Table of Contents
John Kovac is a harp builder and also an instrument tinkerer. He designs and builds instruments out of PVC. The majority of his instruments are PVC versions of existing instruments such as harps, slide whistles, ektara, and the washtub bass. He also has some more unusual instruments that have far more features of his own creation. He has authored two books about making PVC instruments, one on making harps 1) and another on building a variety of PVC instruments 2). He is the instrument builder for the East Coast PVC Band.
Instruments
Keyboard2Keyboard
Keyboard2Keyboard is a attachment to a piano that allows one to play piano using an interface that resembles a conventional computer keyboard.
Harps
John Kovac has made a number of unique harps that are mostly like the common form of the instrument but they each have minor alterations to them.
Harpolin
The Harpolin is a combination of a bowed psaltery and a harp. The harp is played horizontally with the bowed psaltery placed on top of it allowing a single player to accompany themselves on both instruments.
Books
PVC Musical Instruments And How To Make Them
ISBN 978-0966866827
Compact disc contains recordings made with the PVC instruments illustrated in this book performed by the East Coast PVC Band.
120 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm + 1 audio disc (digital ; 4 3/4 in.) in back pocket
The book features instructions on how to build-
Fiddle/violin
Violoncello (Cello)
Harp
Slide guitar
Talking drone
Gut bucket (Bumbass)
Slide flute
Panpipes
Didgeridoo
Udu (Nigerian talking drum)
Bull roarer
Mirliton (Kazoo)
Cuica (Brazilian friction drum)
Rhurtrummel (German stir drum)
Shaker
Rain stick
Nail violin
Harpmaking Made Simple
ISBN 978-0966866803
The East Coast PVC Band
The band appears to have four members and was functioning from 2006-2010 but there is no videos of the band since. The majority of the online content of the band is posted on John's youtube page.
