subject: Windchimes - How To Make A Windchime [print this page] Windchimes - How To Make A Windchime Windchimes - How To Make A Windchime
There is nothing quite like the relaxing qualities that a garden wind chime provides. The gentle, therapeutic sound gently harnessing the wind to create a calming, varied and constant ambience. Windchimes are essentially clusters of objects made from similar materials, either seashells, pottery bamboo or glass. They are suspended from a central frame and chime with wind movement.
The noise that emanates from the chime is dictated to by the strength of the wind which makes the clapper hit the central bell.
Windchimes have been around almost since time immemorial but the earliest known references to them date back to 3000 B. C. And have been found at archeological digs in South and South East Asia. By about 4000 years ago the Egyptians were frequently using bells and wind chimes. It is widely agreed in historians' circles that the original purpose of the wind chime was to drive away evil spirits whilst concurrently attracting good ones. As such they were very popular in early buddhist culture in parts of the world such as Indonesia, Nepal and China.
The original material used for windchimes was bamboo, which was abundant in these parts. The elegant appearance and pleasurable tones of chimes eventually made them popular in the Western world aswell. These lovely objects also have a practical application in determining the direction of the wind. Accordingly, if a chime is positioned on the southern side of a house or solid structure only a south wind will move it. This would alert dwellers to a shift in weather patterns.
The traditional, percussion wind chime looks pretty basic but much precision is required in the design. In order to make one a wood tops are shaped, sanded and oiled in order to water-proof it from the outdoor elements.
The wood tops can be made from a wide variety of durable woods and this doesn't affect the sound that the chime makes. Then, wholes need to be made in the tops in order to hang the strings which are attached to the chimes. The chimes are then cut. These chimes can be made of any of the aforementioned materials. Many of the modern wind chimes use aluminium to make the sound but modern novelty examples are made with copper or bronze. Furthermore, non-metallic chimes made of bamboo, glass or shells are often used, each creating a different distinctive sound.
Windchimes also vary hugely in size and can be made small enough to use as earrings or, in some cases the chimes can be made up to nearly 2 metres in length for a deep resonance. Whatever form the product takes, the sound that it creates is obviously of paramount importance. Design of these objects of desire has been turned into a finely tuned science in recent years with some companies now creating products that are tuned precisely using computer technology.
So, as discussed, there is a vast array of different sizes and shapes but the standard, full sized wind chime uses between four and eight cylinders, each with a length of around 8 feet. Obviously the tubes need to be precisely cut in order to garner the right sound and tuning. They are typically hung so that the centre ball strikes at exactly the centre point of the cylinders.
One can easily imagine that, due to the aesthetic and sonic qualities of the wind chime as well as its spiritual and historic importance to many cultures, the future of the instrument is assured.
