Flarinet- a DIY Musical Mouthpiece

I've been a clarinet player for years and love teaching kids music. But, I've realized that clarinets can be really expensive, not so easy to play, and fairly fragile for younger children. So I started with a simple membraneaerophone design and streamlined it so that it could be made simply from everyday materials you'd find in the hardware store. The Flarinet (as I call it) mouthpiece is super versatile and allows you to play incredible clarinet sounds when you connect it to 1/2 inch pvc pipe. You can easily experiment by cutting new tubes lengths and drilling 3/8 holes to customize your own Flarinet. So let's dive in!

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

For the Flarinet mouthpiece you'll need these materials:

• 6"x6" sheet of 1/16 inch cork board
• 2 #20 Standard O-rings
• 2 feet of 1/2 in PVC pipe
• 1 foot of 1 in PVC pipe
• 1 inch PVC pipe coupling
• 1/2 inch PVC pipe coupling
• 5/16 aluminum tubing
• clear packaging tape

• 8.5" x 11" clear transparency

and these tools:

• drill
• 5/16 and 3/8 drill bits
• ruler
• exacto knife
• hand saw
• #240 sandpaper

Step 2: Measure and Cut Mouthpiece Inner Chamber to Length

Cut a 4 inch section from the 1/2 inch PVC pipe with the handsaw. Take care to make the cut as perpendicular to the access of the pipe as possible. Carefully sand the cut end when finished.

Step 3: Measure and Cut Cork Sheeting

Cut a rectangle from your 6x6 cork sheet measuring 2 3/16 inches long. Cut three strips from this rectangle, two measuring 1/4 inch wide and one 3/4 inch wide.

Step 4: Layout Cork and O-ring Placement

Using the 4 inch length of 1/2 in PVC pipe, mark the following distances from one end as pictured above.

• 1 5/16 in
• 1 9/16 in
• 1 11/16 in
• 2 7/16 in
• 2 9/16 in
• 2 13/16 in

Step 5: Locate O-rings and Glue Cork Sheets

Apply a thin layer of contact cement to the three sections of pvc pipe pictured above. Also apply a thin layer of contact cement to each strip of cork. Roll on both #20 standard Orings such that they sit in between the contact cement rings. Wait 10 minutes and then carefuly roll on the cork strips so contact cement meets contact cement and the surfaces create a strong bond. The cork strips should keep the O-rings in place as pictured above.

Step 6: Measure and Cut Mouthpiece Outer Chamber

Using the handsaw, cut a 3 inch section from the 1 in PVC pipe. Carefully sand the cut with #240 sand paper.

Step 7: Drill Mouth Piece Intake

Mark a point on the 3 inch length 1 in PVC pipe 1 3/16 in from the end. Using the 5/16 drill bit, drill a hole through the PVC pipe taking care to only pass through one side.

Step 8: Measure and Cut Sealing Ring

Using the leftover 1 inch PVC pipe, measure and cut a small ring 1/8 inch long.

Step 9: Create Mouthpiece Cap

Take the 1/8 inch long PVC ring and insert it into the 1 inch PVC coupling. Press the ring in until it is stopped by the inner ledge in the coupling. You can use left over 1 inch PVC pipe to push in the ring. Now you have completed the mouthpiece inner and outer chambers as well as the mouth piece caps!

Step 10: Make the Circular Reed

Place a layer of tape roughly 3 inches in length over the transparency. Using the outer mouthpiece chamber, trace it's outer circumference. Cut out the resulting circle with a pair of scissors, making sure to cut inside the traced circle. You now have a Flarinet reed!

Step 11: Make the Mouthpiece Tube

Cut a 1 inch length from the 5/16 aluminum tubing. Sand the edges to remove the burrs and insert it into the outer mouthpiece chamber. The aluminum tube should fit snugly and not protrude past the inner wall of the mouthpiece chamber. Wrap the exposed end of the mouthpiece tube with blue tape to make it comfortable to play.

Step 12: Assemble the Flarinet

Take the circular reed and insert into the mouthpiece cap. The reed should lie flush against the small ring of pvc we inserted into the pvc coupling earlier. Insert the mouthpiece outer chamber into the mouthpiece cap such that the hole lies just beyond the end of the mouthpiece cap. Finally insert the mouthpiece inner chamber into the outer chamber just until it touches the circular reed as shown above. The mouthpiece tube should locate just above the upmost cork strip. Using a 1/2 pvc coupling attach the mouthpiece to the leftover section of 1/2 PVC pipe. Your Flarinet is now ready for playing!

