Creating A Bed Monochord
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Warmest Greetings!
Here is a small video of the large bed monochord (aka. Pythagorean Monochord) I have recently made. This build took over three months at a cost of around $700. This is the third monochord Ive built and it is by far the largest.
It is tuned to low E at the moment but can be tuned up or down a note as well. It has sixty-four strings made from quality spring steel piano wire. The pegs are home made from brass rod stock and the tuning pins are zither pins bought from Ebay.
This instrument was a pleasure to build and amazing to play. I have had a few people on it so far and all of the response to it has been great. It is truly something that you have to be present to appreciate fully.
Thank you for watching this video and feel free to like it if you like it!
For more information feel free to email me at CrystalReliquary@live.ca
~Danial
Hi, I am really impressed that you achieved this fabulous sound using what materials were around you at the time. I know enough about audio to say there are no limits to how good a monochord should sound, or how it should be constructed. I listened to someone on RUclips playing four 12 string monochords side by side, and the phasing between the monochords added a fantastic dimension to the sound. I reckon it’s best to forget about working to plans, and just to improvise the construction on the fly. Thank you for being you.
That deep resonance is just breath taking.
there's gonna be a monster under that bed plucking those strings while your sleeping
It's so ethereal sounding.
Oh, how wonderful that must feel to play - all that resonance with chaotic phase modulation, like a thousand monks deep singing in a cathedral-sized volcanic cave.
It was certainly a joy to play! Everyone who laid on it while it was playing expressed how profound the experience was. One day I hope to build another one!
Are you taking orders? :D
That sound is mesmerizing.
WOW VERY BIG ONE, GREAT
amazing sound you have on that!! , im gonna do a circular monochord now!
A circular monochord has been in my bucket list for a while now. Good luck on the build!
Awesome work Danial!!!
how wonderful!
Wow such a cool, beautiful instrument. Amazing sounds, thanks for sharing 9:32 ✨🙏💫
This is why I come to RUclips.
I really would like to build one of these myself, I would love a step by step tutorial on the build, specifically the tuning portion of it as I do not know where to begin!
Fundamentally its just a box. The larger monochords are more challenging, but not really that different than the small ones.
I am unaware of any step by step walkthroughs of making one. I no longer have a shop, so it's not possible for me to do a build instructions video, but I do have two monochord still, and could do a video on how to tune them in the future. One needs new strings anyways.
I advise starting with a small instrument and using guitar strings for it. That will be the least money and will be the easiest to troubleshoot if things go wrong. :)
Thank you for sharing!!!! Many blessings!!
Lovely
VERY NICE WORK THANKS FOR SHARING
You mentioned that the resonance board side is much thinner than the side that supports the weight of the person. Please can you give details on board thicknesses. Thanks for your inspiring build, so that monochord healing can be done on a budget.
This was done so long ago now I am not sure of the exact measurements. If memory serves the resonator panel was 1/4"-3/16" thick, and the panel that was laid on was roughly 5/8" and then reinforced with scalloping to help support the weight. I never had anyone over 210lbs on it so I cannot attest to its maximum capacity.
Hi filip f!
The diameter of the string is 1.02mm or 0.0405 inches. When I ordered the wire from a specialty piano wire company they listed the wire in diameter sizes and not gauges, so I cannot tell you what gauge the wire is. Hope this helps! :)
+Danial McCoy Hi Danial, bless you for sharing such magnificence this monochord is penetrating I love the music of the spheres.... please tell me I want one, can you make one for me? Please send me a private message with your phone number or email. Thank you dear one Namaste
Have you thought of mounting a speaker below the strings that emit a sine wave to keep the strings in perpetual motion? We did experiments like that in the studio in the mid 70s. Fun stuff!
I have considered it, but have had trouble getting the strings perfectly tuned with the Zither pins that are in it. Any sound that I play back into it only resonates with1/2 the strings! lol. I would like to use machine head tuners in my next instrument for more precise tuning.
