A Slapaphone is a tuned percussion instrument made of upright tubes that are open at the top and closed at the bottom. You play it by slapping the open ends with paddles or your hands. It was designed and built by Jeff Fahringer, an instrument maker in Pennsylvania, and each one is made by hand.
Instruments that work this way are usually grouped as plosive aerophones. The note comes from a burst of air inside a tube, not from a vibrating skin, string, or bar. That is why a Slapaphone sounds like a pitched drum but is not really a drum at all.
How a Slapaphone works
Each tube holds a column of air. When a paddle lands flat on the open end, it compresses that air for an instant and the column rings at one pitch. A longer air column gives a lower note and a shorter one gives a higher note.
The clever part is hidden. From the outside the tubes can look the same length. Inside, each tube is stopped at a different depth, and that stopper sets the note. The stoppers can be moved, so the player can fine-tune each tube. A Reverb listing for a mid-1990s Fahringer Slapaphone describes the design in exactly these terms.
For a closer look at the physics, see how a Slapaphone works.
What a Slapaphone sounds like
The sound is a short, round, pitched thump with a quick decay. It sits somewhere between a tuned drum and a marimba played with soft mallets. LA Percussion Rentals, which keeps a set in its collection, compares the tone to boobams.
Size varies a lot from one instrument to the next. The LA Percussion Rentals set covers three octaves, from F3 to F6, laid out like a keyboard. Much smaller versions exist too, including a five-note wooden one that has appeared on eBay.
How a Slapaphone is played
- Hold a flat paddle in each hand and bring it down squarely on the open end of a tube.
- Cover the whole opening. A paddle that lands half on the rim gives a weak, breathy note.
- Play it like a keyboard. On larger sets the tubes are arranged in the same pattern as piano keys, so melodies and bass lines fall under the hands in a familiar way.
- Use bare hands for a softer attack and quieter passages.
Who makes the Slapaphone
The Slapaphone is the work of Jeff Fahringer, a craftsman based in Pennsylvania who builds unusual percussion instruments. Sellers of his instruments describe him as a builder of custom percussion for Blue Man Group, and the examples that turn up for sale date back to the mid-1990s.
There is no factory version and no range of brands or models. Every Slapaphone is a handmade one-off or part of a small batch, which is why they are hard to find and why prices vary so much.
The Slapaphone and Blue Man Group
Most people first meet this kind of sound through Blue Man Group, whose shows are built around tuned pipes struck with paddles. Their own instruments have names such as the PVC Instrument, the Tubulum, and the Drumbone. The Slapaphone works on the same principle on a smaller scale.
Where you may have heard one
Canadian percussionist Joe Porter has brought the instrument to a much wider audience online. In one widely shared video he plays the intro to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” on a Slapaphone, as reported by Laughing Squid.
Slapaphone vs. similar instruments
| Instrument | How the pitch is set | How it is played | How you get one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slapaphone | Movable stoppers inside closed tubes | Paddles or hands on the open ends | Handmade by Jeff Fahringer, mostly found used |
| Thongophone or PVC pipe instrument | Open pipes cut to different lengths | Paddles or flip-flops on the pipe ends | Usually home-built |
| Boomwhackers | Plastic tubes cut to length | Struck against a surface or the body | Mass-produced and inexpensive |
| Boobams | Tube length under a small drum head | Sticks, mallets, or fingers on the heads | Specialist percussion makers |
How much does a Slapaphone cost?
There is no list price. Used Fahringer Slapaphones have been listed anywhere from about $70 for a five-note instrument to $500 to $1,000 for a larger tunable set with paddles. A full three-octave set rents for $160 a day in Los Angeles. We track real listings in how much a Slapaphone costs and where to buy one.
Can you build your own?
Yes, and many people do. A set of PVC pipes cut to length and a pair of foam or rubber paddles will give you the same family of sounds for the price of a trip to the hardware store. It will not have the movable stoppers of a Fahringer instrument, but it is the cheapest way to find out whether you like playing one. Our homemade instrument guides are a good place to start.
FAQs
Is a Slapaphone a drum?
Not strictly. A drum makes sound with a stretched skin. A Slapaphone has no skin: the sound is the air inside the tube, set off by the slap of the paddle.
Who invented the Slapaphone?
Jeff Fahringer, an instrument maker in Pennsylvania. The earliest examples we have found for sale are dated to the mid-1990s.
Is a Slapaphone the same as a thongophone?
They are close relatives. Both are tubes slapped on the open end. A thongophone is usually a set of open pipes cut to different lengths, while the Slapaphone uses closed tubes with movable stoppers inside.
Can you buy a new Slapaphone?
We could not find a public shop or price list for new ones. In practice people buy them used on Reverb and eBay, or rent one from a percussion rental house.
Is it hard to play?
Getting a clean note takes a few minutes of practice. Because larger sets follow a keyboard layout, anyone who can pick out a tune on a piano can find their way around one quickly.
