Shovel As A Cymbal? You gotta see this.

I guess if you are really bored and are just looking for Youtube hits, this might have a purpose.
 
Stuff like this is creative for sure (and somewhat musical), but it's never practical.
Now, I've conditioned some saw blades to use as effects cymbals on more than one occasion.
They sound pretty good as bells and can be quite musical if arranged right.
 
Stuff like this is creative for sure (and somewhat musical), but it's never practical.
Now, I've conditioned some saw blades to use as effects cymbals on more than one occasion.
They sound pretty good as bells and can be quite musical if arranged right.



I think that's half of what music is, having fun and being creative. Now of course i'd never use a shovel in a track, but I was curious as to the results I could get out of it... voila!
 
Now of course i'd never use a shovel in a track, but I was curious as to the results I could get out of it... voila!

I'd say the opposite. I would consider using a shovel or some other found object, while recording.. to add a unique sound effect in a certain place in a song. But I would probably not bother hauling it out to a job and setting it up, etc., if I only planned to use it on one number in the set.

Our original banjo player was a big jug-band guy.. we had quite a few of those old-time jug-band/vaudeville-style numbers in our sets. As the percussionist, those tunes always gave me great openings to use mounted cooking pots and lids, and other novelty items. Kick drum made from 5-gallon bucket. Taxi horn, etc. You get the picture. Fit the music, was fun for me and the audience, and provided a visual element too. There was enough usage to warrant setting it all up on the bandstand.

Our current banjo player is more of a progressive bluegrass picker, and our band has been moving steadily in the direction of acoustic rock. We play bluegrass standards, but also Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, CCR, Dylan, etc., that we arrange for bluegrass instrumentation. We don't do enough jug band numbers anymore to make it worth bringing out the kitchenware. I still play the spoons, washboard, and circular-saw-blade-on-cymbal-stand, on every gig. But other than that, using mostly 'conventional' drums and percussion in the act, these days.

But I remain a big fan of that whole DIY/vaudeville/novelty/found-object/folk aesthetic in percussion. Always experimenting and tinkering at home. Always a chance that something could finds its way on stage with me.

Keep it up, man !
 
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I'd say the opposite. I would consider using a shovel or some other found object, while recording.. to add a unique sound effect in a certain place in a song. But I would probably not bother hauling it out to a job and setting it up, etc., if I only planned to use it on one number in the set.

Our original banjo player was a big jug-band guy.. we had quite a few of those old-time jug-band/vaudeville-style numbers in our sets. As the percussionist, those tunes always gave me great openings to use mounted cooking pots and lids, and other novelty items. Kick drum made from 5-gallon bucket. Taxi horn, etc. You get the picture. Fit the music, was fun for me and the audience, and provided a visual element too. There was enough usage to warrant setting it all up on the bandstand.

Our current banjo player is more of a progressive bluegrass picker, and our band has been moving steadily in the direction of acoustic rock. We play bluegrass standards, but also Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, CCR, Dylan, etc., that we arrange for bluegrass instrumentation. We don't do enough jug band numbers anymore to make it worth bringing out the kitchenware. I still play the spoons, washboard, and circular-saw-blade-on-cymbal-stand, on every gig. But other than that, using mostly 'conventional' drums and percussion in the act, these days.

But I remain a big fan of that whole DIY/vaudeville/novelty/found-object/folk aesthetic in percussion. Always experimenting and tinkering at home. Always a chance that something could finds its way on stage with me.

Keep it up, man !

That's awesome! I've always appreciated that style of music! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and for checking it out! :)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSGQKb7mog

You guys have any suggestions on shovel choices? Someone suggested in the comments that I detach it from the handle, and drill a hole in the centre. Could be cool?

Thoughts?

I really like the tone. If it were up to me, I would detach the blade, drill a hole through it, and hang it from a gong stand so that it could vibrate freely, or hang it like an orchestral suspended cymbal. It may not be too different in concept from some of the more oddly-shaped Matt Nolan Custom cymbals that the Memphis Drum Shop sells in their Gong Chamber, aside from the fact that it used to be a gardening tool, of course.
 
For what it's worth :

I saw the touring production of the Les Miserables musical yesterday, in Schenectady NY. Before the show, I walked up front to take a look down into the orchestra pit. The score calls for a brake drum, and sure enough, the percussionist had one. Not a "drum" drum -- I mean a rusty disc from an automobile wheel assembly.
 
For what it's worth :

I saw the touring production of the Les Miserables musical yesterday, in Schenectady NY. Before the show, I walked up front to take a look down into the orchestra pit. The score calls for a brake drum, and sure enough, the percussionist had one. Not a "drum" drum -- I mean a rusty disc from an automobile wheel assembly.

He had the disk? Hmmmm.

Brake drum is the authentic brake drum sound. The disc and drum of the brakes have different pitches and tamber's.
 
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