Thursday, October 03, 2019

Making music from vegetables!

It comes naturally to me to try and get a sound out of any resonant or sonorous material.  I remember setting up all the wine glasses as a child and making them sing, I made Smartie-tube panpipes, I know how to make a mug sound like a wood pigeon, get a nice clang out of a biscuit tin to sound like a Darabuka. 

A few weeks ago, I was cutting off some long stems from my courgette plant so the light could reach the courgettes that were growing.  As I snipped at these thick, hollow, green stems, it made a satisfying snipping sound.  I started chopping the long stems into small pieces. As I did so, I noticed, that as the stem got shorter, the snip sound became higher and higher in pitch. As I was making regular sized snips, I noticed I was achieving a scale.  I cut off a few more stems and recorded the sound- yes, I was making music from a Courgette Stem.  At this point, I suddenly looked at these hollow tubes and remembered my Smartie tube Panpipes.  If I stopped the end of the tube with my finger, could I make the Courgette stem toot like a flute?

And the result was YES!

Admittedly, they didn't last very long- the pressing of the thumb in the end and the vibrations meant that they didn't last for long before splitting but I have proved- yes you can make music out of a hollow Courgette leaf stem!

Proves that everything has a use. There is a time for everything under heaven and earth, even vegetables flutes.  

And it's not just me that think so....
Here are some other Vegetasicians who are more skilled than I!













What do you think?

10 comments:

  1. I love that you were able to make music with a fruit! Happy teacher day!

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  2. I loved hearing you! What a charming accent you have (hee hee). Brava on your madd courgette (we call 'em zucchinis here) flute skillz, Kezzie! I like the thumbs up at the end. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. It's not vegetably but I saw a video of someone playing Pachenbel's Canon in D on a rubber chicken the other day which I found myself watching in much delight! Look it up for fun xx

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  4. Hahahaha brilliant - I remember doing milk bottles with different amounts of water and taking ages to get them in tune properly and going around finding anything that could be tinkled, hit or tapped ... great simple fun ... but veggies, this is a first

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  5. What fun! Loved the vid! xxx

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  6. This is brilliant. Thanks for the cool entertainment. I used to make a guitar with elastic bands for the kids to play with. Also I would fold a thin piece of paper over a comb and make musical sounds with my lips. The kids loved that. Everybody can make some kind of music.
    Hugs, Julia

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  7. Loved the video and I loved hearing your voice, agreeing with Sheila that you have a lovely accent. Plus, are a very talented vegetasician! xxx

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  8. Great fun! I have a whistle I made from an elder branch years ago on my Forest School Leader training, but I've never even considered that you could make whistles out of veg!

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  9. What fun, Kezzie! I loved the mini-video of you playing the courgette!

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  10. That's one way to up-cycle LOL. I loved seeing this on Instagram--the sound is quite good for a vegetable, in my opinion. I didn't realize that making music from veggies was a whole sub-culture haha. That's amazing to see the vegetable orchestra! The best part is being able to eat the instruments after, right?

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