The Making of an Aeolian Harp

Stan Hershonik, a Hamden Connecticut native is seen here with his one of a kind unique personality, answering the question of how to make an Aeolian Harp. Many of you out there have commented on the last set of videos with the question(s) "how to make one" and "can I do it". Stan now offers the instructions behind how he creates these instruments! Stan's Gutter Harp is also shown in the video.
Contact Stan yourself for more info:
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: www.aeolianharps.com
KZbin: / sphershonik

[@williamsharek5085]

Thank you for such a detailed instruction. We just bought a beach house off the bay in Norfolk, and I think I will try this to give my grandson a taste of music. Hopefully he'll grow up (he's 4) with a love for music.

[@michellemarker6353]

LOVE ! I repeatedly come back to your videos.. I was going to purchase one made by someone else to place in the Memorial Windy corner in memory of my son, Matthew Noble Marker, but happily decided to make my own after watching the videos.. That would be Matt's way anyway.. He made things out of other things, things he had around, he played the saxophone out of pure love to play, Loved the wind. HE was killed at his dream Rally Race. I will use his car parts to make his harp.. Thank you...

[@captchrispike]

I love this sound! But…. am I the only one that thinks these sound a little bit like a Star Trek transporter beam?

[@lolah3838]

No, it sounds otherworldly. I love it.

[@rondelby2482]

Exactly

[@TheGearhead222]

Great video! I've read about Aeolian Harps, but never seen one. Very cool-John in Texas

[@nanitesnodes]

That sound is really coming from the transporter room down in the basement. 2 to beam down. Stan!, energize. Thank you for posting Stan I was mesmorized.

[@stephaniebarley-en7gb]

Thank you, very awesome and inspiring

[@wbwillie]

there's a huge wind harp in Warrensburg, Missouri at Blind Boone Park

[@wbwillie]

i have thought about making some of these in different sizes and putting transducers in them to record them to the computer

[@batintheattic7293]

I may have just found the perfect way of distracting my ears from the noise of the road outside the garden. So, they are basically harp/nylon guitar stings, held at different tensions, on a long piece of wood or drainpipe? Does the length of the string area make a difference to the volume? See, Sigmund Freud might want to torment his neighbours but I just want some pleasant, melodic high frequency noise to kill the mechanical noise beyond the perimeter. It doesn't have to be particularly loud. Also, neighbours across the road used concrete to turn a stream into a waterfall and, after years of hearing it's monotonous unnatural hiss, I'd like to disguise that too. If I made lots of small aeolian harps, and attached them to the tops of the garden fence posts, would they give me my wall of nice sounds?

[@Zfaza54]

Very good video! Thanks for taking the time to pass on your knowledge!

[@parenthesisss]

I don't know if it's sensory processing issues but this is overloading my brain... Is this supposed to be pleasant? I am truly confused

[@JohnEllison]

You're the man. Tensegrity Aeloian Tower reply video coming soon!

[@vitololol]

amazing instrument, thx for sharing those infos

[@jasminegabrielle7214]

Graveyard music. I sponser putting these in every graveyard.

[@pgalaxy]

wondefrul thank you, but you did not mention about inserting the bridges after the strings. I am gathering this from the previous vid. thank you for the tutorial, I ll get doing.

[@AltoSax250]

How would you suggest building the largest and loudest aeolian harp in the world? What makes an aeolian harp loud besides the wind and an acoustic box of sorts? How would you build a harp if your intention was to keep it at the fundamental pitch rather than going into higher partials? i.e. The largest fundamental sound emitting aeolian harp?

[@chuckspencer6397]

There is no control over tuning. Once you get it to sing, the quality of the wind controls pitch. ex. A fan or leaf blower won't begin to make it sound. As far as the largest. It has been done using metal rods or suspension cables.

[@KBSaxLessons]

thanks. That's my other KZbin acct.

[@KBSaxLessons]

How can I get a suspension cable? Or, good metal rods?

[@KBSaxLessons]

recommendations?

[@hypegamer347]

Love it but still feel like ill be abducted by aliens if I put one of those in the house.

[@Schlachthof5]

Thanks for sharing, very nice!

[@unclejohnthezef]

and are the bridges slotted to keep the strings apart (in place)?

[@gerel6373]

hi! love your videos! could you please tell a bit more about a vertical harp shown at 11 minutes? what is the body of a harp made of? do i understand correctly that it doesn't have holes in its body like the wooden ones have? and does it play a different sound with different wind directions? also, if you wanted it to work for many years, would you cover it from rain in any way? and what material would you use if you wanted it to be most durable? sorry for so many questions and thank you again for such informative videos!

[@ts-ry8cy]

thanks

[@chicoplateado]

I have built some eolian harps but they only work with strong wind ... I see here he put it on the window and it sounds ... I cannot do my eolian harps work with few wind ...

