lovely! I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the Celeste that was used for the opening of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. we used it in a production of the Magic Flute
Very cool project, thank you for sharing this video Todd. I'm presently restoring a Schoenhut toy spinnet. I've restored many guitars and basses. In my storage unit I have a quite rare 1800's "harp piano" it's huge, about as big as the harp inside of an actual piano. They were popular only briefly, mostly in schools in the midwest. I haven't found much info about them, but apparently they have no flat notes (odd!) and were used much like an autoharp, played sitting flat like an autoharp would be, except this weighs about 75lbs. and it's size is about 4'x5'. A friend gave it to me here in North Dakota, he found it in his family farm's barn. The strings appear to be original, since they've obviously collapsed the original bridge over the decades (an easy fix) I'm hoping to be able to refinish it without losing the stenciled art and manufacturer's identification on the soundboard after I clean off the mouse piss and pigeon poo. Ahhh, the things we do for love, right? -another cool find I got here was a 1952 Sherwood DeLuxe lap steel, made by Kay. It sounds GREAT and even has the old screw in amphenol style plug. It was given to me by a cousin who'd put it away in his barn in 1955 when he quit playing! He said he doesn't know what happened to the old FENDER amplifier that went with it...dang!
Awesome! You've got some gems there. I'm going to look up the "harp piano". It sounds interesting. Also, vintage Kay instruments fetch a handsome price these days. Thanks for the message.
17:28 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy played a whole step lower. It was originally written for Glass Harmonica but it's very Delicate so we use a Celesta as a Substitute because it holds tune better.
Wow... there are actually 10 thumbs-down votes. Must be trolls! So ridiculous - this is a fantastic video! Thank you for explaining your process so well.
Thank you for sharing this. I just built a hammer dulcimer of my own design and want to add a keyboard to it just like you did to the bells. It will be a challenge but fun.
You're a genius! Fantastic skill as musician & craftsman! I like playing keyboard instruments, too! I'm a creative writer and you resemble 2 of my creations...Granville K. Hubbard (anglicized from Hlebivoda, Croatian) & Michael (Mickey) Saint-Albans.
Such a nice and fun video to watch and your build is so well done. Great piece of work. Really gives me inspiration to finish my guitar build. Thanks :)
that is amazing, I want a celesta , I'm playing some celestra parts with my orchestra but using a digital keyboard, I wish I had the real thing...but the $20-40K for a couple of songs is probably not great value. Also wanted it for the Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy for my families next year Christmas concert. Given the amount of old upright pianos that are being given away for free around here locally these days, wondering if the keys and hammers from a piano would work if built a new frame for it. I'm not particularly expert at building anything could be an interesting project.
LOL Mr. Wikkid Puke, I had to make the long educational/instructional video interesting some-how. It was the most fun part for me of putting the video together. I'm glad you liked it - ha ha.
Truly a wonder, and handmade blessing! I am a very accomplished wood worker, mechanic, and music enthusiast, I just need to be able to play keyboard better (alas, no left hand). I am more inspired to do both--practice more and take on building or restoring an instrument. Best of luck with the stewardship of that old girl you inherited (green w/ envy)! Keep those friends @ the wood shop close, maybe chronicle your work for posterity. All the best, God bless, AC
Quantum: The video is essentially an instruction guide. Exact measurements aren't included but they would vary depending on materials and components. I'm happy to consult should you venture such a project and have any questions.
this is just an awsome project! thanks so much for sharing. so inspiring! didn't even know about celestas. I need one! so beautiful! used to play common metallophone, but never thought of having a keyboard to trigger it! this just amazing! :)))
this is genius! the world is so small. i was interested in doing something like this out of some parsifal bells i own, then i heard tucson and looked up the fb link provided, and looks like you know khalila from santa rita. i volunteer for percussion at desert view with her! go figure
Vey nice ,I'm thinking about making one but where the bells will be about ten times smaller with microphone or electromagnetic amplification,do you think dividing the bells size by ten will do the thing for the correct pitch or is it going to be more comlicated .
Beautiful finished instrument....I say with all the time/materials/man hours of labor you put into this machine....it would cost....oh about $13,000 (lol)....but of course...your actual cost is minute....good job....enjoyed watching this video....
Thanks Zippie. Glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, you do understand the labor of love involved, haha. I had someone offer me $800 to build one but that doesn't touch the cost of labor (love).
Hello Tod, you did a great job but where have you found the picture at 3:04 because I have the same instrument without any manufacturer' name...1887 writen only...thanks.
