Cobble Together a Low-Tech Music Box
1-3 Hours
Ages 12+
What Will You Learn?
Learn how to create a music box using materials from around your home.
Inspiration
Music boxes are known for their tinkly sound. But wind-up music boxes are also finely tuned machines. Turn the key to tighten a spring, open the lid to release the catch that lets the spring unwind, and gears and flywheels start to move the mechanism at just the right speed.
The music is produced by a rotating cylinder studded with tiny pins. As the cylinder (known as the drum) slowly spins, the pins pluck the teeth of a metal comb. The teeth on each comb are different lengths and thicknesses, depending on the notes needed for the melody each box plays. Every part of a music box takes artistry and expertise to create.
Music boxes also have inspired musical inventors to get creative. Like thumb pianos, the teeth can be made out of any material that makes an interesting sound when it is plucked or tapped. Our version uses assorted wire springs, but you can try other kinds of noisemakers as well.
My Experimental Music Box was inspired by Koka Nikoladze of Norway (nikoladze.eu), who builds hand-cranked Beat Machines—music boxes that use objects like forks and plastic rulers instead of a metal music box comb. He also makes computerized versions using programmable Arduino microcontrollers. His other musical inventions include a MacBook Pro that you play with a bow. He has said that his goal is to make a bassoon you can read your email on.
Safety Warning
Children should get adult help cutting materials like wooden boards and rods.
Prepare to Place the Springs
The “comb” of the Experimental Music Box follows the same basic design as the Thumb Piano earlier in the chapter. You will attach coffee stirrers to a wooden board using rods and rubber bands. However, in this case, the coffee stirrers are simply used as anchors for the springs. The board then fits into the box (which also holds the drum you turn to pluck the springs).
Step 1
The first step is to figure out where to place the springs. To get started, take the board and stand it on end inside the box. Then lay a pencil (or other rod) so it rests on the sides of the box next to the board.
Step 2
Draw a line above the pencil across the front of the board.
Step 3
Take the board out of the box, still standing on end. Take a coffee stirrer and stand it up against the front of the board. Mark the height of the line on the coffee stirrer.
Attach the Springs
Step 4
Now attach a spring to the coffee stirrer, just above the line. To do this, squeeze the stick between the coils of the spring as close to the bottom as possible.
Step 5
Turn the spring (like unscrewing a bolt) until just the bottom tip of the wire is below the stick.
Step 6
Take the pliers and pull the tip until it wraps around the far edge of the stick. This will hold it in place.
Step 7
Repeat with the other springs.
Line up Your Springs
Step 8
Lay the board down and line up the coffee stirrer sticks with the springs attached so the springs are sticking up. They should be evenly spaced. Leave room on either end. If any of the springs are angled toward the spring next to them, adjust the spacing as needed.
Step 9
Place a pencil or other rod on top of the sticks, next to the springs. Place another pencil on the back side of the board, and attach them with rubber bands, just like you did with the Thumb Piano. Do the same with the other pair of pencils on the other side of the springs.
Step 10
When you’re done, trying plucking or scraping the springs to see if they are tight enough to make a good tone. If the pencils curve a bit in the middle and make the middle stick loose, wedge a shim (such as a piece of paper or a second coffee stirrer) behind it.
Step 11
If you want to secure the ends of the sticks, press them down with a tongue depressor held in place with pushpins.
Assemble the Box
Step 12
Put the board back into the box. Push it all the way back against the side of the box so the springs stick out toward the middle.
Step 13
Take two of the clothespins and clip them over the sides of the box to hold the board in place.
Step 14
To make a tracing of the springs to help with positioning the pins on the rotating drum, hold a piece of paper flat under the springs and trace around them.
Make the Drum
Now it’s time to make the drum. You will use screws as pins to pluck, scrape, or tap the springs to get them to make a sound.
Step 15
To begin, take your wooden rod or rolling pin and lay it across the top of the box, leaving a little space between the rod and the longest spring. Use more clothespins as guides to hold the rod in place. Make sure at least one end of the drum is sticking out far enough past the clothespins for you to hold onto it in order to rotate the drum.