When you did the experiments how did the amplitude of the wave affect the sound output of the strings? Was the effect something like strumming the strings loudly, or a soft resonance?
Danial McCoy Back then we'd send a guitar track into a small amp under a grand piano at a medium volume, 96DB or so then we recorded the piano strings,with a stereo piezo mic. We used a large stone to keep the damper pedal depressed. :-) The result was a sitar-like sound (chromatic of course). Very spacey. As you have a monochord you might want to try a small, low freq speaker, like they build into cars, playing a sine wave an octave below your strings pitch. That way the fundamental from the speaker won't be so audible but the strings should vibrate sympathetically and produce a pretty good signal. Just an idea!
Mickey Hart would be proud
I can't help but hum different harmonies to the note. Imagine two contact mics at both ends of the bed, recording in stereo. Then playing it back through headphones.
I have thought of that as well. I am slowly getting better audio equipment now and would absolutely love to do a stereo recording of the next monochord I build :D
Pretty profound!! What enlightenment if one would be able to lie on such a table as it played as such!!!🙏👁
I had several people lay on it when it was being played. They all said it was an amazing feeling. :D
@@MiscellaneousMcC wow, I would luv to feel the frequency & vibration reverberate through the body! What a experience that must be! Wondering have you heard of Sensory deprevation tank's, if so what do you think about those?
@@MiscellaneousMcC wow, I would luv to feel the frequency & vibration reverberate through the body! What a experience that must be! Wondering have you heard of Sensory deprevation tank's, if so what do you think about those?
@@aphysique I have. Although I have not had the opportunity to test one out myself. It would be an amazing space for meditating. A Vipassana meditation in particular would be amazing in one.
stunning sound, love it. you should record a cd to sell.
Thank you for the kind words! A professional recording has been on my to-do list for some time! :D
Hello..it is very nice. but what kind of string u used? and, where can i get that strings? Thansk and congratz for the video
Nice work Brother
It’s amazing
Im a woodworker and a creative
I’m also a music and sound therapist.
I have a nonprofit I run in Texas
I’m looking to make one, not as large as yours though.
Need your help.
Questions
What type of wire did you use?
What was the gauge?
What type of wood did you use for the sound board and what was its thickness.
How many layers of oak did you use for the tuning block?
I’m looking to buy used piano tuning pins.
Blessings to you.
🙏🙏🙏
Hello!
Thi wire is piano wire. The diameter of the string is 1.02mm or 0.0405 inches. The company I bought it from didn't use gauges on their site, but used the strings diameter measurements.
I used 3/8" cedar for the resonator on the bottom and 3/4" cedar plus scalloping for the top surface. My big mistake was using wood that had knots in it. The wood shouldn't have any knots at all.
The pinblock is made of two layers of finished 1" thick oak.
Good luck on your build!
@@MiscellaneousMcC hey there, I'm just plain curious, why was it a mistake to use wood with knots? What difference or problem does that make?
@@nemogfr7029
The knots creat weak points in the wood. Changes and temperature and humidity don’t affect the knots at the same rate as the rest of the wood, and so they are prone to severe cracking.
This instrument ended up with a catastrophic crack in both the resonator panel and the top panel. I’d love to build another one with proper wood 😊
Grande trabalho. Muito bom. Thanks for sharing🙏🙏🙏
It is my pleasure!
amazing;
Could you let me know please, where can I buy and how much? Thanks 🙏
Hi, thanks for the video and well done on a successful project. My brother is going to make me a monochord bed and we are wondering how you worked out what string gauge to use?
Greetings Alistair!
I had a very hard time figuring out what gauge to use. I ended up going to the hardware store and buying different gauges and types of wire and building a small single stringed instrument to test out what gauges produced what notes at varying tensions. When I found one that I liked and wasn't too tight I ordered that gauge of string from a piano string wholesaler.
A tip is that heavier gauge strings sustain longer but are lower are similar tension to lighter strings. Because of the length of the bed monochord even light strings will produce rather low notes unless they are quite tight.