+Don Dorgan Hi Don, It was a generic pic that I found though a google search to use as an example. How wonderful that you have the same instrument. I did relocate the pic that was originally on an auction site with only the info that it was made circa 1880. This one has a label above the keyboard but is impossible to read. The auction site no longer has info since it was sold. However, here is a link to the pic if it's of any help for you in doing your research. www.liveauctioneers.com/item/17378006_keyboard-chimes-celesta-c-1880
+Todd Martin . Thank you Todd .Your answer is a good help for me because I did not find any information in France or through Google. Now I'll search by the German auctionner... Don.
Yes, I started by blowing across the tubes to get close to the pitches but then fine tuned each one by adjusting the pipe fittings. The resonators are most effective on the lower tones.
@@pianotodd Thanks for your reply. Of course the tuning itself is done by altering the length. But I wondered how you would get the best response of their resonating tone. Blowing was one idea, because I was not so sure if the tubes could be tuned by their response to the chimes, when they are built in. But possibly I'm wrong because that's what the resonators should do and what matters in the end.
17:25 "The Most Famous Celesta Piece" [The Nutcracker]. Actually, today I'd argue that the opening of John Williams's Harry Potter theme (i.e. Hedwig's Theme) is equally as famous today (if not somewhat more famous) when compared to the Nutcracker, if only because of it being so contemporary. Though, thanks for sharing the construction, it looks great. Though, the octave range of yours might make it a bit of a challenge to play Hedwig's theme.
+Charlie Shapiro I'm honored that you asked but Oh my gosh, it was a ton of work and not even sure if it would come out anywhere near the same. Thank you for asking though.
I can't really answer your question Laura. I'm not a professional instrument maker by any means. I simply did this as a fun project just to see if it could be accomplished. All of the notes have tone bars that are struck by hard plastic elbow hammers. It could be that the lower notes allow the "clunk" to be heard more than the higher tones. It could be that the mic I used for recording picked those up more than the higher notes. Thanks for your question but I'm just not sure. :-)
Todd Martin Ahh ... but that is because you are in the industry! For us to access all those piano parts, wewould need to take apart a piano, if nothing else
Dog Wott I bought a toy piano for $119 and used the mechanical parts inside. I bought a used glockenspiel for the tone bars for $50. The felt piano key spacers were purchased online for $12. No actual pianos were harmed in the making of this instrument. You could do it too :-)
lovely! I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the Celeste that was used for the opening of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. we used it in a production of the Magic Flute
That's awesome!
This is a most interesting and informative documentary and love the comic relief throughout. Everyone should be sure to watch the full video.
This is awesome! My brother and I are going to be building one as well, your process will be super useful for us.
Absolutely wonderful video and instrument!! Sounds beautiful!
Thank you!
This is really fantastic, a job well done! The finished instrument looks and sounds great! Congratulations on building a fine instrument.
Very nice work, Mr. Martin (and chipmunk!)!
Very cool project, thank you for sharing this video Todd. I'm presently restoring a Schoenhut toy spinnet. I've restored many guitars and basses. In my storage unit I have a quite rare 1800's "harp piano" it's huge, about as big as the harp inside of an actual piano. They were popular only briefly, mostly in schools in the midwest. I haven't found much info about them, but apparently they have no flat notes (odd!) and were used much like an autoharp, played sitting flat like an autoharp would be, except this weighs about 75lbs. and it's size is about 4'x5'. A friend gave it to me here in North Dakota, he found it in his family farm's barn. The strings appear to be original, since they've obviously collapsed the original bridge over the decades (an easy fix) I'm hoping to be able to refinish it without losing the stenciled art and manufacturer's identification on the soundboard after I clean off the mouse piss and pigeon poo. Ahhh, the things we do for love, right? -another cool find I got here was a 1952 Sherwood DeLuxe lap steel, made by Kay. It sounds GREAT and even has the old screw in amphenol style plug. It was given to me by a cousin who'd put it away in his barn in 1955 when he quit playing! He said he doesn't know what happened to the old FENDER amplifier that went with it...dang!
Awesome! You've got some gems there. I'm going to look up the "harp piano". It sounds interesting. Also, vintage Kay instruments fetch a handsome price these days. Thanks for the message.
That is the most coolest bell piano I've ever seen and heard. Kinda gives the toy piano a required make over...stat!😀 WTG!
Love this, I actually have an antique toy celesta and it was while researching it that I found your video.
Nice! Thanks for the messge.
Nice work, Todd!
I love “unplugged” instruments and the more when they are hand made.
Charming and innovative. Bravo.
cheers from an instrument maker in Vienna, Scott
Great beautiful instrument...skills 4 sure.Gods continued blessings
17:28 That piece was originally written for a very delicate instrument made entirely out of Glass Drinking cups, the Glass Harmonica
What a beautiful instrument - really a wonderful keyed "Glockenspiel" (16:00).
