Anyone who has handled a scuba tank knows that they make a good sound when struck, especially if they don't have a bunch of rubber and stuff wrapped around them. Hung by the neck, a scuba tank makes a very nice and lasting ring. The ring is different before and after a dive, and so must be influenced by the density of the gas within.

I propose that all the tanks in a dive shop be hung up, then tuned by letting out varing amounts of air. They could then be played as giant chimes using mallets. You might need a team to cover the range of possible notes - not unlike a bell ringing team. This has long been a vision of mine, and for some reason the song is always "A Mighty Fortress".
-- bungston, Aug 31 2004

Wind Spirit Garden Bell http://shop.store.y...l/winspirgarbe.html
I have listened to these continue to resonate for over 5 minutes after being struck. Wonderful sound. [Klaatu, Oct 05 2004]

Having bonged my tanks around many times, I know wherefore you speak. But I've never tried to tune them.

Can we make an adaptor so I can accompany the bell choir playing a wind instrument hooked up to a full tank ?

Old joke.....

"Doc, after the surgery, will I be able to play the piano ?"

" Of course you will ".

"That's great,'cause I could never play it before !"
-- normzone, Aug 31 2004


I've seen a beautiful set of giant garden wind chimes made from hanging several (perhaps five) old oxy-acetylene tanks within a frame made of 8x8 timbers. The tanks were cut off at different lengths to produce different notes and hung by their neck hole with heavy chain. A large oaken clapper suspended from lightweight wire inside the tank softly gonged when the breeze played with the tail ornaments. The iron tanks were originally sand-blasted to provide a uniform surface, and then given a rustic weathered finish.

This is a bit less like a musical instrument than [bungston] described, but it was certainly a solemn and majestic (almost zen-like) statement in a meditative garden.
-- jurist, Aug 31 2004


wow. jurist, that is awesome!
-- po, Aug 31 2004


Would that be in Morro Bay?
-- thumbwax, Aug 31 2004


The specific set I saw was installed in a sculptor friend's cliffside garden overlooking the Pacific near Bandon, Oregon. But it could just as easily have been Morro Bay. I'm sure the idea is not unique, though I had difficulty finding a Google image to illustrate my description.
-- jurist, Aug 31 2004


[bungston], how very 'Blue Man Group' of you. [+]
-- contracts, Aug 31 2004


S.C.O.B.A: Self Contained, Outa Water Bonging Aperatus. (+)
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 01 2004


// the sound of the sea//

This idea is great, but I don't think it would be nearly as fascinating as the real sound of the ocean.
-- Pericles, Sep 01 2004


shouldn't they be enormous seashells?
-- po, Sep 01 2004


Pondering again this hoary idea. If tanks were at the bottom of a V suspended by 2 supports they could be like those desktop toys where a ball pulled back and let swing impacts others in the row such that the last ball swings out, and then back repeating the sequence.

But this would make noise: an arpeggio, then reversed, and back and forth quieter and quieter.
-- bungston, Jan 17 2017



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