I hope this helps!!
Peace!
the bottom resonating panel is a veneer one piece?
The resonator panel if made of the same cedar as the top, only it is about 1/4" thick.
@@MiscellaneousMcC are all the blanks put together with joints like these : prnt.sc/wfugjv
@@MiscellaneousMcC how thick is the top panel?
@@MiscellaneousMcC also what are the dimensions of this table? thanks :)
Is that the actual sound/tone of the bed or are you playing an additional binaural tone underneath? It sounds incredible.
This was the actual tone from the instrument. It was a challenge to get the tone I was looking for with the strings I had available. But in the end it was a success. I hope to make another of these in the future.
nice work. do you have any build plans you could share? I'd like to make one too.
The Mortal Nuts Band Unfortunately there are no build plans. I made this whole thing more or less from my head with only the most basic of sketches roughed out.
hello! i like the way you make it! i am doing them also. How many kg could it take? and what is the teil you use to avoid the balace to the wrong way? thank you! great job!
Could you provide some info on the strings? Are they all the same length and gage? I want to make one of these instruments.
They are all the same length and gauge. They 0.0405” diameter strings on this particular instrument! Good luck with your build! 😁
Hello! Such an amazing instrument - could you tell me how thick the thin resonator panel is?
I am glad you enjoyed the video!
The resonator panel on this instrument is 3/8" thick.
Мощный звук! 😍🔥🙏
Hello, nice work that you made. It inspired me to build my own soundbed.
I was just wondering if the bridge should be better placed on the surface of the resonance body? I can imagine it would transport much better the sound. What do you think?
Greetings from Mexico
Hello!
I have tried putting the bridges on the resonator and have found the pressure of the strings will cave in the panel and bend the bridge severely. You may be able to put it there with a series of sound posts to support it, but there is a tremendous amount of pressure from the strings on the bridge.
Cheers! 😊
Aaaah, cool. Thanks for the info, that prevent me from eventual damage. I like the idea with the sound posts....I think I just have to try out different things.
Thank you for sharing your work process and honesty with making mistakes , that's how we all learn today from RUclips, right? 😄
@@juclima
Absolutely! I love it, so much to learn every day! 🤣
Hey Danial. I'm planning to make one for my meditations. Could you please help me with the dimensions & the design? Thank you
That will be an exciting build! I will help in any way I can. 😊
@@MiscellaneousMcC could u share the dimensions or schematics if u have of your bed monochord.
@@hrishibhat2018
Sure. I can help with that. Send me an email to Danial.mccoy@outlook.com and we can go over the sizing and materials 😁
Bro , what did you use for the strings ? Great job !!! And thank you for sharing it
Hey! I used piano wire. You can buy it in a spool of several hundred feet. 😁
The deep resonance is amazing. Are you layering over other sounds digitally into this video or is this all purely coming from the bed?
The sound is just the bed being recorded into a usb mic, no layering or digital stuff. 😁
@@MiscellaneousMcC Wow this is truly incredible! It’s such a calming sound and would be an absolute joy to relax and play everyday. Okay, I’ve got to make one of these!!!
@@jacobjmorris
Please do make one! Share it when you do! They are amazing to hear and more so to play!
@@MiscellaneousMcC I’m already on it! I need this my life.
Trying to find access to blueprints for any particularities with the resonant chamber.
Can you help me out?
What is it that you are wondering Malachi? Anything in particular?
Hi Dan, thanks for replying.
I'm actually commissioning a friend who is a wonderful craftsmen to make one of these but he hasn't made one before, what he wanted to know is if there are any blueprints for the structure, particularly when it comes to the resonant chamber.
I would dearly love to have one of these. Is there anyone in Australia that you know of that makes them? Alternatively, do you have any plans that you would sell to me? Also, what have you tuned the bed to? Thx in advance!
Hello! This bed was tuned to low E for this video.