[@florianchurch]

Fantastic :)

[@rondelby2482]

Hello there I made 4 or 5 and 2 works well. I have found out not to hang one from a tree because they sway and the wind cannot catch the strings. If they are mounted tight on a pole would they sing better rather than swaying in the wind? Another thing i want to ask you....Could you rub violin resin over the strings to make them catch the wind better? The bow of a violin has resin on it. .Please enlighten me about the above...Also would 100 lb nylon cord catch the wind good?

[@Jess-bn7sl]

The pine 2x4 pieces - are they right inside the gutter for the hitch pins and tuning pegs to drill into, or are they the bridges? If the former, is pine 2x4 also used for the bridges?

[@djformalin]

The perfect grandfather 🎼

[@resobird]

Stan for president

[@eschnitger]

I am so going to make me one of these...

[@kappabravomusic2101]

9:45 IS that harp made from the old door??? Also what is the tuning on the strings?

[@SigmundQFreud]

I intensely dislike my neighbors. They are so unfortunate I watched this video.

[@AdrianLopez-bm1pr]

Sigmund Q. Freud Update?

[@nunohs3371]

Hahahaha! Nicely put.

[@MaraBradley]

Yeah, how did it go?

[@VP-td9gh]

I hope you did this! I love it but also share your motivation! :D

[@VioletMidnightProductions]

That's hilarious. Did you actually do this?

[@rondamico7802]

Hi I made some of your type of wind harps and im having a hard time getting them to sing. Instead of wood bridges I make my bridges out of pvc pipe and notch them for the strings to lay in. Could you tell me what I may be doing wrong? I took one to my brothers and we had 20 to 30 mph winds and barely got a sound.

[@seanmenge1909]

Actually. Zithers work fine with a 3/16 drill bit. I've done it lots of times

[@psacustomcreations]

What type of string would you use for a harp using a six foot long piece of PVC? Can you tell me whether heavy gauge plastic fishing line or metal leader would be better? Thanks

[@chuckspencer6397]

20, 30 ,50 lb test worked fine for my 6' harp

[@shawncharton9416]

The mysterious hand from the side ...

[@stevo61]

Why do these things resonate? If you put a guitar in the wind its quiet.

[@Cole-lm9uh]

This helped me so much 4 school

[@KBSaxLessons]

Anyone know of any Aeolian harp gurus?

[@BlueRoseRocketBand2]

strings better lose or tight? sound pretty lose. I suppose it takes less wind then to play. Got to build me one.

[@roysecord7843]

Thanks for this inspiring video. I have watched it many times. I have a question for you since you have experience with aeloian harps. I am a sculptor and I designed a large, public sculpture entitled "Wind Spirit Temple". I have designed this with 6"x6" post with (2) 8' and (2) 6' Aeolian harps in opposing directions with multiple harp strings. Can I construct these on solid posts and still get a good, audible amount of sound. And as I submit this design to parks departments, they always ask me as to how loud my sculpture will be. Can you help me on these points? Many thanks.

[@chickensit]

thanks step dad

[@turtlemouth]

I'd love to have one of these but I know my neighbor would complain almost immediately.

[@Phaedragon]

Can they be tuned so they do t sound so creepy?

[@miranda2307]

I'd like to know too...

[@chuckspencer6397]

No.

[@nunohs3371]

Ofc you can tune them if you use an individual nut for each string. Trial and error, find the sweet spot and lose eerieness ^;) You can also roughly tune it by varying the direction and volume of the airflow around it with a door or window as seen it the video.

[@danconnie2009]

will it drive stray dogs away from my house ????

[@caroleadams5050]

My real harp does that outside on a windy day.

[@SNCKPCK]

: )

[@slwilk24]

How is it spelled, vachimana

[@sammagee9583]

Sam Wilk Vox humana. The organ pipes by that name supposedly mimicked the human voice.

[@iampetergriffin]

Why not use something more pleasant, like a lydian harp? :)

[@electricharmonyac7354]

Peter Griffin , what about the Dorian harp it bridges the gap😃

[@lindadimare4651]

Lydia harp

[@Arnelon]

3spook5me

[@charliem9579]

my next project. my neighbors already think I'm weird. wind theremin

[@djformalin]

Charlie M ....and what happend to this project ? Does it work..? How about your neighbors ? Best regards from Chiang Mai 🎼

[@gaminawulfsdottir3253]

Tip: When recording the sound of an aeolian harp, a wind screen on the microphone is essential.

[@leviridge3307]

E.T. phone home

[@m3lv1nch4pp]

Thanks, Stan. Thought I was going to watch only a couple minutes and stayed for the whole thing. Left me inspired. Can't wait to make one.

[@mariateran1752]

I am madly in love with this instrument, congratulations for this beautiful work. I have a question, I would like to know how many km / h the instrument needs to be audible?

[@phoenixrising1576]

You are Fantastic Stan! Heres a tip for anyone to try. Grab a cheap classical guitar pref full size and tune all the top 3 clear nylon strings to the G note, first below middle C. Go outside and place it sideways against a wall into the wind. You can also place it horizontal on a table. Its best if the top strings are also positioned so that they will be the first ones for the wind to cross over. Its an amazing feeling when it works! Nylon classical guitar strings were the easiest to get to work for me. I wish I had Stans building talents.

