Plastorgan:

Windmusic instrument made of plastic bottles.

Wind Organ

The plastic bottle, this common object of consumption, this vulgar domestic waste, can replace the noble bamboo to ape a wind organ. It only takes, with a pair of scissors, to carve a longitudinal "whistling" slit within the body of the bottle. Several sizes of slit are possible. The sound is not as pure (more or less muffled depending on types of slits) as it is with the sound of bamboo. On the other hand, the time taken to carve the slits in plastic is negligible compared to carving bamboo, moreover, the cost of the material is absurdly low.

Listen the treble plastorgan.

Some ideas of slits for a better sound.

Use only bottles with a smooth body, small or large size. The slits must have perfectly parallel edges, their lenght varying between 8 centimetres and almost the total height of the bottle, their width will vary between 5 and 17 millimetres. Use a variety of bottles to compose your wind organ. Dont' forget to close the bottle cap so that the sound may not escape.

Listen the medium plastorgan.

Various slits - various sounds :

- A slit of 8 cm by 10 mm produces a deep sound except when the wind picks-up and brings the sound one octave higher.
- A slit of 11 cm by 9 mm gives a medium sound, relatively clear within a wide wind range as well in speed as in angle of attack.
- A slit of 20 cm by 6 mm gives a shrill whistle but requires a very precise angle of attack of the wind.
- A slit of 16 cm by 17 mm will deliver a hoarse sound.

Listen the grave plastorgan.

PlastOrgan builder.

The art of the wind organ factor using plastic bottles consists in pairing the thickness and therefore, the plastic wall rigidity with the size of the slits and alse to orchestrate the various resonances obtained within a given PlastOrgan. As soon as the bottle begins to sound, the walls of the bottles are subjected to vibrations, particularly where the slits constitute the mouthpiece of this windmusic instrument.

Listen the plastorgan chorale :