Kōrere Pūtētere - Chimes

When I designed the sound garden I wanted it to encompass a range of different sound qualities, with metal as well as wooden instruments. A set of chimes was my next project. These would be deeper in pitch than the ding boxes, and hopefully give a good ringing sound. The first step was to scout around the local metal recyclers and find brass pipes.

Brass pipe for chimes

Unlike the soft aluminium pipe used for the ding boxes which could be cut with a drop saw, the brass pipes had to be tuned using some kind of metal cutter. Thankfully Murray's metal workshop was up to the job, and his machine made short work of them.

Murray's metal cutter

Bart Hopkin's Musical Instrument Design book offers a method of enhancing the sound of your chimes by inserting stoppers to tune the internal air chambers, but this requires the ends be cut on an angle to make the air vibrate inside the pipe. Wanting the best sound from my chimes, I cut the ends on a 45 degree angle, but have yet to tune the air chambers accurately - it's tricky!

The finished chimes mounted in a frame

After building a wooden frame to hold the pipes, I mounted them using shock cord, hooks and loops in a method that took a little time to get right. Here they are in action at the workshop. I've since decided to make another, higher set as I think the highest notes on this pentatonic set sound best:

Te tangi a ngā pūtētere - chimes in action