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CB Dulcimers in 8th grade Science
1st Posting- Some years ago I took a Univ of Minn graduate science course in acoustics and hearing at the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis. Each teacher had to build a musical device that could be used to teach about sound in the classroom. The most complicated option was a cigar box dulcimer. I built many plastic models as a kid, have good mechanical/spatial reasoning & can draw pretty well... but was VERY leery of power tools. But I took the leap.
During the late 90's there was a period of time when my 8th grade curriculum included sound AND teachers were allowed/encouraged to be creative. One year I decided that my 8th graders would build CBDs. The only power tools were a hand drill and a lightweight Sears bandsaw (Christmas gift). I bought some fret saws, tuners, fret wire, strings, etc from a catalog place in Ohio. Oak for necks came cheaply from a local cabinet maker. Cigar boxes from all over: when kid's parents traveled or from grandparents homes.
Bought a Macintosh mini-program that would calculate where frets go after entering the nut-bridge distance. I quickly learned that most of my suburban kids had no screwdriver skills much less handling a fret saw (I wasn't so hot w/ the saw either)... so I made some miter boxes w/ leftovers from the Industrial Tech class. Helped a lot!
Each cigar box seemed to have unique dimensions, so each neck had to be custom made. It seemed like long-established string-instrument designs had the bridge about 1/3 the distance from one end or the other of the sound box. So, that became the standard. If the bridge was closer to the neck-end then there was room for more frets. If it was closer to the string-anchor end then the instrument was more compact. The kids could chose which way they wanted to turn the box: in-line w/ the neck, or perpendicular, which again could influence the number of frets.
Eventually realized it'd be WAY easier if I limited the kid's options to 3 nut-bridge lengths and we notched meter sticks so the kids could check their measurements before fret slots were cut. Small boxes got shorter necks (50 cm) and bigger boxes got longer necks (60 cm)- done w/ the idea that resonating chambers ought to have better matched fundamental tones (lowest wavelengths).
The second year I discovered that the band saw blade made the perfect width slot for fret wire, and that a chunk of slotted wood behind the blade allowed each fret depth to be just right. Boy did THAT save time & trouble!
I met a local instrument maker who also played blue-grass type music for "The Grapes of Wrath" at the Omaha Community Playhouse. His advice & encouragement helped tons, and he could save us money on the strings.
Oh- the night custodian for my room NEVER complained about the extra work the project caused, and the administration was in full support of the project.
The 2nd year brought a drill press, and the instrument maker showed me drill designs that cut cleanly. Now kids could design all sorts of custom hole patterns for sound ports. He showed me that if the neck was angled down a bit from the cigar box surface then the strings pulled harder against the bridge which made it more stable and the instrument played louder.
Then the kids decided that they'd like to do artistic designs with the extra wood that was usually left over at the head end. It was SOOooo cool what some of the kids came up with: family initials, duck heads, Hawaiian geometric shapes...
Somewhere in there I decided that rectangular necks & flat top tuner heads just weren't cool enough. Routers were too noisy, expensive, and (to me) scary. So the necks got tapering wedges (um, more or less straight) cut out of the undersides using the band saw with the table tilted. I did the band saw cuts because the risk to inexperienced kids, and to the saw blade and instrument, seemed too great.
Some of the kids started experimenting with different stains or clear coats (modern classrooms are very well vented). We started drilling little holes and inserting slices of contrasting wood dowel to mark certain frets. We quickly switched to using 4 string mandolin tuners & learned to make left and right handed versions. I came up with cheaper & self-made bridges and nuts (we started using bone or plastic from the music suppliers) from music stores. The industrial tech guys set up the right blade on their table saw so we could cut slots for the nut.
We tried a variety of glues & reinforcements for the cigar boxes. All the boxes got wedges put into the corners, and a custom-cut support for properly high-centering the base of the neck inside the box. We found that long brass brads & pilot holes (using a template) were fast and cheap for anchoring the strings. A length-wise slice of round dowel was used under the strings so they didn't make a 90 degree turn towards the bridge- experience quickly taught that the strings would break!
We started having the option of different wood for the necks: maple, red or white oak, dark walnut, whatever fit the budget or that the kids/families would find. It had to be dried, straight, and have minimal knots and grain parallel with the top or side of the wood.
I'm about out of time for now.
The 8th graders built nearly 400 instruments in 4 years. My home workshop slowly grew & I've made 40-50 myself. Having the kids build & play these devices has been one of the greatest points of my teaching career. It'd be wonderful to get them all together & hear the kids stories.