BTW: A great and very entertaining video!
Thanx a lot from Germany!
This is awesome!! We were laughing at your video. Nice job making your own beautiful Celesta!
17:28 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy played a whole step lower. It was originally written for Glass Harmonica but it's very Delicate so we use a Celesta as a Substitute because it holds tune better.
Wow! Amazing! Thanks for sharing.
very beautiful job on an awesome instrument. well done.
very interesting and intelligent idea , i really enjoyed your documentary ..
Thank you for taking the time to send a message. I hope the video will be an inspiration for others to try an "out of the box" project.
Thank you so much for sharing this, mate.
Wow, Great work! Thanks for sharing.
Wow... there are actually 10 thumbs-down votes. Must be trolls! So ridiculous - this is a fantastic video! Thank you for explaining your process so well.
Thank you for sharing this. I just built a hammer dulcimer of my own design and want to add a keyboard to it just like you did to the bells. It will be a challenge but fun.
I am doing just this right now. Yes this is a challenge. I am using very light weight hammers. Project should be done by Sept. 2016.
very enlightening video - just what i needed to watch!
Thanks Michael!
Very nice, it does sound magical.
Beautiful work!
It just shows that sometimes need leads to creation, invention and re-purposing of things to a better or more usable format.
Very interesting video about the celesta and your project. Obviously, this took a lot of thought and creativity. Congratulations on your project!
Great video...What a fabulous sound...Your'e a genius!
You're a genius! Fantastic skill as musician & craftsman! I like playing keyboard instruments, too! I'm a creative writer and you
resemble 2 of my creations...Granville K. Hubbard (anglicized from Hlebivoda, Croatian) & Michael (Mickey) Saint-Albans.
Thank you! I'd love to hear your creations.
Such a nice and fun video to watch and your build is so well done. Great piece of work. Really gives me inspiration to finish my guitar build. Thanks :)
Thanks Leofred. Good luck with the guitar build.
Pretty cool! I wish I had that kind of patience!
Impressive work! It must be very satisfying to build your own instrument.
Wow you did a really nice job! Well done!
that is amazing, I want a celesta , I'm playing some celestra parts with my orchestra but using a digital keyboard, I wish I had the real thing...but the $20-40K for a couple of songs is probably not great value. Also wanted it for the Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy for my families next year Christmas concert. Given the amount of old upright pianos that are being given away for free around here locally these days, wondering if the keys and hammers from a piano would work if built a new frame for it. I'm not particularly expert at building anything could be an interesting project.
Bravo, well done !
Amazing! It was obviously a lot of hard work but such a wonderful instrument as the end result. Well done!
LOL Mr. Wikkid Puke, I had to make the long educational/instructional video interesting some-how. It was the most fun part for me of putting the video together. I'm glad you liked it - ha ha.
Brilliant!!! I love videos like this, and have BIG respect of the time, hard work and creativity that you took to make something so cool!
Wonderful.
I thought same idea.
wonderful. :)
Truly a wonder, and handmade blessing! I am a very accomplished wood worker, mechanic, and music enthusiast, I just need to be able to play keyboard better (alas, no left hand). I am more inspired to do both--practice more and take on building or restoring an instrument. Best of luck with the stewardship of that old girl you inherited (green w/ envy)! Keep those friends @ the wood shop close, maybe chronicle your work for posterity. All the best, God bless, AC
This is amazing! Great job!
Quantum: The video is essentially an instruction guide. Exact measurements aren't included but they would vary depending on materials and components. I'm happy to consult should you venture such a project and have any questions.
Wonderful! Good Work :)
this is just an awsome project! thanks so much for sharing. so inspiring! didn't even know about celestas. I need one! so beautiful! used to play common metallophone, but never thought of having a keyboard to trigger it! this just amazing! :)))
Great Work!!
Excellent job. One nitpick: this is not a celesta, but a keyboard glockenspiel, because of the hard mallets and bright tone.
Thanks for the message. You are indeed correct. In fact I had a placard made for the side of the instrument that says "keyed glockenspiel". (Y)
wow amazing talents!
this is genius! the world is so small. i was interested in doing something like this out of some parsifal bells i own, then i heard tucson and looked up the fb link provided, and looks like you know khalila from santa rita. i volunteer for percussion at desert view with her! go figure
Your dog is cute and I have a black lab too (a puppy, and he is also half golden retriever too)
Vey nice ,I'm thinking about making one but where the bells will be about ten times smaller with microphone or electromagnetic amplification,do you think dividing the bells size by ten will do the thing for the correct pitch or is it going to be more comlicated .
