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Homemade Chimes With Congas


Using a conga drum to create homemade chimes produces a unique patio, porch, or interior decoration. Traditionally, chimes have been made of various materials, including glass, metal, stone, and wood. Choose the material that sounds best to you and use the conga drum as the base for constructing the homemade chimes.

Wooden Chimes

Attach different-sized wooden blocks to the bottom of each metal tuning brace on the conga. The braces are located around the top of the conga and hold the drum head in place. Allow the strings to hang down at least 2 inches below the bottom of the conga to ensure the wooden pieces clack together when the wind blows. Use a plant hook to hang your conga from a patio, awning, or ledge to benefit from the relaxing sound of the wooden chimes.

Metal Chimes

Metal chimes produce a metallic clangy sound, and you can slightly dull the sound by gluing rubber inserts inside the chimes. Find five pipes and cut them into different sizes, so that you have 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2-inch metal tubes. Drill one hole in the top of each tube to string the fishing line through. Thread the fishing line through the hole in the tube, and then tie the ends of the fishing line to the conga tuning braces. When you are finished, suspend the conga with plant hooks to ensure that the conga stays level.

Bamboo Chimes

Purchase a single long stalk of bamboo or several smaller ones to create bamboo chimes attached to the conga. Cut several bamboo stems to equal sizes and then tie them to the metal braces of the conga. Cut the strings short enough so that the stalks of bamboo hit against the side of the conga drum. The bamboo will send vibrations through the drum creating a pleasant and relaxing percussive sound.

Stone Chimes

Stone chimes are another possibility for creating a wind chime with a conga. Find several long stones and wrap some fishing line around them to keep them secure. Attach the rocks so that they fall along the outside of the wooden part of the conga. When the wind blows, the rocks will move and make contact with the metal braces and the wooden part of the drum. This will create a meditative sound similar to rocks slowly crumbling down a wooden plane.

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