These large, strong, and beautiful outdoor musical instruments are designed to complement schools, sensory gardens, public spaces/buildings, and park/forestry settings. People of all ages and abilities enjoy these instruments which are designed to stimulate the senses, being sonorous, visually striking and highly tactile. My outdoor musical instruments have been evolving over twenty years, drawing upon my knowledge of African and Asian instruments, combined with practical ability and a creative attitude to design.
Workshops can be run involving school pupils with every aspect of outdoor instrument making, through their design, setting, making and installation.
My outdoor musical instruments are built to last using quality materials throughout: the posts of the frames are made of large section, 12.5cm x 12.5cm (5" x 5") English oak with traditional pegged mortice and tenon joints; thick stainless steel rope is used to suspend the bars/tubes, and all tensioners, clamps etc. are stainless steel, while the grommets, spacers, and rubber tubes are UV stable and should have a long working life.
Commissions designed to specific needs are always welcome. New designs for outdoor musical instruments are always evolving so feel free to contact me to discuss your needs/ideas.
click on images below to enlarge
Manza
This
tubular bell outdoor musical instrument has ten, 75mm (3") diameter aluminium
tubes mounted in an oak frame measuring 2.1m x 2.1m (7' x 7'). The instrument
is tuned to a five note scale, with pairs of tubes being tuned to the same
note, but one octave apart, hence its unusual arrangement of five pairs of
long and short tubes. This facilitates octave playing, which many people find
satisfying and calming. It takes its name, Manza, from a xylophone in central
Africa that has its bars arranged in the same order.
Youtube
video
Price £1800 plus installation.
Xylophone
This xylophone is a small version of the marimba with a sweet chestnut frame
(oak available on request) measuring approximately 1.2metres long and 45cm wide.
It has 14 bars tuned to a five note scale, made of padauk. The bars are 75mm
(3") wide and produce a crisp ‘xylophone’ sound. A cedar rain cover can be made
as an extra on request.
Price £1400 plus installation.
Marimba
This is a true marimba with double octave overtone
tuning. It has 15 bars tuned to a pentatonic scale covering almost 3
octaves. The frame is made of seasoned oak or sweet chestnut. The overall
length is 2 metres, and is 50cm wide and 80cm high. The bars are made of
padauk for a fantastic sound and good durability. The bars are made 95mm
(4") wide
to produce a powerful fundamental note. An easily removable cedar rain cover
is included which prolongs the marimba’s life. An optional extra for this
marimba is a set of 75mm (3") diameter aluminium resonators. Instruments
with different tunings and number of bars can be made; email for quote.
Price with oak frame
and cedar rain cover £2400 plus installation
Batphone
These outdoor musical instruments are very easy
to play, producing a funky bass sound. It is played with table
tennis shaped foam bats. The 75mm (3") diameter green pipe
is thick walled and heavy duty, much stronger than standard drain
pipe. The green colour helps it blend into natural surroundings.
The frame is made of reclaimed aluminium scaffolding, so is strong
and durable.
Price £650 plus installation.
Aluminium
Batphone
The 100mm (4") diameter aluminium pipes produce a superior
sound to the plastic version; louder and very responsive. This aluminium
batphone has thick walled pipe making it very strong. The six tubes are
accurately tuned to a five note scale covering one octave. The frame is
also made of reclaimed aluminium scaffolding.
Youtube
video
Price £1650 plus installation
Outdoor Cybergongs
These outdoor musical gongs are made from 150mm (6")
diameter aluminium; the longest being 12 feet long. The set of three
gongs are tuned to a chord thus avoiding dissonances. The deepest gong
produces a sound that lasts for at least one minute. The sound is so
deep and powerful you can feel it vibrate. The gongs are placed in a
triangle so that they interact with other when struck. The frames are
made of reclaimed aluminium scaffolding.
Youtube
video
£1650 plus installation
Akadinda
This 17 bar log xylophone has bars made of durable and
sonorous padauk or reclaimed pitch pine when available. Its overall length
is 2.1m (7'), with the longest bar being 1m (39") long. The curved frame is 17.5cm x 17.5cm (7" x 7")
section, and cut from a bent oak log. Such extreme curves are rare, and
each instrument is unique depending on the logs available. This instrument
is inspired by the large Ugandan log xylophone known as Akadinda (aka
= big, dinda = xylophone bars). It is tuned to a five note scale and
played by up to six people striking the ends of the bars with sticks.
Interlocking patterns are played to form polyrhythms. This instrument
can also be played with soft rubber beaters. I also make the smaller
Amadinda (ama = small) with 12 bars.
Youtube video
Price £2100 plus installation.
Tubular Gongs
I have called this outdoor musical instrument a 'gong'
because its sound is more akin to a Javanese gong, or kempul, than a
tubular bell. It is played with large, soft, all-weather gong beaters.
This instrument measures 3.15 m (10' 6") high by 1.8m (6') wide. The tubes are 10cm
(4")
diameter heavy gauge aluminium, the longest being over 2.4m (8' 3")
long. The gongs, or bells have a very powerful but mellow sound, and
continue vibrating for over one minute. Players enjoy experimenting with
this instrument, touching the gongs and feeling them vibrate.
Youtube video
Tubular Bells
This instrument has 14 aluminium tubular bells 5cm
(2") in diameter, mounted in a curved oak frame. The five note
scale gives a range of two and a half octaves. The frame measures 1.5m
(5') high by 1.5m (5') wide. This particular instrument is very rugged
as the bells are made from 1/4" thick reclaimed aluminium
scaffolding.
Price £1250 plus installation.
Outdoor Tongue Drums
These tongue drums have been developed to withstand
outdoor conditions. Each drum has two tongues, one on each side, tuned
to different pitches, often with intervals of fifths or octaves. They work
well in sensory gardens due to the strong vibrations they produce: when
struck, the whole instrument "hums", and this vibration is transferred to the ground when installed in a grass/earth area.
They can be bought individually, but work well in a group to encourage players to interact. These drums are 70cm (2' 6")
tall, but can be made much larger.
Price £375 each plus installation.
Where
possible instruments are installed by us. This is charged at a day rate,
plus travel and accomodation if necessary. Please e-mail or phone for more
details.
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