cured gourd(s)

  Small saw

  Contact cement

  Leather or cloth/ribbon strips 
         (to support & camouflage handle joint)

  Dowel - (for a handle, the diameter of the inside of gourd's neck)
       (A dowel isn't needed for bottle-neck gourds. Just saw off an end
          and then glue it back after cleaning and filling.)           

  Beads, rice or lentils (optional, as you can use the dried seeds)

I bought six gourds at my local pumpkin patch a couple of years ago and let them dry out for about eight months. Four of them dried nicely enough that I could use them. (A couple rotted because I left them in a box. Lesson learned!) 

Note: Let gourds fully ripen before picking. Ensure they have good air circulation so they won't rot, and leave them alone through the winter. Better yet, leave gourds on the vine to dry. (That's how it's been done for centuries.) I've tried drying gourds the fast way, cutting a hole near the stem, and most of them shriveled. When done the old-fashioned way, gourds don't just dry, they cure. (Don't want to wait till next year? You can also purchase cured gourds online.)

 

Once these gourds were ready (when they felt light and the seeds rattled around inside), I sawed the stems off at the very tip, cleaned out the stringy fibers, and saved some seeds for refilling.

 

I bought a dowel that was as close as possible to the inside diameter of the gourds' necks (1 1/4" in this case), and cut two 5" lengths for handles. I wood-burned a little design around the ends of the handles just for fun. (When using small bottle-neck gourds, you don't need handles; you can just glue the ends back on after cleaning and filling.)  

 

I partially filled a couple of gourds with their own seeds, and I used some small beads in the others. (Note: I suggest filling the gourd not more than 1/4 so the seeds/beads can move freely and strike the inner walls of the instrument with  energy.) 

 

Then I applied contact cement generously around the inside of the gourd necks as well as around the top end of the handles. I inserted the handles 1 1/2 to 2" into the gourds, being careful to keep the filling away from the glue till it dried.


(Note: One of the necks was a bit a loose, so I rolled some paper and glue
around the handle tip to make it a bit thicker and create a tight contact.)  
 

To finish these off, I cut and tied some leather strips around the joint of the handle and gourd, which both supports and camouflages the seam. (Ribbon or fabric works well too.)
 

These are sturdy little instruments, and they sound GREAT!

How to Make a Shekere (African Gourd or Bottle Shaker)

I've made a few shekeres (shay'-kuh-rays) that sound and look great (IMHO). Although I love saving money and creating something unique, my main goal when creating a home-made instrument is always to create something musical and useful.

 

Both of the examples I'm posting here rival the sound of any purchased/imported instrument. Example #1 below is made from a plastic vinegar bottle and pony beads at a cost of about $2 versus $20-25 if purchased. Example #2, a more authentic-looking instrument is made from a gourd and wooden beads at a cost of about $18 versus $50-70 if purchased. (This one cost more because I purchased the gourd, dried and cleaned.)


#1 - Plastic Bottle Shekere by Jeri Crosby

#2 - Calabash Gourd Shekere with Wood-burned Designs by Jeri Crosby

 Materials List

 

Body: (1) sturdy plastic bottle with a narrow neck or (2) a clean, dry calabash, bottle-neck or pear-shaped gourd (available locally perhaps, or online)

   

Ring: (1) Plastic or metal ring that fits over the neck but not the shoulder of the bottle. The ring is optional but makes the project easier, and I recommended it if you make these with children. (2) You can simply create a base ring with several thicknesses of your string (as I did for the gourd shekere).

 

String: Strong string, thick crochet thread, upholstery thread, soft fishing line, etc.

 

Beads: Plastic pony beads or wooden beads (available at craft and variety stores)

  

Tools to decorate: (1) Permanent markers (optional) for the bottle or (2) a pencil and wood-burning tool for the gourd

Directions   

 
First, decorate the body with markers or wood-burned designs as desired.

Second, check the fit of your ring or create a ring out of string, ensuring it rests on the 'shoulder' of the body. 