Step 13: Tuning and Playing the Flarinet

Tune the Flarinet by experimenting with the pressure the mouthpiece inner chamber puts on the circular reed. You'll get a warmer sound and a more resistant instrument the closer the mouthpiece inner chamber is to the circular reed. Ideally the mouthpiece inner chamber sticks out just above the mouthpiece outer chamber. Blow into the mouthpiece tube and gently pull out the mouthpiece cap until the Flarinet makes it's first note! Now that you've got a working Flarinet mouthpiece, strike up the band! Take any 1/2 inch pvc pipe, drill holes in different sizes and places, and invent your own instruments! Try making the lowest note possible!

Step 14: A 3D Printed Flarinet!

Update! I recently created a 3D printed version of this design, cheer on for the full 3D printed Flarinet Band!

Comments

[superdj123A]

Is there a chromatic scale?

[mikev93]

Has anyone tried to put this on a recorder body? Or a recorder head joint on a clarinet?

[sydney-dibble]

How did you place the holes? Is there a website that gave you the placements?

[Poesjenel]

Hi, I love your construction of the flarinet. Last year I bought a 3d printer. Would you please share the stl file to print the mouthpiece? Thank you

[meghnaraj.annasagaram]

is there any website where I can get the placement of the holes based on the size of the flarinet?

[mickey vandy]

Where did you get cork? I'm having trouble locating it in my area. Is there a substitute anyone can recommend?

[DestinieB]

Can you give me tips on anything? I’ve done everything like it says, the only difference is that the mouthpiece hole is a little wider since we couldn’t find an aluminum tube that small (it’s also made of steel). I have connected it to another half inch pvc pipe but it makes no sound.

[leomprez]

I picked up #20 O-rings from my local hardware store and they were way, way, way too big. Had to take apart that whole piece but here is a picture of the size comparison. Made the mouthpiece not fit together and thus prevented sound from getting into the actual instrument.

[richruss69]

I made this and after a bit of tinkering, it works pretty well. Great job!!! Is there somewhere one could download the files for the 3d printed version?

[vickery123]

i've assembled this as instructed but just can't seem to get it to make any noise. any suggestions

[kyleyt]

isnt it clarinet?

[markdcoco]

Just curious if the thickness of the pipe... or length of the pipe changes the pitch (i.e.: base; alto; tenor; soprano)? Great project... one I am actually going to build.

[zrotholz]

The short answer is that both diameter of the pipe and length affect pitch. So, if you create the flarinet from larger diameter pipes than the 1/2 inch pipe, the same length will sound at a slightly lower frequency. The length of the pipe is a much bigger factor here though. The simple equation is that the frequency of the note = speed of sound in air / 4* length of tube. So the longer the tube, the lesser the frequency, the lower the note. The thickness of the pipe is an additional factor, but in general the thicker the pipe the more resistant the instrument. Hope this helps.

[James DanielM]

We have music camps at our mission work in Mexico and this would be a great craft. Only one question please, does the tape remain on the acetate or do you peel it off to make the reed? If not, what does the tape add to the acetate?

[zrotholz]

Good question! Yes the tape does remain on the acetate. The tape helps to dampen the sound to make it less bright and buzy and since it's soft it create a better seal against the end of the pipe. Experiment with different amounts of tape layers, if you don't have acetate you can even make a reed from 3-4 layers of packing tape.

[Alaskan Bev]

If a person is mass producing them - say, for a dozen kids in a neighborhood band - would they have a uniform sound if done as uniformly as possible? Can the tones be matched so that a C is a true C or an A-flat a true tone? If I decide to make these, or have my students make them with me. I want to be sure that we'll be reasonably able to play music that will sound good together and be recognizable! (Otherwise it's not an actual band, just a bunch of kids squawking together!) Nice Instructable, thanks.

[zrotholz]

Great question! Precise tuning is very dependent on pressure put on the reed (plus or minus 40 cents). However, you can certainly design instruments that match a key. I've tended to use the flutomat! http://people.adams.edu/~rjastalos/Flutes/6-holeFlutomat.html Since the flarinet is a pipe with one closed end (rather than a flute with two open ends) the instrument will sound an octave lower! Tone holes are a bit tricky and often the best procedure is to begin with a rough layout, aim the holes low and then enlarge them until you bring them into tune beginning from the tone tole closest to the end of the instrument. Also the flarinet (like the clarinet) will tend to overblow a twelfth rather than an octave like a typical flute or conical sax. I've yet to add a conical body but will experiment with more funnels in the future! Thanks for the shout out!

[garnetshaw]

Start here:

http://www.markshep.com/flute/Holes.html

[Alaskan Bev]

Thank you, garnetshaw. I just tried that once and firefox won't go there for me. I'll keep trying.

[garnetshaw]

Excellent!