Step 16
Wrap some tape around the rod to keep it from rubbing against the clothespins or the side of the box. To keep the rod from sliding side to side, wrap rubber bands around the ends of the rod just outside the clothespins to make a little ridge as guides.
Step 17
To prevent the rod from rubbing against the box, loop loose rubber bands around each pair of clothespins to hold them together. Slide the rubber bands down until they are just above the side of the box. Let the rod hang in them like slings. You can also stick a strip of peel-and-stick foam tape along the inside of the clothespins, in a “U” shape.
Attach the Pins
Now it’s time to make the drum. You will use screws as pins to pluck, scrape, or tap the springs to get them to make a sound.
Step 18
Now it’s time to attach the pins. For the first pin, find a screw that is a little bit longer than the distance between the rod and the first spring. Important: The head of the screw should be wider than the spring.
Step 19
Make a mark where the screw should go — hold a stick straight across from the spring to the rod to help you line them up.
Step 20
Take the drum out and use a pushpin to make a starter hole at that spot. Then take the screw and a screwdriver and carefully turn the screw a few times into the wooden rod.
Step 21
Test the screw by replacing the drum and turning it. The screw should touch the spring to make a sound, but not get caught in the coils. If you need to adjust the distance, use the screwdriver to turn the screw further into or out of the drum.
Step 22
Mark the spots for the remaining pins. If you want to play two or more notes at the same time, line up the pins for those springs in a row straight across the drum. If you want to play the notes separately, place them at different spots around the rod.
Step 23
Insert the screws as you did in Step 20, testing after you add each one before you go on to the next screw.
Final Video
Watch this video to see and hear a finished Music Box.
About the Book
Explore the physics of sound with hands-on projects that anyone can make! From simple flutes to cutting-edge electronic musical gloves, such fun kits as littleBits and Makey Makey, to the sonic opportunities found in ordinary household items, Musical Inventions by Kathy Ceceri will get you making your own music using your own instruments.
Materials:
- Wooden box
- such as a small cigar box
- Wooden board that fits snugly inside the box when it stands on end; it should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in depth and at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) higher than the sides of the box.
- Wooden coffee stirrers
- 5 or more, depending on the width of your box
- Wire springs 5 or more
- available in hardware stores, or reuse old springs from ballpoint pens and other household items
- Pencils (4)
- or other stiff narrow rods, such as dowels or chopsticks
- Rubber bands
- Wooden clothespins (6)
- or other kinds of clips
- Wooden cylinder
- at least 6 inches (15cm) longer than the box is wide, such as a rolling pin (you can some-times find them in dollar stores) or a piece of a closet rod
- Assorted wood screws
- Pushpins
- Craft stick or tongue depressor, Optional
- Peel-and-stick craft foam, Optional
- Tape, Optional
Tools:
- Small pliers
- for bending the wires in the springs
- Screwdrivers
- that match the heads of the screws you're using
- Saw
- if needed, to cut board and rods
Maker Camp Project Standards
Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
National Core Arts Standards
The National Core Arts Standards are a process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. These standards provide goals for Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts with cross-cutting anchors in Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting through art. The Anchor Standards include:- Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
- Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
- Refine and complete artistic work.
- Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
- Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.
- Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
- Perceive and analyze artistic work.
- Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
- Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
- Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
- Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).Measurement & Data
- Grades K-2
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.1 Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.2 Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.2 Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.4 Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit.
- Grades 3-5
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.5 Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.A.1 Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.3 Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.
Ratios & Proportional Relationships
- Middle School
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3 Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2 Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).Geometry
- Grades K-2
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1 Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.2 Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.3 Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, "flat") or three-dimensional ("solid").
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.5 Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.6 Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.1 Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.2 Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.
- Grades 3-5
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.G.A.3 Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
- Middle School
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.G.A.4 Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.1 Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.2 Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.3 Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.1 Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.3 Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.4 Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.
National Core Arts Standards
The National Core Arts Standards are a process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. Also see Standards with cross-cutting anchors in Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting through art for Music.NGSS MS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
- MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
NGSS HS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
- HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
- HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
