0:00:06 > 0:00:09I'm Charles Hazlewood. I've been conducting orchestras
0:00:09 > 0:00:12all over the world for more than 20 years.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18For me, the orchestra is an almost magical gathering of individuals,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21all with the same purpose - to give voice to
0:00:21 > 0:00:26extraordinary music that can leave us feeling replenished and changed.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Central to this, of course, is the instruments themselves.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Staunchly traditional in design and sound,
0:00:35 > 0:00:40they've remained virtually unchanged for certainly the last two centuries.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44So, the question is, can those instruments
0:00:44 > 0:00:46still make beautiful music,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48if we go right back to the drawing board
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and made them from radically different materials?
0:00:54 > 0:00:59I'm challenging some of the country's top instrument-makers
0:00:59 > 0:01:01to create an orchestra for the modern age...
0:01:01 > 0:01:03SOUND LIKE A FRENCH HORN
0:01:03 > 0:01:05..with one rule.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08They can only use scrap.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It looks the perfect size for a double bass.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13It'll be like no violin I've ever seen.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17By re-building the orchestra, we'll examine how it works,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and discover precisely how each instrument makes its unique sound.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23SOUND LIKE A TRUMPET
0:01:23 > 0:01:26SOUND LIKE A CLARINET Jury's out a little bit on that.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29SOUND LIKE A VIOLIN
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I mean, it makes you feel like you're five years old again!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35But will our scrapheap orchestra be able to perform
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
0:01:37 > 0:01:41in front of thousands at the renowned BBC Proms?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I'm imagining myself on the Albert Hall stage.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Frankly, I would want the bowels of the Earth to open
0:01:51 > 0:01:53and swallow me up.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58'It's an experiment that's never been attempted anywhere before.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:01We could be the laughing stock of the whole profession.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05On some level, maybe it puts our reputations at risk.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09The Proms is not regarded as a rubbish orchestra festival.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11If I'm not happy, it's not going to happen.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32We dump around 280 million tonnes of waste
0:02:32 > 0:02:34in the UK alone each year.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The question is - could any of it be better suited
0:02:37 > 0:02:40to making beautiful music than the materials of old?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Shortly, the instrument-makers are going to arrive
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and I'll issue them with the big challenge -
0:02:47 > 0:02:50can they make a whole orchestra of instruments
0:02:50 > 0:02:53entirely from the materials we see around us?
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Who knows? And heaven help us.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59These men are master craftsmen,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01who work for the world's leading orchestras.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04They're used to having the finest materials at their disposal
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and can spend months, even years, honing a single instrument,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11worth thousands of pounds.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'For this project, they have to make 44 different instruments,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'good enough to make a professional sound.'
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- Good morning. - ALL: Good morning.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27We have a great opportunity ahead of us. In just 11 weeks,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31the stage is ours at the mother of all music festivals -
0:03:31 > 0:03:34the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37to give a performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41but in a way that has never been seen or heard before.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46The orchestra will play entirely on instruments made by you
0:03:46 > 0:03:48from scrap materials.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50That's the only rule.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54You can only use the kind of objects you find in a place like this -
0:03:54 > 0:03:56stuff that has been cast out, disposed of,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59or, at the very least, passed on.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01THAT is the challenge.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03I'm eternally optimistic.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I think anything is possible given enough time
0:04:06 > 0:04:10and enough resources, but I've got a really serious concern about time.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Say, for a clarinet, around about 500 hours.
0:04:12 > 0:04:1511 weeks is not very long.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16I totally hear you.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19In an ideal world, you'd have a great many months
0:04:19 > 0:04:21to make these instruments, but sorry, guys -
0:04:21 > 0:04:23the fact is you just don't.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26So I must be very clear with you when I say
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I ain't going to walk out on-stage at the Albert Hall
0:04:29 > 0:04:32to an orchestra that can only wheeze and moan and burp at me.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35I need an orchestra that can make genuinely brilliant music
0:04:35 > 0:04:38so the audience will go, "Whoa! How could it be possible
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"that this orchestra playing these bits of rubbish
0:04:41 > 0:04:44"could sound so good?"
0:04:44 > 0:04:46I wish you good luck.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55In this project, what we want to do is go back to a kind of ground zero -
0:04:55 > 0:04:58to sort of re-experience what craftsmen and women
0:04:58 > 0:05:02must have experienced when they were at the very beginnings
0:05:02 > 0:05:04of creating, say, the violin.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08A big elastic band to tighten the head onto the drum.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11A clothes-hanger will make
0:05:11 > 0:05:13the most excellent little bow...
