If you are using straws to create your pipes, buy fat straws meant for smoothies or bubble tea. You can find these at stores like Walmart or at your grocery store. Make sure not to get normal or restaurant-style straws. These are not as effective as thicker straws and are much harder to play. If you are using PVC pipe, buy a ½ inch PVC schedule 40 pipe at stores like Home Depot or Walmart. [1] X Research source
Pipe 1: 17. 5 cm Pipe 2: 15. 5 cm Pipe 3: 13. 5 cm Pipe 4: 12. 5 cm Pipe 5: 11 cm Pipe 6: 10 cm Pipe 7: 9 cm Pipe 8: 8. 5 cm You can also blow across your pipes and see if they produce the sound you want. You can cut your pipes shorter if you want a different sound. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to cut your pipes slightly longer than needed, because you can always adjust them to make them shorter.
It’s important that all the stalks have a similar interior diameter, or else it will be hard to make them sound good together. Make sure the bamboo isn’t green, and instead is dried and tan in color.
Use a steel rod with roughly a 3/8 inch diameter to break through the nodes inside of the bamboo shaft. An effective way to do this is to clamp down the steel rod, and then take the bamboo shaft and poke the nodes out using the rod. You also will want to use the rod to scrape around the inside of the bamboo nodes so that the inside node area has the same interior diameter as the rest of the stalk.
For example, if you want your pan pipes in the key of G, play a G on a piano, tuner or another instrument. Cover the bottom hole of the pipe with your thumb so it’s completely covered. Then place your bottom lip on the rim of the pipe, purse your lips and blow across the pipe. If the note does not match the G, cut off a tiny bit of pipe and try again. Keep doing this until you match the G. Then do the same on another pipe to make an A, etc. until you have all your desired notes.
For straw pan pipes, simply wrap tape around all of the pipes several times. To keep the pipes straight, place a chopstick or popsicle stick across the middle of the pipes, and super glue it down. [11] X Research source For PVC or bamboo pipes, you will need to use a stronger material to reinforce the pipes. Use duct tape and a lightweight wooden rod to reinforce the pipes. You can also use twine for a more attractive finished product. Criss-cross the twine across each pipe and the piece of wood to bind the wooden rod to the pipes. [12] X Research source Super glue around the reinforcements for extra support.
If you are making bamboo pipes, also sand the bottom of each pipe where you made the cut at the node.
