Wood Rhythm Bones Home Made (edited)
(First posted in May ’09, often edited…)
If you remember my Get Up In The Morning/Circus Jig blog post of last December which you wont because why would you, than you know that last November (‘08) I acquired a pair of rhythm bones.
One thing that became immediately obvious when I received them was that I should have bought two pairs to be able to practice with both hands so I decided to make some. Fortunately I had a piece of oak that seemed the perfect size so I clamped it down and I made two extremely rough cuts with a saber saw (old blade = stupid). In the picture you can see that I had already begun to sand down piece #1, #2 is “as cut” and piece #3 is the remaining wood, just enough for a second pair…
Not having a miracle tool that could turn that rough a piece of wood into a smooth rib bone shaped curve, I spent a couple of days carving and sanding them both down to a shape that seemed OK. (1.25 inches (3cm) wide (too wide?) – and 7.25 inches (18.5 cm.) long). In any case picture #2 shows how they came out as well as the pair of Nautical Style Bones that I first bought. The wood ones sound really different, of course. I really should carve a second pair…
Added Sep. ’09: So last week I finally got around to making a second pair out of the leftover wood (#3). Seems some days you’re just smarter than others because I was able to set it up on my work bench in a far more convenient way to cut the slices out of it (sorry no pictures) and also got a new blade for my saber saw so the result was a lot better than in the first time.
The next day I made two more (and took a few pictures). I used a different piece of wood, Olive, that was just wide enough that I got two bones out of one slice (picture). These ended up one inch wide, 1/8th of an inch thick and 8 inches long (2.5 × 0.7 × 20 cm.).
It was a relatively quick, albeit dusty, matter to sand them down to shape with a “Cushion Drum Sander” (picture). I first tried with a belt sander but the drum’s soft round sanding surface worked a lot better. Actually the drum sander is useful for the inside curve but the belt sander is better for the outer curve since the drum sander has a tendency of making a “bumpy” surface if you aren’t careful; and even so.
(Feb. 2010: An eccentric sander is a good way to flatten any bumps that remain.)
Nov. ’09: Since making these I splurged and bought a pair of Aaron Plunkett's Lignum Vitae Bones the world’s hardest and densest wood and these bone have an amazing feel to them, kind of a cross between wood and slate is the best way I can describe them. They have a tone that is both sharp and deep, so it’s no surprise that in comparison, the bones I made feel soft and if I dare say, kind of dull. 
I was musing on that the other day and decided that considering how the bones hit each other it was perhaps a mistake to have left their ends as square as I did so I proceeded to round them out. Sure enough that definitively improved their tone, plus it made me all the more aware of the difference in sound you get depending on the thickness of the wood (Now I’m not convinced with that, don’t see how changing the end shape would noticeably change the sound. I probably thinned them down a bit too…).
One of the basics with rhythm bones is that the sound you get depends on where one bone hits the other (as well as – it seems to me – how tight or lose your grip is). Because of the “primitive” way I made mine they don’t have an even thickness from one end to the other. One even has an end that is half the thickness of the others so holding the thin side up or down makes a big difference. What is the best thickness? I suspect that ultimately for each type of wood it’s different, perhaps for each tree… added March 2010: Regardless if that’s true or not I now have acquired enough playing skills to realize how much you can modulate the sound you’re getting from the bones while you play them – even if I can’t control it at all – so “fine tuning” (whatever that would be) rhythm bones is not in my agenda at the moment…
(Feb. ’10) FYI: Bone Dry Music has a great page on rhythm bone tone that explains the relationship between the material’s specific gravity, density or hardness and its tone; wish I had found it earlier on!
(March ’10) I should also mentioned that most of the wood I’ve used has been lying around here for at least ten years so it has had time to dry, crack and warp (although fortunately there hasn’t been much of the last two).
Nov. 21st ’09: So I thinned down the first two pairs of oak bones a bit as well as rounded them off a bit more and IMO this has improved them, they sound sharper and they are louder then before. March ’10: It also flatten the bone’s surface which I felt helped my playing, assuming a convex face encouraged the bones to slip sideways when they hit, but now realizing that was just due to my lack of technique. Still it may mean that bones with flat faces are easier for beginners (?).
A word about the “dullness” factor.
The other evening I played with a guitarist and compared how my different bones sounded with his guitar. Generally I play with Nautical Style Bones, which I continue to entirely enjoy, they have a distinctive, relatively deep and sharp sound, and I find the real bone less slippery than my wood ones, they’re cool, and recommended! Along with some ragtime blues guitar picking they cut through nicely and distinctively. The Lignum Vitae Bones however were kind of a disappointment, accompanying the guitar (in this particular setting) they sounded thin, sharp and cold and I wasn’t happy with them at all, my lack of the necessary skill for such a dense wood perhaps. (March ’10: Definitively lack of skill was the culprit, I’m only just beginning to get the hang of these). On the other hand the oak bones fit right in. Discreet but warm and thick they sang along with the guitar and my guitarist friend spontaneously mentioned how nice they sounded.
A word about the curve.
When I made my first pair of bones, it never occurred to me that they could be flat. However in time browsing the web showed me otherwise. Obviously not putting a curve in your bones would save a lot of time.. But I haven’t tried a pair like that yet (probably should) so I can’t comment on them. Personally I like the curve, it both reflects on the “rib bone heritage” and offers the possibility of a face to face contact instead of the end to face you would have with two flat pieces of wood. Last but not least, I feel it adds beauty to the object.
(BTW: the picture shows a piece of walnut I spotted in the “wood chunks for sculptors bin” of an art supply store that was the perfect size to cut out some bones from. So I bought it and did, but feel that I made them too thin – just under 3/8 of an inch (5mm) – and am not really happy with them: too light.)
A Few Notes:
- Use a band saw if you can.
- The more precise your cut is, the less wood you have to sand.
- Too thin is too thin.
- Super rough sand paper is rarely the best choice, usually medium and fine are all you really need.
- Heavier, dense wood is preferable (?)
- Bone Dry Music has a whole section of inexpensive, unfinished wood rhythm bones if you don’t feel like sawing anything.
- I’m not affiliated with them and don’t make money sending you there, I just think it’s a great shop.
- I’ve been adding to this page as I go along and my playing has considerably improved this last year. That said, I’m sure there’s a lot here that’s subjective and/or can be improved on. So…
- Comments are more than welcome!
And BTW, if ever you’re inspired to try making your own: don’t remove the safety features from your tools, wear thick work clothes, gloves when needed, eye protection and a face mask for dust, even for wood…
More rhythm bone links:
Rhythm Bones Central; curious about Rhythm Bones? This is the place to start!
Bone Dry Music @ YouTube; Hear the sound of rhythm bones made of different materials! There is a lot to learn about playing rhythm bones just by watching this series too.
Rhythm bone videos on Youtube.
And, a couple of rhythm bone designs I’ve made:
Rhythm Bone Roll Rectangle Magnet
Great for your fridge or cubicle.
The blurb: Share your passion with this unique magnet for rhythm bone players with a pair of bones banging each other and the funny saying: That’s How I Roll!
Born To Bone!
A skeleton’s hand playing rhythm bones with the humorous statement: Born To Bone!
More Rhythm Bone T-Shirt & Gifts that I have made, hope you like them!
