tiny.xylophone

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Deagan Co. “Tuned Rattles” (ratchets that strike tuned bars) are so rare that only three examples are known to exist. These were somehow on Craigslist six years ago for fifty bucks, and a buddy picked them up and stored them for me till now. They stopped making these around 1920, and they were meant to be musical novelty for vaudeville or circuses. It has 1.5 octaves of F Major scale, with B-natural included to play in other keys. #deagan #titanic #drumcorps #show #liveshow

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Happy Halloween!

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So these are Deagan Musical Coins! Someone tipped me off in November that these were in an antique store near Boston. The owner said they’d been there for sale for 20+ years and he never knew what they were used for. Thankfully he didn’t raise the low price that much once he found out they were rare and cool. These were used as a musical comedy act in vaudeville shows around the turn of the century. It was a chance to play music in a hilarious way that nobody’s ever seen before—and Deagan made a lot of instruments for this exact purpose. They are not easy to play! I was shocked how hard it was at first just to get them to spin. It is way easier to lay them out in your own pattern than to play them in order. I only have 10 diatonic notes, but they were sold up to 2 octaves chromatically. They do look more like saw blades—but they were called coins. I guess they sound like loose change falling on the floor! They have little indents at the center that make them not totally flat. This helps you pick them up. The pointy ends actually help make the sound. They grind against the marble while rolling and help it to vibrate clearly. I’m not sure how they tuned these! Song is “Daisy Bell” (1892) by Harry Dacre. The same song was the first ever digital song made by IBM in the 60s. #percussion #deagan #musicalcomedy #vaudeville #rareinstruments