The Bellowhead

A new video and a new 'musical' instrument!

This is the story of creating the BELLOWHEAD.

I've made a few weird instruments in the past year such as the Horn of Geddon, the Didgeridon't, the Eye-Lo-Phone and the Hornyx. 

This one takes 'weird' one step further.

The basis for this instrument was a pair of corrugated air hoses that attach a face mask to a C-PAP - one of those machines that people use when they suffer with sleep apnea. I discovered that if you attach some form of diaphragm at one end you get a deep sonorous rumble.

(Note: A diaphragm or membrane can convert mechanical vibration into sound - think drumskins or analogue speakers. If you introduce a diaphragm somewhere between the entrance and exit points on a pipe the airflow sets up a vibration that emerges as sound. A kazoo works on this principle. If you want a greater understanding of how these things work, do check out Nicolas Bras's YouTube channel - this video is a good starting point.) 

The length of the pipes - around five feet each dictated that I create a tall instrument. The rest of the story can be seen on this video:

It was a really fun project with almost zero cost - even the C-PAP pipes were donated by a friend who had a family member who no longer needed them.

So what do I do next??