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The name of my instrument is the
String-Spring Guitar. I got the idea for this
instrument from the guitar, which was my first
plan. I began with a piece of plywood from the
basement. My Dad suggested that I cut the piece
into the shape of a parallelogram and use both
springs and strings. This instrument belongs to the
string family. The springs make a sound a little
like a pipe organ and the strings sound like a
guitar. The strings and springs can be played
together or separately.
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The materials I used were one piece of
plywood, three guitar strings, five springs, nails,
and eye screws. My Dad bought the springs at Home
Depot and the guitar strings at the music store on
the corner of Lake and Ridgeland. The rest of the
materials were found at home.
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The first step in making the guitar was to
cut the plywood to the parallelogram shape. Then we
painted the board white. My Dad did most of the
sawing but I also did some of the cutting myself.
Then I nailed ten nails, five into each end and
stretched the springs between them. Then I took
three eye screws and three regular screws and
attached them to the board at either end. Next I
attached the guitar strings between them and
tightened them. My Dad helped me tighten the
strings. After the strings were on the board I
painted some decoration around the edge of the
instrument.
The String-Spring Guitar was not too hard to
make. The biggest problem was figuring out what to
make and experimenting with how it would sound
before beginning.
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The String-Spring Guitar can be strummed or
plucked but it sounds best when you strike it with
pencils like drumming. The way to change the volume
is to strike the strings and springs harder or
softer. To change the pitch you must look at the
string or spring you hit because each one has a
different length and width.
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My overall reaction to this project was that
it was fun. I like to build things. I was surprised
at all the different sounds my String-Spring Guitar
could make and my whole family enjoyed playing it.
I learned that a lot of things can be made into
instruments and can make real music.
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