this is my first instructable so please dont be too critical. any advice for how to improve this or future instructables would be greatly appreciated. also any questions i will try to answer to the best of my ability.

in this instructable i will be explaining the process of making a reed out of a straw.

P.S. please excuse the poor quality pictures.

Step 1: Choosing the Correct Straw for You!

first you have to pick a straw, i found that the standard size bending straws are easier to use later on but you can also use the bigger milkshake straws. the larger straws have an additional modification which i will discuss later.

Step 2: Flatten the Straw

using your teeth or other means (using your teeth is the easiest way unless using the bigger straws). if using the bigger straws you might consider starting this process with your teeth then putting the end in the crease of a heavy book. you want to flatten the first 1/2 to 3/4 inches of one end of the straw.

Step 3:

next you need to cut the end of the straw on the corner, for best results i recommend that you you play around with the angle and how much is cut off.

Step 4: Protect Your Tongue

next trim the end to make it smooth as opposed to sharp (your tongue will thank me later).

Step 5: Modifications

there are a few things you can do to make these more fun. one thing you can do (i couldn't do to a lack of straw sizes) is add a straw just big enough to fit your reed straw into and you can adjust the tone by sliding the straw in and out.

you can take a balloon and put it over the reed and attach in whichever way you wish but be careful with the reeds, if the way you attached it is touching the reeds it may not work well.

you can also cut the straw down to make the tone higher.

for the small straw (if its the kind that bends) you can cut the top part (the bendy part) off though i don't notice a difference with or without doing that.

as for the big straw (or the small if you can get it to work) you can is cut a/multiple holes for making multiple notes, you can use a knife or a hole punch. - it doesn't take a big whole to change the note played.

if you have any other modifications or other ways of making this project more fun let my know and i might post it here with your username or real name (whichever you prefer)