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- HE LAUGHS - for very short hands.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21This could be the basis of a body for a violin or viola.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24If we find another one of those, we're quids in.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26We're used to making high-quality instruments,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29so to make something out of a piece of junk effectively
0:05:29 > 0:05:31will be rather interesting.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I'm looking at this cement mixer for possibly a timpani.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39It's not a very good slide, but a slide that sort of works.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43I mean, obviously what they're doing at the moment is pretty primitive,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46but surely it's the beginnings of trains of thought
0:05:46 > 0:05:48so I think the only way is up.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51'Over the next few weeks,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55'the makers will have to take their instruments through quantum leaps.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57'I'm hoping that by going back to basics
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'and building instruments afresh,
0:06:00 > 0:06:05'we'll build a greater understanding and appreciation of how they work.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'It's going to take all the ingenuity and craft
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'the makers possess, especially when you consider
0:06:11 > 0:06:16'the piece of music I'm hoping we'll play at the Royal Albert Hall.'
0:06:21 > 0:06:23The greatest orchestral showstopper of them all -
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, written to celebrate Russia's victory
0:06:28 > 0:06:33over Napoleon's invading army - a shameless crowd-pleaser,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36which showcases all the elements of the orchestra.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Tchaikovsky wrote the overture in 1880,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51an era when the orchestra reached a new peak.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The instruments had evolved over hundreds of years, to the point where
0:06:55 > 0:06:57they could excel and blend perfectly.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05It speaks volumes that the orchestra and its instruments
0:07:05 > 0:07:09have barely changed since Tchaikovsky wrote this familiar
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and rambunctious pinnacle of orchestral music.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28With the instrument-makers onboard, now I need a group of musicians.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And I'm planning to recruit some I know very well.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39I've been working with the BBC Concert Orchestra for many years,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41but never before have I said to them,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45"Actually, one thing you're not allowed on this gig are YOUR instruments."
0:07:47 > 0:07:51I could be in for a tough time. We could be the laughing stock of the whole profession.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53It puts our reputations at risk.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14So, ladies and gentlemen, the last tub-thumbing
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and, let's face it, gloriously vulgar bars
0:08:17 > 0:08:21of that great confection, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Now, I have a mission - and I hope you'll join me
0:08:24 > 0:08:26gladly and enthusiastically in this mission -
0:08:26 > 0:08:30which is to perform this piece at the BBC Proms
0:08:30 > 0:08:32at the Royal Albert Hall in just 11 weeks' time.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Now, you may immediately say, "Yeah, so what?
0:08:35 > 0:08:37"1812, surely no stranger to that
0:08:37 > 0:08:39"or any other classical music festival."
0:08:39 > 0:08:43To which my answer is, well, yes, it is the 1812,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46but not quite as we know it, because what I am going to
0:08:46 > 0:08:49ask you to do over the course of the ensuing 11 or so weeks
0:08:49 > 0:08:52is to put away your beloved instruments
0:08:52 > 0:08:58and in their stead to pick up strange scrap instruments,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01made entirely of rubbish - kind of waste materials.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04And the biggest challenge I'm well aware lies with you.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Because your instruments are, I guess, to most of you,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10like very, very dear friends, almost like lovers,
0:09:10 > 0:09:16so the idea of asking you to put away a great friend and effectively get in bed with a stranger
0:09:16 > 0:09:19is, I know, quite an ask. So, that's the challenge, ladies and gentlemen.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23I'm very hopeful that you will be up for it.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26LAUGHTER
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Well, I'm assuming because no-one has kind of gone off the deep end
0:09:29 > 0:09:34that you're all cautiously up for the challenge. Is that fair?
0:09:34 > 0:09:37OK, great. Well, here's to it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I'm really looking forward to this project
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and I look forward with great anticipation and excitement
0:09:44 > 0:09:46to finding out what these makers can produce.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I'm always trying out instruments,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50thinking I'm going to find the one.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53This is going to be the one, it's fantastic.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Well, maybe this is going to be the one?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57This scrap instrument might be the one!
0:09:57 > 0:09:59We're all in it together, aren't we, really?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- We'll go down as one sinking ship! - HE LAUGHS
0:10:04 > 0:10:10While the orchestra ponders the challenge ahead, our master craftsmen are hard at work,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12scouring local scrap yards...
