Hope you had a good Valentine’s Day yesterday. Valentine’s Day led me to think about how to draw those we love into our love of playing the ukulele. You know, warm fuzzy inclusiveness. Now your loved one may not want to play the ukulele. But he/she/they could play another instrument. Like the xylophone — an instrument that’s been around forever.
Yes, I am still enraptured by the xylophone and ukulele from the wilds of the previous post. While I haven’t made my own travel wood xylophone (stay tuned you’ll be the first to know), I’ve been looking for ideas. Check these out.
Toolbox Glockenspiel
Metallophone
SnubbyJ’s Rimba Tubes (Angry Birds). Here’s instructions to make your own pvc tubes with paddles
Make a Marmophone for your love
Petoskey Stone Lithophone
I love homemade instruments and have a bunch of books about making them. I even made one of the big tube drums pitched to a funky-invented scale (which proved quite impractical), except mine was made out of heavy-duty cardboard tubes. Love the hardware xylophone. Thanks for sharing!
Cool — do you have any videos or photos on your blog of your instruments? – UP
The ukulele/xylophone pairing is a common one now. And yes, a quite nice one. But it’s time for the uke to team with some new instruments. Time for some new sounds. Time for some experimentation.
Perhaps the ukulele is getting a bit settled, a bit comfortable, a bit staid in its middle age.
Cozy. Needs to be shaken a bit. And stirred.
I’m fond of the sound (and look) of the hurdy-gurdy. Plenty of hurdy videos out, both in solo and group contexts. Jeff posted one on HU a while back with the group Faun. But nothing with the ukulele. Have no idea how the two would mix. But hurdy blends with guitar, harp, bouzouki, so why not?
And why not other instruments, as well? When same old, same old is the special of the day, it’s time for a new menu.
Sounds good, Ron. I’m listening. What instruments have you tried with the ukulele? Or maybe we should come up with a contest?
But is the ukulele already having a mid-life crisis? So soon? It’s revolution is still so young?!!