Third, cut strings four times the length of your bottle. Cut enough strings to fit evenly spaced around your ring about 1/2" apart.

Fourth, fold each string in half and 'hitch' strings around the ring. (Hitch: fold string in half, place middle/folded end of string beneath the ring. Lift the 'loop' created by the fold, and keeping the open ends of the string together, stick them through the loop and pull to tighten.)




Fifth, macramé (weave with knots), square-knotting each string with a neighboring string to the left. Insert beads on every other string, and then knot the each string with its neighbor on the right. 

Continue inserting beads and knotting strings (left, then right) with neighboring strands until you've created desired length of the bead-mesh. Important note: Be sure to leave enough loose string between knots/beads so the bead apparatus will move freely against the body. 






Finish by knotting/weaving a couple of rows and tying strings together as in this picture, or create an end ring with your string and tie each string onto the ring as in the gourd example below. Note: an open end allows the player to tap/drum the gourd (but it is a more complicated finish).








Here are a couple of pics of the gourd shekere under construction:

How to Make Joy Tubes, AKA Flop-ophone

 Another of my home-made tube percussion instruments:

 

Joy Tubes, AKA Flop-ophone

 

Similar to Joia Tubes - Save hundreds of $$$!
 

This set cost me $32 to make. (I bought the shoe rack for $4 at a thrift store, and I bought the bungees at a dollar store.)

 

 

       Materials:    Two lengths of two-inch PVC pipe

                         ABS flanges (adapters, 2" x 3") - 
                           one for each note

                         An old shoe rack (open style)

                         Bungee cords - one for each note
                                        (or cut up long ones) 

                         PVC glue or plastic cement

                         A pair of old flip-flops

                         A saw (if you don't have lengths
                          cut at a store)

                         A knife to trim down the flip-flops

                         Markers or stickers for labeling
                           and/or decorating pipes

                         Rubbing alcohol or Goof-off to
                           remove black ink on pipe.

 

(The picture below shows materials I used.)

  

 

1- Have your helpful hardware store clerk cut the PVC for you. Take a measuring tape and marker (with millimeters for accuracy) to the store with you and mark your PVC pipe to be cut in these lengths:

               G     793 mm
               A     703 mm
               B     630 mm
               C     594 mm
               D     529 mm
               E     473 mm
               F     440 mm
               F#   418 mm
               G'    396.5 mm

 

Notes: if you must cut the pipe on your own or trim pipes to tune notes, be sure to wear a mask to protect your lungs from the PVC dust.

The average shoe rack will hold five tubes. I change out tubes according to the key and tone set I need. With the notes G, A, C, D, E, and F, you can play in pentatonic major keys of G, C, and F. (That's all I made for this set.)

2- Label your tubes with markers or stickers, and if desired, decorate them a bit. I used vinyl-like scrapbooking borders on this set. They added a nice touch and have held up well.

3- Glue a flange onto the TOP end of each pipe.

 

4- Loop, tie and/or fasten bungee material around the two top braces of the shoe rack to create a holder for each pipe. You may have to experiment a bit to find the best way to use the materials you have to work with.

 

Here's a close-up of what I did on this particular set.   

 

 

 

 

5- Trim flip-flops as shown, creating a handle on the heel end. Glue the stub from the toe piece in place to make the floppers air-tight.

To play, simply 'flop' the top of the pipes, covering the open/flanged end with the wide part of the paddle.

Add these to your collection of tube percussion and enjoy your Joy Tubes!

(Instructions for the BOOM PIPES in the above picture are included in an earlier post.)

How to Make a Panpipe / Pan Flute

My homemade pentatonic pan flute always surprises those I play it for because it has a lovely tone (better than my purchased bamboo one) and plenty of volume. As promised, here are the instructions:

Materials: one length of half-inch plastic pipe (available at hardware stores), a plastic ware lid, colored string or embroidery floss, two craft sticks (optional horizontal braces), glue (for plastic), beads (for optional embellishment)  Tools: small saw and/or knife, marker, sturdy scissors

    Measurements

         for Half-inch Plastic Pipe

         C     6 1/16 “
          D     5 3/8 “
          E     4 ¾ “
          G     3 15/16 “
          A     3 7/16 “
          C'    3 1/32 “

Measure, mark and cut as accurately as possible. (Remember cutting a bit long is safer than cutting short.) Then trim with a knife to fine tune if needed. (The pipe is quite soft.)

