Can you recommend small instruments for camping
 

Hi, this is my first post. I joined this forum specifically to ask for help with the following.

I'm trying to find small instruments that can be taken along while camping.

I don't really care how exotic the instrument is, as long as it meets the following criteria.

-Must be smaller and weigh less than a set of standard playing cards.
-Must have very few or no moving parts.
-Must be able to play several notes.
-Needs no batteries or electricity.

Instruments I'm considering:
-Harmonica
-Jaw Harp (aka Jews Harp, Mouth Harp)
-Kazoo
-Kou Xiang (aka Kouxian)
-Nose Flute (aka Nose Whistle, Humanitone)
-Pendant Ocarina
-Pan Flute: Some can be as small as a pack of cards
-Slide Whistle
-Thumb Piano (aka Kalimba, Mbira): Some can be as small as a pack of cards
-Tin Whistle

Can you add to this list?

I would really like to find an instrument that sounds like a guitar, yet still fits the criteria above.

Or can you suggest instruments that can be made from simple items while camping.

Examples:
-Drum = pot, pan, water bottle, hollow log, etc.
-Recorder = hollow stick with finger holes
-Xylophone = several sticks or rocks lined up and struck with a stick to create tones.

1/30 scale Fender Stratocaster, complete with 1/30 scale Peavey amp. Beats the rest of the shit out there...

EDIT: And a 1/60 scale wind-up electric generator.

huh

Thank you for your suggestion Lucifer Sam? Have you tried this set up while camping?

Yeah I doubt you're going to be able to find an instrument that sounds like the guitar that can play several notes but is smaller than a deck of cards.

Only two instruments needed when camping- A penknife and your knob..................Oh come on someone had to say it.

Ok. Is there anyone on MusicBanter: "The Internet's Top Music Community" that can offer a constructive suggestion for any small instruments that fit what I'm looking for?

I'd personally go with a harmonica.

Can't get on quite that small, but a djembe (sp?) or conga drum would be great. Otherwise Harmonica is the best as SJ suggested or maybe a two piece piccolo.

you could always practice beatboxing :)

or yodeling

On the topic of a small instrument that sounds like a guitar. I tried researching what makes a guitar sound like a guitar. From what I've read, please correct me if I'm wrong, a string is plucked, causing it to vibrate, this in turn resonates in a chamber. Different tones are achieved by pressing on the string to effectively shorten it and the wavelength of its vibrations. Add a few more strings and you can play many more notes.

So I started researching rudimentary instruments that use a string(s). These include the cigar box guitar, the strumstick, the musical bow. The musical bow is the one that comes the closest to what I'm looking for. But, I wonder if it can be made even more simple or smaller than a string stretched on a flexible stick.

Has anyone here ever seen someone attach a string to their shoe and then attach the other end of the string to a mouthpiece and then inserted the mouthpiece into their mouth? The mouthpiece would allow for the musician to adjust the shape of his/her mouth to change the sound of the vibrating string. In effect, the musician's mouth becomes the resonance chamber and the rest of their body becomes the neck of a "guitar."

Maybe Boo Boo might know? He had a thread a while back about unconventional instruments... drop him a PM.

I don't think theres such a thing as a guitar smaller than a deck of cards. :laughing:

But if you're looking for a smaller instrument similar to the guitar you could go for a Mandolin or Ukelele, I'm sure you can find one at your nearest pawn shop.

Or you could get a lap harp.

http://www.doughalper.com/images/pictures/72.jpg

It's a folk instrument, a modernized version of a Psaltery, which is an ancient Zither that was popular in Medieval Europe . I got one for Christmas, it has a very nice sound and it's extremely easy to play, and cheap too.

Thanks for getting back to me so fast boo boo. I'm looking into your suggestions. Thanks

If you don't mind going larger, Ukulele's are nice.

I usually just bang on pans with drumsticks.

But then again, I'm a Neanderthal.