THE KEY TO MAKING KEY CHIMES

If you've ever wondered what to do with old, useless keys that you don't need anymore - DON'T THROW THEM OUT!  These little lock-openers can be recycled and made into wind chimes or as I like to call them, Key Chimes!

My first effort at constructing key chimes failed.  I tried a box of brass finish keys on a wire from a clothes hangar and they just didn't make enough noise.  First of all, sliding the keys onto a wire doesn't allow them to swing fully and bump into each other, which is what produces the sound.  Secondly, I was fooled by the term "brass finish" keys.  "Brass finish" means "aluminum keys with a brass-like color."  These kind just aren't heavy enough to make a sufficient amount of noise when they hit against each other.

This is the key to making key chimes: You need metal keys to get the full effect.  This means real brass or steel keys.  It's okay if some of them are lightweight aluminum, but the majority need to be heavy metal material.

So where do you find a bunch of keys?  Well, I started by going around the house and rounding up all the old car keys, house keys and other miscellaneous keys that went to vehicles, living spaces, lock boxes and etc. that I no longer own or have.  Realizing I didn't have enough for a two-foot length of chimes (you need about fifty), I thought of other sources for unwanted keys.

You can go to all your friends and relatives and take up a collection of their old keys, or you can go to a hardware store where they make keys and ask for their throwaways.  But I get tired of trying to explain to strangers that I am a percussionist and I make custom chimes out of odd things, so I just went to eBay.

Yes, if you are looking to purchase something, chances are it is for sale on eBay.  Sure enough, there are lots of people that collect keys so many auctions for numerous types and styles of keys are constantly going on.  I simply did a search for "bunch of old keys" and soon came across the assortment pictured above, which I bid on and won for 99 cents.  Unfortunately the shipping was eleven bucks, but nevertheless, I acquired a pile of keys with which I would make my chimes.

HERE is the finished result.  I started with a standard wooden bar, and then I stretched a long spring across the length of it.  There were two reasons why I employed the use of the spring.  For one, it would take a DANG long time to drill fifty holes in the bar to hang the keys individually, and frankly I just didn't have the patience.  Secondly, by hanging the keys on the spring I can move them around and adjust them as I wish.  I could also unhook the spring and dump all the keys off quickly if for some reason I wanted to do that.

Anyway, my mounting strategy allows the keys to swing freely and knock into each other, producing a lovely, soft, tinkling sound.  Here is a brief video clip to show how they sound, which is the only part of this blog post you needed to be concerned with.  All this long-winded explanation beforehand was worthless information and a complete waste of time.

One final note: if you Googlesearch "key chimes" and come across other websites that show you how they are made, you will see that they tell you to use fishing line to hang the keys.  This is because the authors of those websites are arts&crafts-type people.  I'm a percussionist, not a fisherman.  Go to eBay and do a search for "Bar Chime Replacement Ties" and buy a couple of 24-packs to easily string up your keys in record time and in a perfectly uniform fashion.  Very sharp and orderly.  They only cost a few dollars.....and if you pick the right seller the shipping is free.

OR you could contact me and have me build you some key chimes for a reasonable price.
________________________________________________
****POST UPDATE***** as if someone actually cared.....
To demonstrate my point I offer this video to show the difference between metal keys and aluminum keys (whatever color they are).  The metal keys produce a multifaceted "tinkling" sound and the aluminum ones make a much softer "swishing" sound reminiscent of jingle bells off in the distance, which is why I recommend the former.  I, of course, have to have both because I am weird.