A conch for mermaids

[Mermaid Aglaia]

Hello mers,

i have a nice accessory for mermaids and mermen.
It is very simple to build and a nice insturment. You need only the shel from a large sea snail.
To make a conch you must cut of the end and sand it.
You can play it like a trump. Its very easy. But be carefull, it is very loud.

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[Mermaid Galene]

What a great idea! Thanks!

[sashiyoop]

So that's how that works! I never understood how they got the sound to come out, but as a trumpet player, this makes a lot of sense!

[Winged Mermaid]

My Dad picked up one of these when we went to the British Virgin Islands in 2002. My brother is a trumpet player.. that got pretty irritating pretty quick XP Yes, it IS loud! haha

[Fun123joker]

well all imtraments are loud. no matter but just to get one thing clear
SIZE DOSE NOT EFFECT SOUND DYNAMICS
SIZE DOSE NOT EFFECT SOUND DYNAMICS
SIZE DOES NOT EFFECT SOUND DYNAMICS
this is coming from a cello player who is told not to pratice at certain times because my family thinks it would be too loud. if anything the smallest instruments make the loudest sounds

[Merman Dan]

If you are in the market for a pre-made conch horn, I recommend Conch King (http://www.conchking.com) . I have a triton horn from there and it's wonderful!

http://www.conchking.com/triton%20header.jpg

[Echidna]

As wonderful as natural instruments are, keep in mind that big mollusks like the Triton are severely overfished, to the point that large patches of reefs are destroyed by starfish because the mollusk is the only predator that can eat them.

It'd be better for the environment to use replicas and not shells that have been "harvested" off living animals.
the same goes for shelltops, real dried seahorses, etc.

while not all of those are endangered, I'm still flustered how so many mers can use them for accessories without compunction.

[Merman Dan]

To be fair I stopped eating conch fritters because they are overfished. I switched to farm-raised abalone instead.

[Mermaid Miradis]

I use those shells I find (empty, I check a lot) on the beach in front of our house. Otherwise for bra etc I use 3D printed ones from my own pattern. (Srsly 3D printing is your friend here, you can build your own printer from scratch for a decent price)

Edit: this is for decoration in general too and it lasts longer I think.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Can you make whistles then, out of periwinkles?

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

Technically, you can convert any spiral shell. Really little ones have a higher pitch, and might require a mouthpiece inserted instead.

I have a conch horn, I found the shell for $8 at a street market in my neighborhood and sawed off the end myself. It's fairly easy, just takes patience and a sharp handsaw.

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To give you an idea of how loud these can be, a conch horn is legally considered a marine signalling device for boats. (s'what I use mine for.) That means the noise level is on par with a sports air horn.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Ooo! Next time I'm at the beach, I'll keep eyes out for the shells with broken ends.

[Adalira]

What an awesome idea!

[HamptonsMermaid]

I have a conch horn collection with pieces from Hawaii and the Bahamas! Everywhere we travel I try to pick up new shell horns and I have shells I need to saw into horns. I'm sing in a band so we actually use them as instruments to amp up the energy and call everyone onto the dance floor. Our goal is to get a whole range of notes so we can have the Harmonic Conchs! (It's pronounced "konk" btw). Next goal is to make a really fancy leather harness for the conchs as I don't want to drill a hole in it.

Just got back from the Bahamas and I love conch fritters! We'll even go out conching ourselves but those guys are quite a lot of work to skin, but so tasty!

[Ashton]

We had someone bring a Conch for our holiday meet up back in December. it wouldn't make the horn sound at all, but I got it to make loud farts sounds.... good enough for me :P

[HamptonsMermaid]

It's tricky to get the hang of conch blowing unless you're already a horn player. I usually practice a couple times without the conch, pursing my lips as tight as possible and forcing air through the tightest lips possible. Don't let your lips flop like when blowing a raspberry, they should hardly move at all. Then with the conch you hold the same mouth, make sure it is sealed on your mouth and blow through very tight lips. Takes practice but it's so satisfying when you get a good blow haha! Hope that help!


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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Can hermit crab shells be made into whistles? Like these ones? If yes, they'd make really cool trinkets to sell at MerQuest!
http://simplyshells.com.au/product-category/hermit-crab-shells/