After 4 years, the curriculum changed, parents at other schools complained that their kids didn't get to build them, and "No Child Left Behind" standardization has taken the time from classrooms for such things. I tried to run it as a once a week club but absences and varying student activities constantly intruded on the process as I understood it.
During the late 90's there was a period of time when my 8th grade curriculum included sound AND teachers were allowed/encouraged to be creative. One year I decided that my 8th graders would build CBDs. The only power tools were a hand drill and a lightweight Sears bandsaw (Christmas gift). I bought some fret saws, tuners, fret wire, strings, etc from a catalog place in Ohio. Oak for necks came cheaply from a local cabinet maker. Cigar boxes from all over: when kid's parents traveled or from grandparents homes.
Bought a Macintosh mini-program that would calculate where frets go after entering the nut-bridge distance. I quickly learned that most of my suburban kids had no screwdriver skills much less handling a fret saw (I wasn't so hot w/ the saw either)... so I made some miter boxes w/ leftovers from the Industrial Tech class. Helped a lot!
Each cigar box seemed to have unique dimensions, so each neck had to be custom made. It seemed like long-established string-instrument designs had the bridge about 1/3 the distance from one end or the other of the sound box. So, that became the standard. If the bridge was closer to the neck-end then there was room for more frets. If it was closer to the string-anchor end then the instrument was more compact. The kids could chose which way they wanted to turn the box: in-line w/ the neck, or perpendicular, which again could influence the number of frets.
Eventually realized it'd be WAY easier if I limited the kid's options to 3 nut-bridge lengths and we notched meter sticks so the kids could check their measurements before fret slots were cut. Small boxes got shorter necks (50 cm) and bigger boxes got longer necks (60 cm)- done w/ the idea that resonating chambers ought to have better matched fundamental tones (lowest wavelengths).
The second year I discovered that the band saw blade made the perfect width slot for fret wire, and that a chunk of slotted wood behind the blade allowed each fret depth to be just right. Boy did THAT save time & trouble!
I met a local instrument maker who also played blue-grass type music for "The Grapes of Wrath" at the Omaha Community Playhouse. His advice & encouragement helped tons, and he could save us money on the strings.
Oh- the night custodian for my room NEVER complained about the extra work the project caused, and the administration was in full support of the project.
The 2nd year brought a drill press, and the instrument maker showed me drill designs that cut cleanly. Now kids could design all sorts of custom hole patterns for sound ports. He showed me that if the neck was angled down a bit from the cigar box surface then the strings pulled harder against the bridge which made it more stable and the instrument played louder.
Then the kids decided that they'd like to do artistic designs with the extra wood that was usually left over at the head end. It was SOOooo cool what some of the kids came up with: family initials, duck heads, Hawaiian geometric shapes...
Somewhere in there I decided that rectangular necks & flat top tuner heads just weren't cool enough. Routers were too noisy, expensive, and (to me) scary. So the necks got tapering wedges (um, more or less straight) cut out of the undersides using the band saw with the table tilted. I did the band saw cuts because the risk to inexperienced kids, and to the saw blade and instrument, seemed too great.
Some of the kids started experimenting with different stains or clear coats (modern classrooms are very well vented). We started drilling little holes and inserting slices of contrasting wood dowel to mark certain frets. We quickly switched to using 4 string mandolin tuners & learned to make left and right handed versions. I came up with cheaper & self-made bridges and nuts (we started using bone or plastic from the music suppliers) from music stores. The industrial tech guys set up the right blade on their table saw so we could cut slots for the nut.
We tried a variety of glues & reinforcements for the cigar boxes. All the boxes got wedges put into the corners, and a custom-cut support for properly high-centering the base of the neck inside the box. We found that long brass brads & pilot holes (using a template) were fast and cheap for anchoring the strings. A length-wise slice of round dowel was used under the strings so they didn't make a 90 degree turn towards the bridge- experience quickly taught that the strings would break!
We started having the option of different wood for the necks: maple, red or white oak, dark walnut, whatever fit the budget or that the kids/families would find. It had to be dried, straight, and have minimal knots and grain parallel with the top or side of the wood.
I'm about out of time for now.
The 8th graders built nearly 400 instruments in 4 years. My home workshop slowly grew & I've made 40-50 myself. Having the kids build & play these devices has been one of the greatest points of my teaching career. It'd be wonderful to get them all together & hear the kids stories.
