TUBE HORNS

This is a variation on the straw noisemaker from January. The only real difference is what makes the vibrations is not a straw, but rather your lips!

Hear it

YOU WILL NEED -

A cardboard tube

The best kind are gift-wrapping tubes or similar sizes, but in a pinch even a paper towel tube will work just fine. You can even tape together three toilet paper tubes end-to-end and that will work ok. A good rule to remember is this: The wider the hole in the tube is, the longer the tube should be. Of course, the best way to learn about anything is endless experimentation, so try different size tubes to see what works best!

A piece of paper

Thick paper works best, like construction paper or a file folder.

Tape

Masking tape or duct tape is preferable.

PROCEDURE:

1. Shape the paper into a funnel with a hole just big enough for the tube to fit into.

2. Tape the funnel to the tube as shown:

tube taped to funnel

The tube shouldn't stick too far into the funnel - just enough to be secure.

That's it! Now to make some noise!

How to Play:

1. First, practice making your lips buzz. It's kind of like when you used to make machine gun sounds with your lips. Also you might consider the way that a horse does it (remember the old Mr. Ed shows?).

2. Press your lips up to tube and buzz away!

3. Try making your lips buzz faster and slower. You'll soon discover that if you buzz your lips just right, you'll get the best sound from the horn. This is because of an effect of sound waves. When the length of the sound wave you create matches up well with the length of the tube, the sound gets stronger. The funnel acts as an amplifier - it makes the sound much louder. If you don't believe me, try one tube without a funnel and one with a funnel. There should be a BIG difference!

Variations:

1. Try different lengths of tube. If the tubes have the same size hole, the longer the tube is the lower the sound. Therefore, the shorter the tube, the lower the sound.

2. If you get a nice long tube (2 or 3 feet) with just the right size hole (pretty small, about an inch or so across) you can actually start to get different sounds (also called pitches) by changing the tightness of your lips and blowing harder or softer. By experimenting a lot you should be able to get a lot of different pitches. This is exactly the way that certain brass instruments like bugles work.

3. You can even use other kinds of tubes. Garden hose works pretty well, especially the variety that has a wider hole. The thinner hole kind is a bit hard to blow, but will get a good sound if you really blast it. I would NOT recommend using metal tubes as they might be a) sharp at the ends; b) rusty; or c) once been attached to something nasty, say, a bathroom.....

Simple Instruments

More Complex Instruments

Back to Instrument Construction Zone