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Pedestrian road barriers are often composed of a set of galvanised vertical metal rods set into a frame - in other words the perfect opportunity to convert them easily into a Vertical Xylophone - a type of tubular bells musical instrument.
The conversion is simple. A set of round or square metal
tubes of varying length, diameter and density are hung from the top horizontal frame bar. The existing barrier's verticals run up their centres meaning that the sound tubes are captured and cannot swing around wildly.
The tubes may now be played while you wait at the roadside using a choice of hammers that hang from chains, allowing them to be freely used but not taken away.
possible illustration later....
Illustration by DALL-E 2 Beta
https://ibb.co/GtsG5ZK I think #2 is a total miss but the other three aren't bad. [a1, Sep 07 2022]
Scythed Chariot
https://en.wikipedi...iki/Scythed_chariot [a1, Sep 07 2022]
Curb Feeler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_feeler [a1, Sep 07 2022]
Tubular Bells by Percussion Play
https://www.percuss....com/tubular-bells/ These big, bold, beautiful bells have outstanding resonance, the bells produce deep tones which you can feel as well as hear. The set of seven aluminum bells ranges from 1.6m to 2.2m tall and are all 100mm in diameter and are pentatonically tuned ranging from A3-C5. [a1, Sep 08 2022]
Diatonic Symphony Freechimes by Percussion Play
https://www.percuss...symphony-freechimes These twenty-two sleek aluminum outdoor chimes range from a towering 1.5m C3 to the smallest C6 at just 0.5m. The chimes are hand-tuned to the highest quality and produce a richly vibrant, harmonic resonance. [a1, Sep 08 2022]
I'm picturing it playing something like this.
https://www.youtube...Fvsf7vlNnZVJ7y37lUq [doctorremulac3, Sep 11 2022]
notebook scribble
https://www.tumblr....its-an?source=share without striking hammers [xenzag, Sep 13 2022]
How to build it
https://www.playcre...y-grandioso-chimes/ Build it like this, (but smaller bells). That way you don't have to put the chimes on before you weld it together... [scad mientist, Sep 13 2022]
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Annotation:
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This reminds me of reading about some celebrity who died hitting a steel guardrail, so I was going to post an idea about making them out of flexible polymers instead. Turns out that polymer guardrails have been a thing for years. |
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[+] I guess it would be sick humor to have it play a tune when a car was running into it. |
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I was picturing more of a sweeping down sound. |
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I love it [+]. This brings the musical arts to "art in public places". |
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[+] A commuter train station near here has artistically curved metal tubes coiled around as guard rails between the track and the platform. Many an afternoon there are people beating out a rhythm on these with drum sticks, mallets, and other implements. Sometimes they add a trash bin to the orchestration. |
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+ //cannot swing around wildly// awww well ok.
If they can swing around a bit they can also act like wind chimes maybe? |
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Of course, but they are limited to the captive space between the outer sound making tubes and their inner pedestrian vertical barrier bars. [I'll make a drawing soon but very busy so be patient] |
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I suppose an automobile attachment for the curbside could protrude dangerously such that the device could be played by sideswiping it. |
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// automobile attachment ... protruding dangerously ... // |
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Historical precedent - Scythed Chariot
Wimpy modern counterpart - Curb Feelers |
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That was kind of a rhetorical question because I'm probably going to steal this at some point in the future and just think that it is polite to ask first. |
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Still... can I steal this with your permission? I'm envisioning a wind-chime walk. |
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If I say yes, then it's not stealing, and not as much fun. |
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[2_fries], you should also take a look at Percussion Play. They make lots of musical playground items to steal, er, take inspiration from. |
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//choice of hammers// The technical term (per "The Meaning of Liff") is Ibstock (n.) Anything used to make a noise on a corrugated iron wall or clinker-built fence by dragging it along the surface while walking past it. |
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I have that book. I wrote my own version years before it was published, but like most things I do, left it at that. |
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Is there some acoustic rationale for xylophones typically lying low on the floor, or is that just one more abuse of school children? |
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see quick notebook scribble |
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Looks like a bike rack. Can you draw a person next to it for scale? |
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just look up portable metal Pedestrian Barriers |
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Modifying the existing pedestrian barriers would be easy and require no welding. The tubular units would have a vertical split running along their lengths, allowing them to be slipped into place. Once hanging from the support bar, the tubes would be compressed, closing the gap split and leaving them captured with the vertical bars at their centre. |
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