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I don't think I've ever been in a place like this before.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18A car breakers' yard is not really my usual comfort zone.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21..looking for anything that could conceivably
0:10:21 > 0:10:24become part of a musical instrument.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We could call that a 36 inch bass drum.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- Oh! And I can nearly lift it off the ground! - HE LAUGHS
0:10:31 > 0:10:34So far, there's not a potential violin bow in sight.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37For my oboe and bassoon, this rubbish just won't do.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Just maybe there might be the Stradivari of car bonnets
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- sitting there right in front of us. - RINGING SOUND
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Tubular bells.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48SOUND LIKE A FLUTE
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Human beings have probably been making music
0:10:50 > 0:10:53since first stepping out of the cave.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55But it's the technology behind the instruments
0:10:55 > 0:11:00which has helped turn crude sounds into harmonious music.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Orchestras started taking shape around the early 17th century,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and, as more instruments emerged,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08composers began to take advantage of them,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10writing more and more sophisticated music.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14These instruments divide pretty neatly into four categories.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Strings, woodwind,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19brass and percussion.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23I've chosen makers who specialise in each of these.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Strings account for more than half the orchestra,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and the largest group within the strings comprises the violins,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35the smallest instrument in this orchestral family.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41The double bass is the largest and the lowest stringed instrument.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Rarely in the spotlight on its own,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46it provides the vital deep foundations
0:11:46 > 0:11:48of the orchestra's sound.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55Ben Hebbert is an accomplished instrument-maker
0:11:55 > 0:11:58and music academic at West Dean College near the south coast.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01He's making the scrapheap orchestra's lower strings,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04that is three cellos and two double bass.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I think there always has been something really mysterious
0:12:08 > 0:12:10about instrument-making.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Every single instrument becomes unique, and there's an awful lot of
0:12:15 > 0:12:18opportunity to try to figure out what it is which is
0:12:18 > 0:12:22going to make one instrument a little bit closer to that gold standard.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Stringed instruments are most often played with a bow,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30which is strung with horse tail hair.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Minute hooks on the hair continually vibrate the string,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37producing a long, even tone, but not a very loud one.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44It's the sound box, the wooden body of the instrument,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47that amplifies the strings' vibrations.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51The hollow box must be strong enough not to collapse when strings are tightened across it,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53but flexible enough to vibrate,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57pushing the sound out across its entire surface.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03How is Ben going to find scrap to replicate
0:13:03 > 0:13:08what the sound box has excelled at for hundreds of years?
0:13:08 > 0:13:13I saw a nice tin bath from on the side of the road.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15So, we're going to see if we can find it again.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19It looks like the perfect size for a double bass -
0:13:19 > 0:13:21your classic zinc washtub...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25..complete with its old stopper.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31Dragging his find back to the peaceful idyll of West Dean College,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Ben tests the resonating qualities of his new washtub sound box.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40BANGING
0:13:40 > 0:13:43There's a lot of overtone, so you don't just hear "bang",
0:13:43 > 0:13:46but particularly as it reverberates there's higher frequencies
0:13:46 > 0:13:48which reverberate for a little longer,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52so particularly when I get the real bass of it...
0:13:52 > 0:13:54IT REVERBERATES
0:13:54 > 0:13:57..it's that reverberation which means as the music is continually playing,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00that's going to build up and build up and build up.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05What I've found here is a bit of a mast from a sailing dinghy,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10so what I'm simply going to do, in the best naval traditions,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12is lash this all together.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14I think it's got potential.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22It should be incredibly strong.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25If people can go halfway across the Atlantic in a raft like this,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28then we should be able to go halfway through the 1812 Overture.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Lovely deep bass.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50'Our first scrapheap rehearsal is two weeks away.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52'It'll be small - just a core group of players -
0:14:52 > 0:14:56'but we must have at least one of each instrument ready by then.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00'Ben's double bass is first out of the blocks.'
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Andy's come from the orchestra to test-drive it.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Andrew's also here, one of the bow-makers,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10so we'll see what kind of bow concoction he has come up with.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11I'll start to get an inkling
0:15:11 > 0:15:16as to whether this project has legs or not. So, excited? Yes.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19But also, frankly, a bit terrified.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I have absolutely not the faintest idea
0:15:22 > 0:15:24what this bass is going to look like.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28I've tried to work out whether it's going to be a tea chest and a broom handle
0:15:28 > 0:15:32or whether it's going to be little bits of scaffolding.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33I haven't a clue.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37For the time being, Ben's using real strings on his washtub
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and sailing mast double bass.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- HE LAUGHS - Look at that!