[@GrayArno]

Jones Laura Rodriguez Brenda Young Kimberly

[@RonDelby]

I made several like this. I paint them. My favorite colors are tie dye shirtlike colors.

[@BeOutThere]

Really appreciate the video. I would like to see some on wind organs.

[@rondelby2482]

I made several wind organs from plastic bottles. You do not need string for them All you need to do is cut a half inch slot in the side of the bottles. Put a screw in center ot bottle cap and mount them onto a post and point slot side into the wind. They sound like owls or ghosts....They do well around 30mph winds. I like the organs much better.

[@dianamccandless7094]

Haha! Love it! "This weed whacker string would be good for a 12-foot harp"

[@luishernandovelezmejia2734]

Un bellisimo trabajo.... pero yo quedaría aturdido a la media hora de oír es esos sonidos!!!!!

[@CarSmashBoy]

what if its a 25 pound shark?

[@youngducky6]

"It's like playing a harmonica while it's stuffed in a toaster" Ahahaha!!!

[@franl155]

lol and we all know exactly what that's like!

[@annafautre8396]

Great video, thank you. And happy New Year 2017

[@mvan8307]

Not far from a didley bow

[@AdityaRajKapoorLordFuseBox]

Thankyou

[@tomd.7325]

Horror movie

[@konzsimo]

Do they sound nicer if you tune them to an open tuning?

[@TheAuralab]

amazing instrument..

[@Badastro59]

Thank you for these informative Videos, I saw an Aeolian Harp in a movie 45 years ago, And did not know what I was looking at, I'm Australian, The Australian film was a modern-day Greek Tragedy Called "Summerfield" ( should of been Called The Summerfield Tragedy ) Its on Prime if your interested, The film has many interesting " Easter eggs " on the arts, Hope you are doing well

[@KaleydosCop333]

Представляю, что в старые времена такие инструменты стояли в церковных сооружениях. И как мелодично разносился звук. Наверное были устройства усиливающие звук.

[@unclejohnthezef]

are the bridges just tucked in under the strings (not fastened in any way?) thanks so much

[@ChucklesKeys]

I bought my harp kit from Music Makers Kits 24 years ago. LOVE MUSICMAKERS!! Neat concept. I'm gonna try it.

[@kenmilne2379]

The Movie people will be hiring u for their sound effects !! Lovely job ! ! Thnk u ! 🤗

[@VioletMidnightProductions]

Who else was blown away ten minutes in and forward?!!

[@unclejohnthezef]

are the strings tied to the brads, or looped around them?

[@kurtb.nelson9510]

Why wouldn't you just use a 2x4 and skip the downspout all together?

[@batintheattic7293]

Hah! Your screwing technique leaves a lot to be desired!

[@joshuaandtheruins8580]

I am trying this today as a Halloween decoration, and it's quite windy outside, but so far it is not working for me. Do the wood blocks need to be affixed on both sides to the gutter? And in general, do the wood blocks need to be tightly affixed to the gutter to transfer the vibration, or is the tension of the strings to hold the blocks in place sufficient? I'm using fairly thin fishing line and not getting anything in terms of sound, but I'm also just kinda winging it

[@rondelby2482]

He said 25lb test line. Go with that. Make your bridges tighter ( a little thicker) Put the harp away from any place that will block the wind. Not near porches or houses. Out in the open is best.

[@Cocoluna66]

!! Outstanding work Sir =D

[@newalla344]

Thank you very much

[@garrybrpwine3073]

Your neighbors must love you... How did you ever discover these instruments.. Excellent

[@rondelby2482]

They not real loud so neighbors will not hear them much.

[@Ana_crusis]

the sounds aren't good though. You have to tune them at least a bit to get nice sounds. I'm sure the Greeks did.

[@Uvisir]

+kha sab "good" is relative

[@Ana_crusis]

Uvisir you mean 'relative' . and is it..?

[@Uvisir]

+kha sab ehmm yes it is.... btw these sounds are totally correct for an aeolian harp, please know your stuff

[@Ana_crusis]

Uvisir "know your stuff" ha ha Sorry I'm not an aeolian harp expert, But then, neither are you. I have done a little reading though and you can't say 'these sounds are totally correct' as no one has any idea how the original harps were tuned by ancient Greeks, but they would have certainly wanted something that corresponded to their ideas of harmony, which wouldn't have been the sounds here. As to the question of whether there is an objective 'Good' or whether it's all just "whatever we like", I'd like to discuss it with you but it's far too big a subject (involving branches of Philosophy such as Aesthetics and Moral Philosophy) for us to go into here. Suffice it to say simply saying 'yes it is' doesn't come near answering the question.

[@aviationcompilation455]

wow never thought I would see an argument about tuning. that's YT for ya, hahah.