I am unaware of anyone in Australia specifically who makes monochords. They can be found online easy enough, but international shipping can be very expensive for large fragile items like a full sized bed monochord! You best bet would be to contact a local Luthier or woodworker and ask them if they could make one.
If only you could make some way of it playing while you lay on top, how relaxing would that be just tune to the frequency of the earth... bliss well done.
I have thought that many times!! I have never actually been on it myself while it is playing. I have played it for many people but never for myself.
I have a design for an auto playing system, but it would take away from the organic nature of a person playing the strings. :)
nice man, im in the process of making one, the only thing i can t find out is the tuning, gonna use piano strings and do c# alternating thinner -thicker strings, hows yours tuned
This one was all with one size of string and tuned to a single note (Low E). If you are going to be tuning to one note I suggest using a single string size. If you are planning on tuning it to two different notes I would place all of the strings from one note to one side of the side you will be playing, and the other strings beside them. That way you can play either notes separately or together if you like.
When you finish it please upload a video of it. It would be great to see and hear it! :)
yeah i will do, i made a sound chair where i had alternating thick thin strings both tuned to c# where the thicker sdtring was an octave down which gave a nice harmonic but i do like th sound of yours its got a nice deep sound to it, thanks for the reply by the way its hard to get advice on these things and some is trial and error
Yes I know what you mean. It is almost impossible to find information on building one. So lots and lots of trial and error. I am going to try the alternating string setup on one of my future monochords, it sounds interesting!
I have several designs I am hoping to try out this summer. Really off the wall designs, that I am looking forward to sharing on here. Good luck with your build! Oh, and where do you get your strings? I use pianosupplies.com for my wire.
I used steel guitar strings for my chair whuch worked quite well as I think piano strings would need too much tension for my chair design..thanks fir the website..im in the uk so siging off now to get some shut eye..speak again some time yeah
@@captive_worlds John, it would be great to find out more about your instruments. Do you have a website?
Hi I have unusual question: is name monochord right, Pitagoras has one string only
How its tune ?
The effect on my body is just unbelievable - Thanks
+Pawel Kulikowski The name Pythagorean Monochord has been used to describe this style of instrument for the past few decades, although strictly speaking a true Pythagorean monochord has only one string.
This instrument is tuned to low E. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
+Danial McCoy thanks, could explain how did you tune this instrument, is it Pythagorean tuning C4= 256hz.
Hey Daniel! Nice work. Where are you located? I would love to try it.
Greetings Rabab! I am in Huntsville, Ontario in Canada. This particular instrument is gone now but I am always building new ones. They are gaining popularity all the time, so there may be someone with one near you. :)
Hi!
Your work is awesome!
What is diameter of strings do you use for this?
Hello! I am glad you like it!
The diameter of the string is 1.02mm or 0.0405 inches.
@@MiscellaneousMcC Thank you! :)
amazingly done! i have a question though....
how to you get a hold of the strings
i really wanna build my own Monochord :D !
Thank you so much for this amazing video :D !
+sylle999 ohh Ebay...
Excellent work! How did you go about tuning the strings?
+rhymeshot Thank you!
I used an online bass guitar tuner and a piano wrench to tune the strings. I started at one side and worked my way across, then went over them again to fine tune them. It usually required tuning once a month or so, largely depending on humidity.
Very cool. You've inspired me to want to create one too. Maybe a small test one first. Can I ask you what tuning chart you based the design off of?
That's great! It is a lot of fun, and quite easy to do actually :)
I didn't use a tuning chart for this actually. Since all the strings are tuned to the same note all I had to do was pick a note in the range of the string and tune the rest of them to it. I would like to do an actual chord of three two or three different notes next time, just to see how it sounds :D
Good luck with yours!
from where you get the long string?
I ordered them online from a piano strings retailer. You can buy it in long spools.
i dont really get how you sleep on it?? does it sound when your laying on it?? how can you sleep then
Heii Hi You can sleep if you like. Some people do fall asleep while others just lay with their eyes closed. The instrument is playing when someone is on it and the constant droning coming from it helps some people to sleep, kind of like white noise.
