Homemade Folk Instruments

We know Musical Instruments can be expensive so we thought we'd give you a list of common folk instruments that could be made at home in your backyard to see if You Can get to grips with playing them before you splash your cash on the real thing.

Washtub Bass: The Washtub Bass or the Barrel Bass is a Musical Instrument that has one string that is plucked by a metal washtub to serve as a resonator. The string is tied at one end to the washtub and at the other end to the stick or staff which is made of wood. Like playing a Bass Guitar, the player will fret the string while plucking it. Definitely a make at home folk instrument.

Musical Washboard: The Musical Washboard is a Percussion Instrument which is played by scratching, tapping or strumming the undulating metal washing surface following a certain rhythm. You will often find that musicians 'pimp' their washboards by adding other instruments such as cymbals, lunch bells, cow bells and wood blocks to the wooden part of the washboard. Definitely a make at home instrument.

Jews Harp: The Jews Harp, also called as the Jaw or Mouth Harp, is under the category of plucked idiophones. This instrument consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue that is attached to a frame. The bamboo tongue is placed in the player's mouth while the player plucks with the finger to produce a note. The frame is held against the teeth which allows the mouth to be used as a resonator. By changing the shape and volume of the mouth the note is changed. Thought to be one of the earliest world instruments with it's origins in Asia, a simple harp could be made at home by a skilled craftsman.

Tambourine: The Tambourine is a small single-headed Frame Drum that consists of a shallow wooden ring with a number of small pairs of metal cymbals or jingles fixed into it. The Tambourine can be played in a huge variety of ways such as striking the head or frame with the palm knuckles or closed fist, by shaking or by using drumsticks and is one of the easiest instruments to play.

Musical Saw: The musical saw or 'singing saw' is usually just a basic hand saw that is played by clamping the handle between the knees or under the chin (like a violin) the blade is then bent into an S curve using one hand and the blade is then either struck with a wooden mallet or more usually, played with a Violin Bow by drawing the bow backwards and forwards across the edge. The not can be changed by changing the length of the s curve by more or less bending pressure being applied. Commercial musical saws are manufactured but it is an instrument for the back yard musician can play with almost any hand saw.

StompBox: A stompbox in it's simplest form is usually a small wooden box that can be tapped on by the musicians foot or by using a wooden staff to produce a rhythm. Modern versions often have a microphone inside the box to amplify the sound for performances but this is not strictly necessary. Easily made at home you can also buy commercial versions with pre-amps and mics built in.

Willow Flute: The willow flute, also known as sallow flute is a traditional Wind Instrument from Scandinavia. Usually consisting of a simple tube with a transverse fipple mouthpiece and no finger holes. The mouthpiece is typically constructed by inserting a grooved plug into one end of the tube, and cutting an edged opening in the tube a short distance away from the plug. It is played by varying the force of the air blown into the mouthpiece, with the end of the tube being covered by the finger or left open. Generally made from soft green willow, this simple instrument can easily be made at home.

Vuvuzela: The Vuvuzela, to many a source of deafening and somewhat annoying noise during the recent Soccer world cup, has in fact been in use for centuries in Africa and also sold in the US as stadium horns for 40 or more years. Traditionally made from an animal horn, the more modern versions are mass produced in plastic and it is possible to get a reasonable melody from a vuvuzela. Basically a 2 foot long horn, you could easily fashion one in the shed.

Drum: The drum can take a thousand different shapes, sizes and forms. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years and consist of at least one membrane, called a Drum Head or drum skin, that is stretched over a frame and then struck, either directly with the drummer's hands, or with a drumstick, to produce sound. You can make a rudimentary drum out of almost anything and it is well worth experimenting at home to get a good folk music sound.

So there's a few ideas to get you started, get down to the shed and see what you can knock up, you'll be amazed at the different sounds you can produce from some of these simple folk instruments.