How to Make a Triangle Playing Machine

Here’s the problem; you have to play too many instruments in your band or orchestra and you don’t have the time to pick up a triangle beater because your hands are full of other mallets. What you need is a holder for your triangle beater so that all you have to do is hit one end and the other end will hit the triangle for you.

It may not be the best way to play the triangle, but if you absolutely have to play a triangle note and you just can’t pick up the appropriate beater then this will work really well.

triangle playing machine figure 1

Take a look at this video that explores a scenario when you might want this contraption and a look at how it was put together and how it works.

Here’s what you need to make a machine that helps you play the triangle:

1. A triangle beater
2. A disk of wood 1.5 inches in diameter and a ½ inch in thickness
3. 1 inch diameter Surgical tubing or a thick rubber band

rubber bands for triangle machine

4. A Tom Arm Multi Clamp

tom arm multi clamp for triangle machine

5. A cymbal stand
6. A Triangle which is clamped to another stand

triangle clamped to a triangle stand

First thing to do is to wrap the surgical tubing or rubber band around the wood disk and the triangle beater making sure that the triangle beater is on the curve of the disk.

triangle beater with surgical tape

Then you clamp the disk into the Tom Multi Clamp which is clamped to a second cymbal stand and positioned so that the triangle beater rests about an inch or so underneath the suspended triangle.

triangle clamp with beater

There you have it, if you’d like additional help on how to put this triangle machine together just let me know in the comments.

Comments

  1. You can always tell an expert! Thanks for coitributnng.

  2. How do you correctly play sleigh bells?