The Delacorte Clock: a bronze disco and parade

I'm still in New York City and yesterday I got to see the famous Delacorte Clock in action. Me and the mister were strolling through the archway between the Central Park Wildlife Center and the Children's Zoo when the bells struck 5:30 and the bronze bear, the penguin with a drum, the hippo with a violin, the goat with pipes and the Kangaroo starting spinning and dancing. Of course I had to run back and take a picture. Here is a very short 16 second snippet of what I saw. (I recognize the tune, but I can't name it.) The clock plays 26 different children's nursery songs on the half hour (26!).





Depending on the time you can hear: Frère Jacque, Au Clair de la Lune, Hickory, Dickory Dock , Ding Dong Dell , Old King Cole, I Had a Little Nut Tree, Hey Diddle Diddle , Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Georgie Porgie, My Bonnie, Little Jack Horner, The Merry Farmer (Schumann), Mary Had a Little Lamb, Cradle Song (Brahms), Three Blind Mice, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Anvil Chorus, Sing a Song of Sixpence, There’s Music in the Air, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep , A Tisket, a Tasket, The Farmer in the Dell, Row, Row Your Boat , Sailing, Sailing

note: there are much better videos of the clock on youtube - give yourself a treat and do a search for them. If you're ever in New York City lucky you - put the bronze parade on your itinerary.

About this blog

This page serves as a community building website for artists and crafters who use mechanical musical elements. The goals here are pretty simple - to:

1 Offer simple music box creation techniques
2 Showcase the amazing work of artisans and people new to this art
3 Relate news about Tuned Teeth shop developments.

Everything ELSE that happens in this space is a pure bonus :-)

If you've bought music box supplies from me before, then goal number two is a secret message for you - now is your chance to showcase (or simply show off) your musical creation (and really it would be an honour for me to do so with you). Submission guidelines are below -they will help me to get your post up quickly and with accuracy.

Submission Guidelines
1 A photo of your project/creation.
2 Any short words you'd like to add about the creation of use or meaning of your project.
3 Contact or website information to include in the post if you would like to give readers a method of contacting you.

If you're interested, send me a message and I can help get you started!

A Natural Violence Tempered By Enchantment

Today I launched my new web store, Tuned Teeth Music Box Supply (and more! There's always more) with happiness and excitement.

I'm a music box girl in an electronic world. I think a music box movement (the part that makes the sounds) has a build like a violin; it is completely utilitarian and waste free, but used correctly is capable of producing sounds that are deep, nostalgic, playful, lonesome, and even a little bit mysterious.

When you hold a music box you can feel it vibrating. Sometimes if you listen closely you can hear the gentle whir of tiny gears in motion and here is why: all in miniature, a metal fan spins, pushed by a gear against a gear, abut a dome. Tuned metal teeth pluck pins that are set precisely on a revolving cylinder and in your hand, a small key to power it all.

There's a natural violence to this, tempered by the enchantment of the sounds that can be produced and all the kinetic excitement of a palm-sized self-powered symphony.

If you make music boxes, like me, or want to learn how, if you are interested in the world of music box crafts and music box people, or are just wandering in and slightly bemused by all of the above, watch this space, there's more to come.