Love it !
Where did you find all of those celesta recordings to use as background music for the video?
The Rhodes Piano is an Electrified Celesta
very good
recomendo
So now with the Keyboard, you can hit the right notes.
BRILLIANT!
Beautiful finished instrument....I say with all the time/materials/man hours of labor you put into this machine....it would cost....oh about $13,000 (lol)....but of course...your actual cost is minute....good job....enjoyed watching this video....
Thanks Zippie. Glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, you do understand the labor of love involved, haha. I had someone offer me $800 to build one but that doesn't touch the cost of labor (love).
can you make an instruction guide on how to do this?
Cute dog! :)
great job :D
Thanks!
super cool!! love it!
so....
how much would you charge to build anothuh please? (Tiny Tim voicing)???
bravissimo!
Danny Federici would be proud!
Hello Tod, you did a great job but where have you found the picture at 3:04 because I have the same instrument without any manufacturer' name...1887 writen only...thanks.
+Don Dorgan Hi Don, It was a generic pic that I found though a google search to use as an example. How wonderful that you have the same instrument. I did relocate the pic that was originally on an auction site with only the info that it was made circa 1880. This one has a label above the keyboard but is impossible to read. The auction site no longer has info since it was sold. However, here is a link to the pic if it's of any help for you in doing your research.
www.liveauctioneers.com/item/17378006_keyboard-chimes-celesta-c-1880
+Todd Martin . Thank you Todd .Your answer is a good help for me because I did not find any information in France or through Google. Now I'll search by the German auctionner...
Don.
You are a magician!! hahaha
Thanks Michael and Zooman :-)
Yamaha produces also celesta? Sincerely, I'm not suprised.
i need one!
Nice little thing. :)
How did you tune the resonator tubes ? By blowing across the ends, like with a bottle ?
Yes, I started by blowing across the tubes to get close to the pitches but then fine tuned each one by adjusting the pipe fittings. The resonators are most effective on the lower tones.
@@pianotodd Thanks for your reply.
Of course the tuning itself is done by altering the length. But I wondered how you would get the best response of their resonating tone. Blowing was one idea, because I was not so sure if the tubes could be tuned by their response to the chimes, when they are built in. But possibly I'm wrong because that's what the resonators should do and what matters in the end.
A Keyed Glockenspiel
17:25 "The Most Famous Celesta Piece" [The Nutcracker]. Actually, today I'd argue that the opening of John Williams's Harry Potter theme (i.e. Hedwig's Theme) is equally as famous today (if not somewhat more famous) when compared to the Nutcracker, if only because of it being so contemporary. Though, thanks for sharing the construction, it looks great. Though, the octave range of yours might make it a bit of a challenge to play Hedwig's theme.
I'd like to see somebody make either a small piano, or something like this, out of an old type writer.
hello! please, what is the tuning of this incredible instrument?
It's tuned to A440 and the range is G4 to F6 similar to a glock. or orchestra bells.
By bells I meant forks
Would you mind telling me what metal it is?
I'm not sure exactly. I used the tone bars from a glockenspiel but cannot find any info on what type of metal they're made from.
muy interesante
Any chance you would build another to sell?
+Charlie Shapiro I'm honored that you asked but Oh my gosh, it was a ton of work and not even sure if it would come out anywhere near the same. Thank you for asking though.
no problem! great stuff and good work. if you change your mind let me know. Thanks
Why do the bass notes make such a pronounced "clunking" sound?
I can't really answer your question Laura. I'm not a professional instrument maker by any means. I simply did this as a fun project just to see if it could be accomplished. All of the notes have tone bars that are struck by hard plastic elbow hammers. It could be that the lower notes allow the "clunk" to be heard more than the higher tones. It could be that the mic I used for recording picked those up more than the higher notes. Thanks for your question but I'm just not sure. :-)
Olha eu não tenho aqui primeiro aí dá um joinha atendeu porque tem um joinha e vocês se não todo duplo jóia para baixo
Damn. This video is straight outa 2006
bruh hahaha
Well you've busted up 30K pianos to make a 13 K celeste
Dog Wott LOL. Not quite. Maybe 30K worth of work but the total cost for materials was under $300.
Todd Martin Ahh ... but that is because you are in the industry!
For us to access all those piano parts, wewould need to take apart a piano, if nothing else
Dog Wott Congrats on all your industry, nevertheless
Dog Wott I bought a toy piano for $119 and used the mechanical parts inside. I bought a used glockenspiel for the tone bars for $50. The felt piano key spacers were purchased online for $12. No actual pianos were harmed in the making of this instrument. You could do it too :-)