Invention of the hydraulophone, a water-based musical instrument
Hydraulophones are musical instruments that use water to produce acoustic sound, in which the fingers of the musician are in physical contact with the water.
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Hydraulophones are musical instruments that use water to produce acoustic sound, in which the fingers of the musician are in physical contact with the water.
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wow
that would be cool to have in our little town but im sure its too expensive! also serves at a foot warsher as the one guy demonstrated!
does anyone know how much would cost to build such public one? would be great to have in my town
The first hydraulophone was found in archaeological diggings in the ancient Greek city of Dion and was reconstructed.
absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!!!!
If the water’s not heated, it’s a little cold to play in winter: see Ls1eu7Ry8sE
We also sometimes heat the water, e.g. we played in minus 20 degres C weather in February 2007, and the mayor was there and also played: see wearcam
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i would love to play one in the winter at minus 5 Degres Celcius
From a player’s perspective, how it works is very simple: you just put your fingers into the mouths of the instrument. The water comes out the mouths easier than going to the sounder. Blocking the jet in the middle produces the clearest brightest sound, and blocking the hole on the edge makes a more dull sound.
As for hydraulophone sound-production mechanisms, there’s lots of articles; maybe start with Wikipedia and then branch out into some of the more detailed peer-reviewed publications.
wow!! haven’t even heard of this sort of instrument before, cool! didn’;t know water can produce sound like that, how does it work?
participate in a fun photo contest and win prizes!!
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This is perfect for people who can’t be bothered to clean their instruments.
dumb to ask how many keys. I know. Learned now
The hydraulophone shown here has a slightly more than 3+1/2 octave range easily accessed by any player. It has 45 finger holes. A skilled hydraulist can sometimes extend out to a 4+1/2 or 5+1/2 octave range.
any in northern cali? this is pretty cool. how many octaves can you get with this? how many keys?
If you happen to know the right people to talk to about getting one (parks staff decision makers, etc.), let us know, and we’ll send them some background information, etc.. A good place to put one would be Washington Square Park in New York, where people frolic in the fountain. Got kicked out of Bryant Park by security for playing in that fountain, but Washington Square fountain is really for fun and frolic.
Bravo! Sure would love one here in New York.
The standard 12-jet hydraulophones are available from FUNtain (dot) ca
The larger installations are usually custom-made on a consultation basis.
are they avalable for commercial use or is it just in muesems and stuff like that
It depends on the size of the opening, curvature, and various other effects; it can be neutral when not played, or it can draw vacuum when not played, or it can always be sounding even when not played. Typical design preference is to have sound always produced, although slightly, even when jet not obstructed.
So what’s the science then? Sounds similar to a reed organ, so is there a venturi effect going on somewhere?
i bet the mario underwater theme would sound cool on those
one of if not the coolest things ive ever seen
wow!!!!
Various locations; the biggest one is at 770 Don Mills Road, out in front of the Ontario Science Centre (it’s the main architectural landmark out in front), and it runs 24 hours a day, and yes, anyone can go and play on it (I think it’s also the only aquatic play facility in the Toronto area that’s open 24 hours a day).
Where is this instrument located? Can anyone go play it?