Using the end of a piece of pipe as a pattern, trace end caps onto a plastic lid. Cut the caps out with scissors and glue them onto the bottom end of each pipe. (Hint: Use the smoothest, prettiest cut ends of the pipes for the  top, open ends of pipes where your lips will touch.)

 Place pipes in order, left to right, lowest to highest. You may choose to use two crafts sticks, one on each side, to stabilize the pipes. (On this particular flute, I simply wove the string very tight.) Weave and or wind colored string or embroidery floss between and around pipes (and craft sticks, if applicable) to hold them together. Sealing knots with a dab of glue is a good idea. Add tassels made from your string/floss and beads or charms if desired.

Voila!

You have a playable and to-be-proud-of panpipe!

    

How to Create Boomwhacker-like Instruments out of Cylinders

I've had a lot of interest in my home-made Boomwhacker and boom pipe instruments, so I think readers might be happy to have these basic guidelines for making Boomwhacker-type instruments out of almost any cylindrical material.



Some of my home-made pitched cylinders created with double-walled drain pipe,

shipping tubes, PVC pipe, fluorescent light protectors, hollow table legs, & electrical conduit

 



Illustration depicting Pythagoras demon-
strating harmonics from Franchino Gafori,
Theorica Musice (Milan, 1492)

Pythagoras (Greek mathematician, musician and philosopher, circa 570 - 495 BCE) figured out the theory of music harmonics about 2500 years ago (amazing!), and his formula remains our basic guide when constructing instruments from common or junk materials. Although we have access to technical information about tempered and just tuning, (and I note differences below), Pythagoras' formula is adequate for homemade instruments, and it's easier to teach/explain to students. 






I always cut my material slightly long and then trim it to fine tune, using reference pitches or an electronic tuner (available as a phone app). Be warned that if you cut a cylinder too short, it will be impossible to correct, and you will have to simply cut the piece shorter for a different, higher pitch.   

Depending on the material you're using, you will need an X-acto knife, small saw, or paring/pocket knife to cut and trim. I used a paring knife to fine tune my boom pipes (large white example above) because the plastic is surprisingly soft.  Warning: PVC dust is harmful to your health, so take your measurements to the hardware store and have them do most of the cutting; then wear a mask if you need to fine tune. 

If you have a limited amount/length of material, simply create a limited tone set such as a pentatonic scale or only the tonic and dominant of a key for use as a bordun.

OK, here's how to figure out the lengths you need:
(1) Find or create your fundamental note (prime, tonic, 'do') by comparing a long but musical-sounding length of your material to a reference pitch or use an electronic tuner (or phone app). Determine what note it is. It will likely be flat or sharp and need trimming. (Remember: longer = lower; shorter = higher.) The note you identify can be the fundamental pitch of your set, or you can trim the cylinder to be the tonic of the key you want. (Hint: middle C is often about 25" long, and the C below is usually around 51".) Note: as with Boomwhackers, if you cap one end, the pitch will drop one octave.

(2) Once your fundamental note is in tune, measure its length carefully (centimeters is best). Divide this measurement by the decimals below to determine the lengths of additional notes.

  Scale   Interval            Ratio      Divide by      Tempered
                                                                                                                      (for comparison)
  do        Prime                1:1        1.0             (1, 1)

   re         Major second     8:9       1.125          (1.22, 1.125)  

   mi        Major third         4:5       1.266          (1.260, 1.250)

   fa         Perfect fourth     3:4       1.333          (1.335, 1.333)

   so         Perfect fifth       2:3       1.5             (1.498, 1.5)

   la          Major sixth        3:5       1.688          (1.682, 1.667)

   ti           Major seventh   8:15     1.898           (1.888, 1.875)

   do'         Octave              2:1        2.0            (2, 2)
BTW, I'll be posting instructions for making a variety of instruments this summer (while I and other teachers have a little more time to explore).