After 4 years, the curriculum changed, parents at other schools complained that their kids didn't get to build them, and "No Child Left Behind" standardization has taken the time from classrooms for such things. I tried to run it as a once a week club but absences and varying student activities constantly intruded on the process as I understood it.
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nekjoint1.jpg, 61 KB -
spikebutt.jpg, 75 KB
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dulcimer1.JPG, 56 KB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nathan King on
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I wish my 8th grade experience was like that! Wow, that's cool.
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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on
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400 kids will never, ever forget you or how to think for themselves. Well done!
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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on
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Bart,
Great story... thanks for sharing... ahhh.. is "spike butt" a term you coined or ??? I like the simplicity of your design for neck/box attachment and the creativity of the headstock....
the best,
Wichita Sam
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Permalink Reply by Stacey on
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Wow Bart, great story! Like many others here, I wish MY 8th grade (or any other for that matter) shop teacher had taught us how to make these! Just think, you have enriched the lives of these children, fueld dreams and hopes and given them a healthy outlet in which they can grow! Well done, Bart, well done! Welcome to the Nation:D Maybe you would be interested in setting your plans on here for other would-be builders, students and teachers???
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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on
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This story is just plan AWESOME. To think in probably most schools today there are no shop classes anymore. I took mechanical drawing, sheet metal shop and wood shop. Loved them all and they are what gave me my love for building I have had all my life. Your kids were very fortunate to have you for a teacher. The man is correct, my shop teachers are the ones I remember most.
Welcome to the forum.
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Permalink Reply by Diydc on
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Very good stuff.
I also have made a couple of dulcimers, but with a hollow neck, which gives it all an eerie sound, as well as making the instrument very light. I prefer the thru neck personally, where the neck goes right through the body and pretrudes a couple of inches at the foot end, hence bringing on the piezo pick up under the bridge becomes quite simple.
Wonderful looking instruments you and your students created there I must say...
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Just an observation, most of the builds pictured have the boxes turned short ways with the neck which is different than the way we mostly build. Wonder what was the influence on that. Just curious.
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Permalink Reply by Bart Wormington on
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Holey moley... you folks have fast responses. Thank you for your encouragement. I look forward to reading through your files and looking over the many pictures: very creative w/ many unusual bends & twists of design and blendings of materials. In response to comments and questions:
The 1st one I saw was made by a fellow who did the repairs & restorations at the Bakken Museum. (they had an unrestored glass armonica made by Ben Franklin. It's a musical device based on ringing wine glasses. See the tale here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica ) The man got a degree in nuclear physics in the 60's but couldn't find work due to the law suits shutting down any growth in the industry. He said he made the CBD and other devices while in a commune. He played a nifty version of "Simple Pleasures" and I knew that's what I wanted to make.
His design, he said, was like a spike fiddle (or banjo) with the neck going through the body without touching the top sounding board. It keeps the string tension on the neck & off the thin wood of the cigar box. The end of the spike away from the neck was called the "spike butt." Thus the name for the photo. After things settle down a bit (daughter moved to Colorado, end of Autocross season) I'll see if I can dig up old photographs and scan or digitally photograph them for sharing.
So many stories to tell: one kid's mom was a secretary at the high school where I coached the chess team. She shared that he had never been interested in music before making his dulcimer. He decided to take guitar lessons and 2 years later was the lead guitarist for the school jazz band. 3 other kids came back the following year and shared that they made more dulcimers over the summer in a garage. For any 1970's Cornhusker fans- I had QB Jerry Tagge's son who found a pretty large cigar box... I thought it'd be fun to make a double necked instrument. He went for it & it came out great! Over the years many kids shared that their older siblings made one. Often the dulcimer sits in a closet w/ broken strings, others are wall art, a few get played regularly still.
Some of the students were in orchestra or band and a couple worked with me to figure out how to play a variety of songs. I can't read or write music, but I had heard of tabulature- which sounded like the "cheat" fraction-looking marks I wrote in guitar songbooks for the lessons my dad MADE me take in the 60's... & I resented. If the note was on the third fret of the second string I marked it 2/3. So, that became the basis for writing the songs for dulcimer... only simpler since there were just two kinds/thicknesses of strings. Zero, 0, was the open thin string, 1 was the 1st fret, 2 the second. If a note was played on the the thick string we just underlined it. We'd put spaces between, um, somg phrases or pauses, and that's about it.
