Instruments out of everyday items

I recall some topic on someone making a straw oboe but I guess it fell off the first few pages. <.<

Anyone else here like experimenting with random household items (e.g. straws) to make random instruments?

Lately I've been grabbing handfuls of plastic straws and making oboes out of them. <.< Still haven't bothered actually looking up or experimenting much on finger-holes. But I can basically lip a whole octave anyway. =|

I just made a natural 5-straw trumpet with paper cone in ... well, I'd suppose Cd (quarter-tone down) or something. I can lip it to a B or C. I'd make it a piston/valve trumpet too but that'd be considerably more difficult.

Anyone else? XP

(Yeah, I know, wasting so many non-biodegradable materials isn't good for the environment... I used about half of those straws as drinking straws beforehand though.)

our physics classes at my high school do instruments out of household stuff...

...aw, really?

Geez, that sounds like fun. <.< Alas, no acoustics in our HS physics classes; just optics and mechanics.

Here, Lao -> Abstract Instruments, the exceptionally wierd or unusual.

*I* started it.

I have one straw at the moment... one with a reed anyways. It is McDonalds. I have two slighter larger straws that fit over it, one with tone holes (strawboe), and one without that can slide in and out (strawmbone.)

I also tried the ruler... it is dreadfully difficult to articulate, and I can play my ceiling fan with a violin bow. Large saucers and glass cake-dish lids also makes tons of juicy noise. I made a bass with a small box and thick rubber band once... worked quite well. I also made a violin... using smaller rubber bands, and another rubber band wrapped lengthwise around a pencil for a bow. Sometimes when my parents are away I grab my crappiest violin bow and go down to the garage and play my step-dads work saw... works surprisingly well.

I can play music on my hands... handwhistling, I have about 2 octaves... does that count?

It's called "percussion"

I love playing with creaking doors!

I have now officially invented the Strawnter and claim all rights to its invention.

It consists of at least one straw, preferably of McDonalds or equivalent diameter and properties, one small paperclip, and a generic trombone mouthpiece (because every household should have at least one laying around)

The tip of the straw is cut into a triangular point and inserted point-first through the shank the of mouthpiece. A paper clip is bent at three angles so that it pinches the straw at one tip length past the tip of the straw. This tip, complete with pinching paperclip is recessed as far as possible into the cup of the mouthpiece. Insert mouthpiece rim entirely in mouth, rest against gums, and supply a decent amount of air. Voilá, an adaptable straw chanter, or Strawnter. Mine can play F, G, A, Bb, C, D, and a hint of Eb with the 5 finger holes I've added.

Earlier this year, I tried 'making' a horn with several different results, but I have found that 20 ft of garden hose (I think it's 20 ft...) makes an okay C horn. Combined with a mouthpiece, you can get a fair number of the overtones. The tone itself is pretty trashy, but multiphonics on it just sound wonderful, because the rubber will muffle some of the vibrations.

I did that when I first started trumpet!

I found a garden hose about ... eh, .... well, no idea how long it was, but it was in F#, right above an F horn, I think. But this was before I played horn, so I wasn't good with the partials. The intonation on the hose was pretty poor, I couldn't lip the out of tune partials in tune and the intonation varied from octave to octave. Thing sounded really cool when I went for maximum volume, really buzzy and brassy and dark.

YouTube Video

Hornpipe on the Hosepipe

(Original Source)

YouTube Video

Malmö Symphony Orchestra on hose horns.

(Original Source)

Listen to the trills above... teehee!

YouTube Video

Chiz Ryder playing a Garden hose

(Original Source)

Hehe... never heard it done lead trumpet-style!

YouTube Video

Aida Grand March with Hose Trumpet

(Original Source)

YouTube Video

Garden hose flute?

(Original Source)

I'm not sure about if this is real, but I suppose it is, since this next one is real and it's the same guy.

YouTube Video

Panpipes with bottles

(Original Source)

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I should really invest in a hose and make a new one. I don't have the old one anymore, it was filthy anyways.

yeah, it sucks to have to flush it out with water (on account of there being no water keys)

At the Opnung music festival (I think 67, when they premiered the "Grand, Grand Overture" someone did the Leopold Mozart horn concerto on 2 hosepipes (since it would have required a natural horn w/ two crooks).