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"Build a great-sounding glockenspiel out of copper pipes! The pipes, when correctly mounted, have a lovely bell-like tone. This glockenspiel (a glockenspiel is like a xylophone, but with metal slats or tubes) is based on a project in this book, but with a larger range and tuning information based on theory from this excellent article.
This is potentially a very educational project. Several learning objectives are possible, depending on the subject area of interest:
Mathematics: Solve simple equations to match pipe length to notes.
Physics: Learn about the relationship between length and first-mode vibrational frequency.
Music theory: Learn about the relationship between frequencies and notes.
Shop: Learn how to measure and cut wood, join it with nails or glue, and work with metal pipe.
I built this project with my six-year-old son. The exact amounts of material you need depend on what musical coverage you want the instrument to have. After consultation with my nine-year-old daughter as to what music she wanted to play on it, I opted for nine notes, covering a C-major octave, plus an extra D at the top, namely from C6 to D7. The lower the notes, the longer the copper pipes will need to be, and hence the more copper pipe you will need. On the other hand, the higher the notes, the more precisely the cuts will need to be made. "
