Making the Squarpent, a serpent-like instrument

July 4, 2004 | Games and Diversions, Link of the Day | By: Mark VandeWettering

At least one of my occasional readers is interested in homebrew musical instruments. Having listened to the example mp3’s, I’m not sure that these instruments qualify, but here are instructions for building a tuba and other instruments out of plywood. The overall tonal quality makes you pine for the melodic sounds of the bagpipe and the didgeridoo.

The author, Paul Schmidt, also has some other interesting bits, like these plans for a model trebuchet.

For those of you seeking a slightly more melodious instrument, you could always try making a flute from PVC.

Addendum: Check the comments to this posting for additional comments from their creator. He makes the following points:

  • The instrument is a reed instrument, not a wind instrument, hence my comparing them to a “tuba” is inaccurate.
  • The mp3’s he did were literally the first sound made by the instruments, and it is unfair to judge them on that basis.
  • I should avoid glibness when describing other people’s passions. 🙂

Comments

Comment from Paul Schmidt
Time 8/22/2004 at 6:57 am

Greetings

Checked out your link to my Squarpent designs, and need to make a small but important point.
You state that you are not sure that my home brew creations qualify as musical instruments, based on
hearing the mp3’s of their initial sound tests (which is how those bits are identified on my site).
Just think you should know that these instruments sound very much like the original antique types
that they are intended to emulate. The sounds you heard are a combination of the original sounds,
coupled with the fact that this was the very first time they were being played (and all instruments
of this type are ideosyncratic in their playing characteristics, hence require some time to get used
to them). The instruments as presented are intended as educational tools, and as such I thought that
offering polished performances would mislead potential builders as to what they would be likely to
achieve with their own versions. My other point is that, contrary to your statements, these are not
home made tubas. All brass winds are, in part, resonant filters, and ‘serpent’ type instruments like
mine by nature will have a very low ‘Q’, while instruments like the tuba will have a much higher ‘Q’.
They will thus sound much different, and do not benefit from comparisons of this type. Cheers. Paul