One teacher wanted to build one with the first 4 strings of a guitar & full fretting. It worked well but certainly not as rich-sounding as an actual guitar.
The last year or so of building dulcimers w/ the students we had switched the stringing so that there were two thick strings and two thin strings equally spaced. That way 4 separate notes could be played in a strum. The dulcimers built for my two children were 6-stringers using tuners for 12-string guitars. That was before I had mastered the band saw fret slots & had my kids cutting them by hand. Some were too deep, which allowed the neck to bend under the pressure of 6 strings. One neck was made of cherry the other oak.
Wood used for necks of dulcimers I've made: red/white oak, maple, mahogany, hickory (old bed slats), cherry, aspen (very light weight & light colored but dents easily. Not as strong but fine for 3-stringers using thin gauge wire), poplar, and some cool stuff I found at woodworker's supply... some type of tropical oak with a woven pattern. Hopefully not an endangered species now. !!
Time for bed- replacing some rubber suspension bushings in my Escort Zx2 with some polyurethane bushings in the morning... still behind the local ST class leader, but getting closer. Just two weekends of racing left (COuncil Bluffs & Lincoln). Bart
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Permalink Reply by HOGS GRUNT on
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Just read your story and think you were very forsighted to see what would get through to the kids.
When I lived in Ireland, after my contract ran out, I stayed there (as the craic was 90) and got a job in a new set up where they took kids between 16 and 18 years old who were ''drop outs'' from the education system. To keep them there they were paid a small 'wage' for attending and we set up a workshop for them.
Once it got going several of them were interested in the guitars I had built and so I showed them how to make a guitar using just plywood and timber we could get from the local suppliers. I suppose in the 18 months I was there four guitars got made in total and the look on the kids faces when it was finished, and I tuned them and played them, was an amazing sight.
You could see the look in their eyes that ''I made that and it can make music'', it was well worth the effort to show them.
Several of them kept in touch and taught themselves the basic chords and ended up playing tunes on the creations they had made.
I know the feeling you must have got when you saw those kids making music.
Again, a nice story and well done.
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It would be interesting to know what the kids, now adults, think of that experience in retrospect. Some kids were not into it so they did have other options for projects, the first two years anyway. The last couple years we were building these for $12 to $14 each & that included money for replacement band saw blades, spade-type & brad point drill bits, sandpaper, files, glue & etc.
Some kids had to be guided almost every step of the way but, more often than not, other students would step-in to catch them up.
Diane said:400 kids will never, ever forget you or how to think for themselves. Well done!
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I think there is a lot to be said for having a variety of teachers and curriculum/approaches in kids lives. That way kids learn to deal with a variety of approaches/philosophies. I decided to become a teacher because of my High School earth science teacher in the late 60's, Mr. Jellison. He was actually an English teacher who had a long interest in geology & either volunteered or was drafted to teach earth science in a blue collar mill town, Kelso, WA. He taught interesting stuff (to me anyway) about nature... with humor and drawings. So 5 yrs later after Jr College where I generally got B's on tests and A's in labs, then a year working at Reynolds Aluminum & Safeway, then after 2 years USAF (F-111 avionics, Idaho)... I decided to get my teaching degree when i got out. I got to go the England those last 2 years.
Geez, I get wordy.
Paul Doug said:This story is just plan AWESOME. To think in probably most schools today there are no shop classes anymore. I took mechanical drawing, sheet metal shop and wood shop. Loved them all and they are what gave me my love for building I have had all my life. Your kids were very fortunate to have you for a teacher. The man is correct, my shop teachers are the ones I remember most.
Welcome to the forum.
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Y'know... I got a piezo pick-up to experiment with to show the class, but never did. I wonder what I did with it?
Does it glue to the top, or go on the neck... ??? Oh- there was a little $$ left over most years because we kept finding cheaper ways of doing things while in process. So I purchased several books on how to build musical instruments or work w/ wood, and a couple just on dulcimers... including history & music. Some ideas and tweaks no doubt came from those.
Diydc said:Very good stuff.
I also have made a couple of dulcimers, but with a hollow neck, which gives it all an eerie sound, as well as making the instrument very light. I prefer the thru neck personally, where the neck goes right through the body and pretrudes a couple of inches at the foot end, hence bringing on the piezo pick up under the bridge becomes quite simple.
Wonderful looking instruments you and your students created there I must say...
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