Alternatively, you can tape the plank to a stool
or benchtop.
9. Insert the tuned bottles into the holes,
alternating sides (Figure
J
), and you’re done!
STRIKE A MELODY
Play your Bottle Marimba by striking the sides
of the bottles with the chopsticks. Striking the
bottles near the middle tends to give more tone,
whereas striking higher up, or on the feet of the
bottle, tends to produce more of a “click.”
There are many variations to the build that you
can explore:
» Bottle selection: I’ve tried many types of soft-
drink bottles and found 600ml/20oz Coca-Cola
bottles to work well, but larger and smaller
bottles work well for lower and higher pitches.
Experiment with whatever recycled bottles you
have on hand!
» Valves: You can often get scrap bicycle
inner tubes from bicycle shops for free or
cheap. Alternatively, if you buy new valves I
recommend buying car tire valves instead, as
their rubber coating is thicker and easier to
seal against the bottle cap.
» Tuning: Here are a few tuning ideas. I
recommend starting with the pentatonic tuning
which will always sound pleasant. You can hear
my G pentatonic tuning in this video: youtu.be/
RpjaNeT_mTA.
• Pentatonic: G A B D E G' A' B'
• Aeolian pentatonic: G A B♭ D E♭ G' A' B♭'
• Major: G A B C D E F♯ G'
» Mounting: Using a wooden plank is just one
way of mounting the bottles. For example, you
could drill holes into the bottom of a mixing
bowl instead for a circular arrangement.
My friends over at Kaboom Percussion took this
instrument to the extreme, building over three
octaves of chromatic bottles and mounting them
with rubber bands on long brass rods. Check
them out to see where this project can go;
I’ve posted a few videos at instructables.com/
Upcycled-Bottle-Hang-Drum.
In the meantime, get ready to lose many hours
playing this instrument, between improvising
grooves and melodies, trying different tunings,
and adding more bottles!
G
63
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