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Dust Your Blues Away

sweeping brush that plays the floor
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Dust Your Blues Away is a stiff bristle sweeping brush constructed in such a way as to produce musical sounds as you use it clean the floor.

At the end of the usual brush shaft there is a base that holds the bristles, but placed on top of the base there is a sounding box containing an array of pre-tightened strings. When you brush the floor, a variety of musical notes are produced from these strings being strummed. These notes emerge from the sound box and you have a degree of control over them achieved through your particular brushing action.

Here's how it works:

Each of the stiff bristles emerging from the wooden base is connected to one of the tightened strings contained in the sounding box. As part of the action of brushing, the bristles will naturally ping backwards and forwards randomly as they impact against the varying resistance offered by the floor and the small items they encounter. The bristles are connected to the strings via a miniaturised linkage which delivers a continuous plucking action as they move across the floor.

Continuous brushing will attenuate the amplitude of the bristles, while stiff, vigorous scrubbing will result in a more energetic outcome.

The sounds may be further controlled via a set of machine heads, the tension of which can be adjusted using allen keys. Extra volume is an option, generated by pick up sensors and a simple amplifier/speaker arrangement.

Dust Your Blues Away brushes come in a large variety of variables ie width, bristle concentration, stiffness, and length. This means that several sweepers can create a harmonious orchestrated sound scape as they clean a large area.

xenzag, Sep 14 2024

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       Bravo. [+]
doctorremulac3, Sep 14 2024
  

       You could simplify this (foolish me!) by making it work like a kalimba and tune the grass rake arms by moving a clamp up and down a "sister" shaft from the mounting base.
minoradjustments, Sep 14 2024
  

       Also known as an Mbira, a calimba rake would be a simple device worth making to drag across a surface composed of rough stones. Two years ago I ran a one week creative instrument making workshop (called it see/hear/now) for a week with my students, and one of the four instruments I made myself was a drawing rake that created random parallel lines on a large sheet of paper, using the marks made by small pieces of coal attached to its prongs. It's currently showing in an exhibition, and features in my college's prospectus along with the others that were made. Happy days.
xenzag, Sep 14 2024
  

       Woke up this morning. Done lost my allen key. [...]
pertinax, Sep 15 2024
  

       Probably dropped it and brushed it under the sofa.
xenzag, Sep 15 2024
  

       Default musical genre it plays? Ragtime.
RayfordSteele, Sep 15 2024
  

       (+)   

       I guessed that this was one of your ideas from the tagline.
On a side note, just in case you don't remember, it was me who asked you if you were [Farmer John] all those years ago.
  

       Your... offerings are similar.   

       Total respect, don't get me wrong. You both just share a similar taste in music art and invention.   

       That is in no way a bad thing.   

       //if you were [Farmer John]// Alas, he’s no longer with us, but his ideas are still here, though sadly not his fab illustrations. The Soupdragon had already kicked him out (allegedly?) when I joined the halfbakery, though his postings remained. Someone should tell his story.
xenzag, Sep 15 2024
  

       //his ideas are still here//   

       Thus this place comes to resemble the broader History of Ideas, in which often
"That's a really interesting point you make there - but have you thought of this counterpoint? ... Wait; you died in 1910: never mind"
pertinax, Sep 15 2024
  
      
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