 

Music Enhances Problem Solving and Creativity

It's been a while since I've added a poster or posted some music and arts advocacy quotes, but end-of-year assessments and reflections have me thinking about the benefits of music education as it relates to creative thinking and problem solving. So here's a new poster and some favorite quotes I've collected:

“Too often students are given answers to remember, rather than problems to solve.”       
      – Roger Lewin

“When faced with a problem to solve, students in music and the arts produce more possible solutions, and their solutions are more creative, according to a nationwide study.”        

        – N. M. Weinberger, Arts Education Enhances ‘Real Life’ Personal Skills, 
            MuSICA Research Notes, Spring 2000.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”     

         – William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)          (I've adopted this one as my mantra.)

“The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done - men who are creative, inventive and discoverers.”          – Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

“The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.”

            – Elliot Eisner in The Arts and the Creation of Mind –  
            What the Arts Teach and How it Shows

                        (Absolutlely love this. So true!)

“…the ability to be creative – a key 21st Century Skill – is native to the arts and is one of the primary processes learned through arts education...  arts promote work habits that cultivate curiosity, imagination, creativity, and evaluation skills. Students who possess these skills are better able to tolerate ambiguity, explore new realms of possibility, express their own thoughts and feelings and understand the perspectives of others… Students’ capacity to create and express themselves through the arts is one of the central qualities that make them human, as well as a basis for success in the 21st century.

      –  21^st Century Skills Map – The Arts, 2010,
            Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, www.p21.org

Make a Bop-o-phone for Boomwhackers

This little invention has been a hit with kids as well as teachers. I first created a Bop-o-phone out of desperation for additional xylos. The frame/box costs basically nothing, and it adds some versatility to a set of Boomwhackers. Here are easy instructions and pictures. Please post additional ideas or feedback. Enjoy!

 

 

Materials needed: an empty, sturdy box that contained a case of 8.5" x 11" copy paper (usually easy to find in the faculty workroom), wide tape, a meter stick, a marker, sturdy scissors, and a about six feet of yarn or soft string. For each mallet, you will need a pencil or 10" length of 1/4" diameter  dowel, a small rubber ball (party favor or from 25 cent vending machine), and glue. 

  



Step #1

(1) Begin 2 cm from the left side of the box and mark along the top edge 4 cm wide by 1 cm deep arcs, 1 cm apart. Repeat markings on opposite edge.
Cut out the arcs. (Cutting from each side and meeting in the middle will give cleaner results.)              





Step 2


(2) Gently pull the glued seams on one side of the box apart and lay the end flap flat. Mark a line through the center of the bottom of the box from the open edge to 7" from the opposite side. Then mark a "V", extending from the center line to each corner of the box. Cut along these lines.


Step #3

(3) Fold the bottom sections over each other with the "V" on top (inside), narrowing the width of the open end of the box to about 8". Then fold the end flaps up, trim/square them up, and tape your seams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Place Boomwhackers in the 'cradles' in diatonic order. (You can leave some off for pentatonic activities). Tie two lengths of yarn around the box and tubes lengthwise as shown in the top picture. Tape yarn in place on bottom of box to keep it from sliding around. The yarn will keep tubes in place, and it doesn't really inhibit tone.

 

   
(5) Make a mallet by carving/drilling a hole in a rubber ball, applying glue to in the hole and on the end of the dowel or pencil, and inserting the stick into the ball. (Soft rubber balls actually sound better than hard ones.)









You can use the Bop-o-phone as an Orff-type instrument for ostinatos or as a melody instrument. It's very easy to convert Boomwhackers to and from this mallet format.

Here's a link to my digital song collection of color-coded melodies (with ostinato suggestions), which you might find very useful and versatile: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-BIG-BOOK-of-FOLK-SONG-FUN-for-Bells-or-Boomwhackers-466033