The Many Uses of Wind Chimes
April 30, 2009 by IM Buzzter
Filed under Trends
For many centuries, the wind chime has been used by a lot of civilizations around the world. Wind chime is believed to have originated from China. Wind chime is typically made up of tubes and cylinders that are suspended together. The wind chime is then hung outdoors and when the wind passes through it, it produces soothing and melodic sounds. Wind chimes were once used during religious ceremonies as wind chimes were often hung in shrines and temples to attract good spirits and please the gods. Wind chimes also served as instruments in determining changes in the direction of the wind, therefore predicting weather changes.
These days, wind chimes are not just used for religious, superstitious or weather purposes. Wind chimes are used these days primarily as a home decoration and a tool to bring about serenity or calmness.
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There are various forms and types of wind chimes that are available in the market. These wind chimes are also available in a wide range of prices according to the quality of the wind chimes. Getting excellent quality wind chimes can cost buyers anywhere from a hundred bucks. Those interested in getting the best wind chime for their homes should do some research on how to find the most appropriate wind chime for their house.
Typically, a wind chime is composed of four major parts. The platform is the first of these parts. Platform can be made either of metal or wood. Another part is the chimes or tubes that are suspended by a cord or string usually arranged circularly. The clapper or striker is made of wood, metal or rubber ball suspended in the center part of the arrangement. When the wind blows by, the clapper strikes the tubes, producing a melodic sound in the process. The last part of the wind chime is the clapper which is connected with a string of metal piece or wood plate referred to as the weight.
Various types of wind chimes produce various tones and sounds. Solid cylinder chimes produce different sounds as compared to chimes out of hollow tubes. Likewise, hollow tubes come with various wall thickness and length produce a wide range of tunes. Chimes likewise can be manufacture of various materials like metal, wood, bamboo, glass, crystals, PVC pipes, horseshoes, and even old silverware. Every material produces distinctive and unique sounds ranging from the dull, monotonous to pleasing tinkling sounds.
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How-To Make Wind Chimes
April 30, 2009 by IM Buzzter
Filed under Trends
Making wind chimes is not that hard, surprisingly. The most difficult portion of wind chime manufacturing is deciding which notes you want your wind chimes to play. Commercially built wind chimes use a pentatonic scale which is a musical scale with five pitches per octave although there is a large variety available. All you need to do is locate a piano or electronic keyboard play some notes randomly to get an idea of the sounds and what you like.
Homemade Wind Chimes
Here's what you'll need to make you own homemade wind chimes. First, some sort of metal piping made of either aluminum, brass or copper. You will immediately realize that pipes of different types make different sounds and ring longer or shorter. You local hardware store will have a wide variety of pipes for you to choose from.
Make Your Own Wind Chimes
Get a pipe cutter or hacksaw, and get pipes that have a uniform cross-section which essentially means they are the same thickness everywhere. Commercial grade electrical conduit and chrome plated pipes for sink drains work quite nicely. Metal pipes for vacuum cleaners aren't too bad either. It just depends on your budget what type of pipes you want to get.
Use your hacksaw or pipe cutter to cut a length of pipe and compare it to the note you hear on the piano. Trim the pipe until it matches closely the piano note. Pipes can measure anywhere from a few inches to a few feet depending on the sound you are trying to produce. Figure out your other notes in a similar fashion and make sure that they are proportional.
For example, if your first pipe has a length of 30cm or approximately 1 foot and you want to cut you next pipe so that it's a major third above the first pipe. The ratio for a major third would 5/4 = 1.25 or the new pipe would be about 26.8 cm or take off a about a couple of inches.
After getting the notes to where you like, you need to support the pipes 22.4% from the end. What this means is that you drill a small hole and use string and for the two pipes above that would mean that you be drilling the wholes approximately 6.7 cm and 6.0 cm from the ends or or around 2.75 inches and a little over 2 inches respectively.
Lastly, you'll need to add clappers to strike the pipes in the middle when the wind blows them. Clappers come in an assortment of types, but just remember that the softer the clapper, the mellower the sound will be.
Wind chimes can be made out of a number of different substances besides piping including wood like maple and oak and glass to name a few.
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Wind Chimes
April 30, 2009 by IM Buzzter
Filed under Trends
Just wind chimes for summer. Hanging in the yard, on the deck - their melodic, soothing sounds are wonderful.
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A History of Wind Chimes
June 28, 2008 by IM Buzzter
Filed under Environment
by Judith Allison
Wind chimes have become more popular in recent years, not just in countries in Asia but also in the Western World such as in the United States. This can be attributed to the popularity of Feng Shui. Wind chimes produce melodic music which relaxes our mind. But music is not just the reason why a lot of people hung wind chimes.
Many historians agree that civilizations from the past made use of wind chime for a lot of reasons. The most important purpose of wind chimes is to drive away bad spirits. Asian countries believed that the sound chimes produce can ward off bad spirits from homes, and in turn invite good spirits to come in. The wind chimes are also believed to bring good luck and health. Believers of Feng Shui say that using a wind chime can create a balance in the energies produced by different forces. This attracts good energy while warding off bad energy.
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