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- So, here's the beast. - That's amazing!
0:15:48 > 0:15:51You've got to admit it's rather beautiful?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Um... What, a naive charm?
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Um, it's got bits that I recognise...just.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- Here's your bow. - Of course it is.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04It's called "Aqhaireous".
0:16:04 > 0:16:06It's a piece of water pipe, hence the name.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Right... Bit scary.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10SOUND LIKE A DOUBLE BASS
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Bit thick, that neck.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20You might want to work on that.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23That's going to be one of the big problems for you?
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Is it? For me!? Surely not!
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I'll just throw an artistic hissy fit and wander off. It'll be a big problem for you!
0:16:35 > 0:16:37It's got an incredible amount of bass resonance.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42I'd never imagined it would have so much "Phwar!" at the bottom, you know. An old tin tub.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47I'm struggling a bit down here as well.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49There seems to be an obstruction...
0:16:49 > 0:16:50THEY LAUGH
0:16:50 > 0:16:53..and it's the rest of your instrument.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Actually, that's a bit of an obstruction as well.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I'm slightly concerned about that.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00PLAYS A SCALE
0:17:01 > 0:17:03But after a few more minutes playing,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Andy tentatively begins to get on terms with his new instrument.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Yeah. Well, an 1812 with a few more bars rest in it
0:17:14 > 0:17:17for logistical repositioning
0:17:17 > 0:17:21and we could be away. As far away as possible!
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Up here, it's just about manageable with the finger board,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28but as we go further down the neck it gets far too wide.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31If that was thinned out, that would be lovely.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36This is a good example of how their first reaction to it
0:17:36 > 0:17:41is going to be, "Argh! I don't quite understand it, it's not performing in the way I expect."
0:17:41 > 0:17:45But give it a bit of time and you start to make friends with it and it makes friends with you.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I think he quite liked it.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56As work continues across the orchestra,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00the instrument-makers are embracing my scrapheap challenge.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04At his workshop on the Kent coast, percussion-maker, Paul Jeffries,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07is hollowing out a truck wheel for his giant bass drum.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10This could well be my favourite instrument so far.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14It looks...pretty solid.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16I think it might sound quite good.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18SOUND LIKE A TROMBONE
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Jim Casey from the concert orchestra has been testing
0:18:21 > 0:18:24the first of two plumbing pipe and copper vase trombones
0:18:24 > 0:18:27by brass-maker, Mick Rath.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29- I'm definitely having this one. - HE LAUGHS
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Woodwind specialist, Daniel Bangham, seems to be getting somewhere
0:18:33 > 0:18:36with his two bassoons made from a golf club and a shower cubicle.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40What I'm hoping is that this will make a really fat sound,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42like a professional bassoon.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45SOUND LIKE A BASSOON
0:18:45 > 0:18:47That's what I wanted! HE LAUGHS
0:18:47 > 0:18:50And with his drum still a work in progress,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Paul has finished the first of his 14 instruments -
0:18:53 > 0:18:57a triangle made from a digger drill bit
0:18:57 > 0:19:01- suspended in the neck of a sink. - SOUND LIKE A TRIANGLE
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The porcelain is providing an acoustic chamber.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Amazing. Absolutely amazing!
0:19:08 > 0:19:09SOUND LIKE A TRIANGLE
0:19:15 > 0:19:20Absolutely crucial to the orchestra is the rich sound of the violins.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Until the mid-20th century, they were seated on
0:19:23 > 0:19:26either side of the conductor to provide a symphonic effect.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 with this set-up in mind.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The overture pushes the instruments through their full range.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Our scrap versions will need to produce a lyrical sweetness...
