PVC Instrument
I’m infatuated with music and interesting instruments. After seeing Blue Man Group a half a dozen times, I decided to make my own PVC instrument. It didn’t seem like it was going to be that hard. I needed to break down what I would need. All of the supplies listed can be bought at a local lumber yard and plumbing supply store.
- 2″ PVC Pipe - approx. 25 feet
- PVC primer
- PVC pipe cement
- Assorted lumber - personal preference
Supplies
You will need some assorted tools like a hole saw, drill, chop box, or circular saw. Please use caution when using power tools as you really would hate to lose a finger or something bigger.
Next, I needed to figure out tube length. This was going to be based on a couple of factors such as note frequency and tube diameter. After a little searching, I found the following formula:
You’ll notice that you’ll need to calculate the speed of sound. Again, you can do a little searching to find a speed of sound calculator as many factors are needed for this calculation. You should end up with something around 13XXX.XX for this number. If you didn’t, then you did something wrong. And remember to convert to inches.
I then setup a spreadsheet and plugged in all of the appropriate numbers for the formula. I let the program do the work for me. It was then onto cutting the PVC into the appropriate lengths. I used slip joints to make the end of the tube. This allowed the tube to hang in the frame. There are other ways to do this but I liked this the best. After cutting and joining all of the sections I was ready to assemble.
The frame was totally winged. I had no plan and really just made it as I went. I did make it at a height that was comfortable to drum at. Mine is approximately 36″ tall. You can do some searching to see some other designs as mine was a little more on the elaborate side, but it’s what I prefer.
The paddles or “drumsticks” I made were actually ping pong paddles that I cut down. These seemed to have worked the best. Make sure you get the paddles with a smooth rubber surface.
A note on the Blue Man Group: Many of there instruments contain specific notes and are only able to be used for certain songs. The instrument I made, covers every note in a single octave. I plan on making a second model with another octave to give the sound more depth, but for now this is good enough.
Sound samples will be put up as soon as I record them. That’s it in a nutshell. Take a look at the pictures below and you’ll get a better understanding of what I’ve made.
If you have more specific questions, just let me know and I’m more than happy to answer them.
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