Research
As a developer of the Major Scale Musical Wine Glasses®, my knowledge of the product is quite comprehensive, but this was my first chance to test a random unit straight off the production floor. In developing these musical glasses, we looked for a glass that would allow for a full A major scale, allowing for more versatile music-making. We used a high-quality lead-free crystal glass here to ensure the best resonance we could achieve.
I’m not a big wine drinker, but you’ll find me sneaking a swig of water every now and again – so I’m conducting this experiment with water as an alternative. I try to keep practice on my violin, but I’m much more likely to produce something resembling music with my finger on these glasses than with my bow on strings – so I’m looking forward to the chance to actually hit the right notes for a change.
Hypothesis
Due to variations in glass we knew absolute, orchestral perfection was a bit too aspirational, but we have been pleased to find that the fill lines correspond quite nicely to the note indicated. My hypothesis is that I’ll have a pretty happy match today.
Experiment
Fill ‘er up! I poured to the first note – an ‘A,’ moistened my finger in another glass to allow for smooth movement around the rim, and round my finger went firmly in a circular motion. As I draw my finger around the rim, the alternating slipping and sticking creates a vibration pattern in the glass. The speed of vibration, meanwhile, is affected by the volume of liquid in the glass, and different vibrations will produce different notes. The results of my first attempt?
A lovely ‘A’ note resonates through the dining room, accompanied by a hypnotic ripple along the surface of the wine. As you can see…a successful ‘A’!
I toast to a successful first pour and continue on my journey through the A Major scale.
I poured a taller glass and around I went again.
Crosschecking with another tuner – a direct hit! SuccEss with a capital ‘E’.
Conclusion
Though slight variations in glass will yield somewhat different performance, a random test proved more than satisfactory to my unprofessional, yet music-appreciating ears. Very content and ready to wet my whistle, I toast to beautiful music with my fiancée and Franklin Broccoli, our almost-real pet bulldog.
To see and hear these uncommon instruments make music with your own eyes and ears, check out this video of me playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
15 Comments
[…] This is crazy! All I keep thinking is a dinner party of 8, where everyone has one of these genius Major Scale Musical Wine Glass from Uncommon Goods and we’re rocking out to a harmonious symphony of merlots & cabs. The pair would make an awesome gift for those who are in the know of both vino and metronomes. {Oh yeah, I’m thinking wino holiday gifts already… can’t help it! I love giving gifts : )} Here’s a favorite quote from the designer of the wine glass. Catch his post about the design process here » […]
[…] still amazed. Morgan, the Product Manager at Uncommon Goods, actually has a really cool post on the Uncommon Goods Blog about his own experiment testing out the musical wine glasses straight from the production […]
Hi Morgan,
My friend and I have access to a laser cutting machine. We had an idea to make musical wine glasses and then I found yours while were doing research. We’ve done one round of glasses already but found the glasses we were using were not machined consistently and therefore produced inconsistent notes even though we were using the same template to cut each of them. We’re about order different glasses to try again but I thought Id ask if you were willing to share what brand of glass you are using as it looks like you are getting consistent results. I know of course that you are trying to sell your product and would probably rather us buy yours but I think we’re more interested in the process of doing it ourselves than just having the glasses. Would you be willing to share info with fellow whimsical experimenters?
Best,
~Sophie
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for reaching out! As a fellow researcher and developer, I’m glad that you’re as committed to quality and consistency as we were in developing this product.
We spent a lot of time researching different shapes and materials, so I’d rather not spill the beans, but I encourage you to keep searching if you want to go it on your own. There’s a lot to learn out there about how glasses are made, the different materials used, and the nuances of each. I hope the search might be as enjoyable as the final product. (but I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend picking up a pair of ours to perhaps accompany and compare with the fruits of your research!)
Happy Hunting!
Morgan
Hi Morgan, I’ve written a composition incorporating wine glass music and now need to record it. Do you have any idea if there are any stockists for your glasses in Australia?
Hi Josie,
This product is now available for international delivery, so we can ship you a set of Musical Wine Glasses from here. Just click on the flag icon on the top of the shopping page (http://flowslowly.com/product/major-scale-musical-wine-glasses-party-set) and select your flag. Once you do that, you should see pricing info for Australia. After adding the set to your cart, you will be able to select Australia during check-out for your shipping options.
Thanks for asking!
Hi Morgan,
We’d also be really interested in whether you have any Australian stockists (or could send to Australia).
Glad to see that you’re interested in the Musical Wine Glasses, Clare! We do ship many of our goods to Australia, including these musical glasses. Check out my comment above for more details. Thanks!
Would you consider a significant volume discount if I bought 100 glasses as gifts for music teachers in an association? Our budget is about 15.00 per person but they would adore these.
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for asking! We do offer discounts for bulk orders. You can learn more here https://ugoods.zendesk.com/entries/21418402-who-do-i-contact-about-corporate-orders.
If you’re interested in placing a large order, our corporate orders team is here to help. Just email [email protected] or call 888-365-0056.
Best,
Cassie
The inevitable has happened and one of our glasses broke. Is there any way we can obtain a single glass? I’d buy a pair and thus have a spare, but being at the age where I don’t buy green bananas, that might not be a prudent purchase.
Hi John,
I’ve reached out to our customer service team to see how we can help you. Stay tuned!
Hi again, John! I just heard back from our CS team and they’ve asked that you either shoot them an e-mail at [email protected] or give them a call at 888-365-0056 so they can help arrange for you to receive a replacement. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the customer service that was far and beyond what I expected. I really enjoy these glasses.
Happy to hear it!