What is it?
“Metalphone” is the general name for a percussion instrument made from metal sheets and played with drumsticks. This project uses medals to make a metalphone, which produces sounds with definite pitches depending on the size and thickness of each medal. Medals are easy to get hold of (from flea markets or second-hand shops, for example) and the different sound pitches can be organized in different ways, which could be based on piano or normal xylophone tuning, but part of this project’s fascination comes from different tuning systems that make distinctive music.
How to make it
Materials and Tools
To make Metalphone #1 you will need some medals, threaded metal rod (6mm diameter), nuts (M6) (wing nuts and normal), a wooden box (like an empty wine crate) and electrical tape. You will also need a lathe, steel saw, drill and drill bit, metal file, and craft knife or scissors.
Construction process
It is reasonably quick and straightforward to make Metalphone #1 (depending on how many medals you use). It takes about 2 hours to make an instrument like the one in the photo (with 13 medals). Start by drilling holes in the middle of each medal, then work out how they will be arranged and drill corresponding holes in the box. Cut the threaded rod to lengths of 25-30 cm and file the ends. Note that the lathe in the photo is not set up — it should be fixed to a bench. Put the rods in the holes in the box, adjust them to different heights, and fix them with a nut and washer on each side of the wood. Put the medals at the top of the rods and place a normal nut at the top of each rod and put electrical tape around it so that the medal does not come into direct contact with the rod.
That’s it!
Variation
This a variation on the same principle. We used gas cooker burners instead of medals and paint brushes instead of threaded rods. It is all mounted on a box so it is easy to dismantle everything and transport it inside the box — super portable!
How to play it
Hit the medals with metal-tipped sticks. There are many way to make drumsticks—you could simply use a length of the metal threaded rod, or use a wooden stick (a chopstick would be fine) with a screw or nut attached to the tip.
Some original compositions
Solo M1
Quinteto Índios do Carvalhido
Trio
Ali Bali
Solo M2
Quinteto dos Arcos
Fandango
Instructions
You can print instructions to refer to when you are doing this project.
Click here to download the instructions on how to make Metalphone #1.