Power
spooky sound
if you want deeper and more powerful resonance then Spruce Wood is the only way to go. Clear grain Spruce is the best resonating wood known. Stradivari Viol instruments are made using european spruce wood. The best musical instruments use spruce. The greatest pianos in the world have a spruce wood sound board. Guitar makers use spruce for the acoustic guitar tops and for the strut ribbing on the inside because it enhances resonance and makes guitars sound way better.
Although the resonance in your monochord has deep resonating qualities, it is also somewhat muted because of the gluing of different pieces of wood together. Even trees of the same species has different grain patterns and grain densities. This disrupts the resonance that naturally exists in all types of wood regardless of species.
Musical instrument makers prefers woods that have clear, tight and very straight grains because sound travels and resonates far better than knotted wood, or pieces of wood glued together.
And finally, if you really want to improve your overall tone quality as well as the resonance, then invest in some decent quality hide glue. Hide glue is the preferred method for gluing and joining wooden music instrument pieces and parts together, especially violins and high quality acoustic guitars. Many asian countries where the monochord originated from still prefer using hide glue instead of commercially produced adhesives.
Hide glue remains permanently strong, durable, yet maintains enough flexibility to not fail. Also, hide glue can be revived again and again. It is easily manipulated and removable should an instrument be damaged from abuse, accidents or age. The glue is wet and heated for ease of removal and restoration/repair. Most of the oldest violins in the world are still usable today, even after more than 400 years of use. Most of the surviving violins in the world are still in almost pristine condition with little to no sign of falling apart. A testament to the durability of a good grade hide glue.
Your instrument is Ok, but could stand for improvement.
Thanks for the reply. I am aware of everything you have said, but alas, when this was made I was but a poor man using the materials I had at hand.
Despite its muted nature, many people enjoyed laying on it while it was being played, and more still enjoyed listening to it.
Cheers!
Hello, I would like to buy one! Where can I contact you?
Sadly I no longer have my shop and cannot make them to sell.
I love you!!!
I love you too!!
~Peace~
can we place a order from you?
Sadly I no longer have a wood shop to make these monochord a in. Hopefully in the future I will be able to make them again! ❤️
@@MiscellaneousMcC hi, i have some technical question related to my calibration & tuning work which I not happy about, can I email you to seek for your advice?
@@thevioletflamekl6832
Yes feel free to send me an email 😊
@@MiscellaneousMcC can I have your email?
@@thevioletflamekl6832
It’s Danial.mccoy@outlook.com
sir i am a healer .can you make me one i love the sound
Sadly I do not have a wood working shop anymore. There are several online retailers for these instruments and most will create custom instruments or will custom tune it for you if you like the low sounds. You can always refer them to this video as a reference for them.
Ahommmm
i am "playing"....
Hello Danial! sent a email to you for more information, please let me know if you get to read it :)
Matias from argentina
Greetings Matias! I have sent you a message. Thank you for the email and I am glad that you enjoyed the video!
Awesome! Thank youuuuuuuu
by definition this is not a monochord... as your title states "creating a bed monochord" Monochord an instrument of ancient origin for measuring and demonstrating the mathematical relations of musical tones and that consists of a SINGLE string stretched over a sound box and a movable bridge set on a graduated scale. calling it a monochord would be like calling a guitar a monochord.
While you are technically correct in that this is not a replica of an ancient monochord that pythagoras created, this is what is commonly referred to as a monochord in recent times. This is likely due to a simple misunderstanding of those who have built or bought these instruments, where they interpreted "chord" as a single note or set of notes instead of the derivative of chorde from the Greek meaning string. Hence the misunderstanding of "one note" where it should be "one string"
At any rate, these instruments were called a monochords long before I built this one, and so to have it seen by anyone interested in them it much by necessity be named with its common name.
I hope you have a good day!