0:19:51 > 0:19:54..and withstand some turbo-charged savagery.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08We'll need 12 violins in the scrapheap orchestra,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10as well as four violas.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Enter violin-maker and teacher, Rob Cain.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Violin-makers are
0:20:18 > 0:20:20fairly eccentric kind of people
0:20:20 > 0:20:24and they get really obsessed over all kinds of details
0:20:24 > 0:20:28that nobody other than a violin-maker would even notice.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31It's a constant pursuit of perfection.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's one of those few professions
0:20:34 > 0:20:36where we're always looking backwards.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39We're trying to achieve something
0:20:39 > 0:20:43which was at its best 250 years ago.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53The pre-eminent violin-maker of that golden age was Antonio Stradivari.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56His surviving instruments are prized.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58One recently sold for close to £10 million.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03This is one of his violins played by the virtuoso, Matthew Trusler.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09The sound of a violin depends on its distinctive flat shape,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13the wood it's made from and the varnish used to coat it.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16Experts have long puzzled over
0:21:16 > 0:21:19the secret ingredients of the Strad violin.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24A combination of spruce, willow and maple he's believed to have soaked in Venetian lagoon water
0:21:24 > 0:21:28then varnished with gum arabic, honey and egg white.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32But Rob has an altogether
0:21:32 > 0:21:35less lavish plan in mind for his scrap version.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40What I'm looking for is soil pipe.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Can a plastic pipe used to carry away human waste
0:21:46 > 0:21:50really reproduce the sweet sound the violin has become known for?
0:21:51 > 0:21:53It's a long way back to Newark.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Rob teaches at the Newark School of Violin Making in Lincolnshire,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01one of only three such institutions in the UK.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Amidst the students learning to craft traditional instruments,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Rob sets about his first attempt at a scrapheap one.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It'll be like no violin I've ever seen,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17based on your familiar household soil pipe.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Not been used, so there are no health and safety issues with it.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Rob's made his task all the harder in his determination to follow my instruction to the letter -
0:22:28 > 0:22:32using 100% recycled materials and going as far away from
0:22:32 > 0:22:34conventional instrument design as possible.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39The tailpiece is what holds the strings
0:22:39 > 0:22:41at the bottom end to the instrument.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46I've got a choice of stainless steel or nickel silver.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55All the materials in a violin
0:22:55 > 0:22:57are working at their absolute physical limits.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01The strings exert 70 pounds of tension,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03pushing down on the violin body
0:23:03 > 0:23:07and all concentrated at just one point - the bridge.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13If any of the materials aren't quite strong enough,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16something's going to give.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- STRING SNAPS - 'Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 for at least 80 musicians
0:23:19 > 0:23:23'because he wanted that scale of sound.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27'We're limited by time to make our instruments, so ours will be a scaled-down version.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31'44 players, in a very special arrangement by Ian Gardiner.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35'He's coming with me to see Rob's prototype scrap violin,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37'alongside Cynthia Fleming,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40'first violinist and leader of the orchestra.'
0:23:40 > 0:23:43My scrap orchestra has got to service the demands
0:23:43 > 0:23:46of an incredibly passionate and fiery piece
0:23:46 > 0:23:48of Russian romantic music
0:23:48 > 0:23:52and so much of that boils down to what the violins sound like,
0:23:52 > 0:23:57so a lot is hanging on what Rob is able to create for us.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01And it certainly looks like no violin I've ever seen.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Rob's finished it off with a CD to support the bridge,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07a kitchen spoon for the chin rest
0:24:07 > 0:24:11and to try to get the soil pipe body to vibrate as much as possible,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15he's cut away parts and wrapped it in a plastic drinks bottle.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20That looks extraordinary!
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Just get me spoons in the right place, you know. That's all-important.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27SOUND LIKE A VIOLIN
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Excuse me while I adjust my spoons! THEY LAUGH
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Then it's a quick tune-up with nails for pegs.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38SOUND LIKE A VIOLIN
0:24:43 > 0:24:46It's very difficult to make that sound like anything.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01I mean, it makes you feel like you're five years old again!
0:25:01 > 0:25:02You know.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04You have some challenges there.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It doesn't vibrate in quite the same way.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11SHE PLAYS A NOTE
0:25:11 > 0:25:13You can hear that.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17I am seeing more problems than I was seeing before.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19It's one thing to think in abstract about, yeah,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22we'll make a whole section of violins out of scrap.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25To think of that in the abstract, you think, it must be possible,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27what a wonderful idea, by the way.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Maybe this will challenge the way
0:25:28 > 0:25:32people think about how violins sound, what makes violins sound?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34But now we're down to the detail.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Are these pegs really going to maintain tension
0:25:37 > 0:25:38and keep the strings in tune?
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Will there be enough sound coming out of the instrument?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43I'm quite fearful about that.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46There are so many things which have got to be got right
0:25:46 > 0:25:49before we've got a viable proposition of an orchestra.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54It wasn't the best moment for a meeting with Roger Wright,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56the director of the Proms.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00He wants assurances that my scrapheap orchestra
0:26:00 > 0:26:04WILL sound good enough to play at the Albert Hall.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So, the instruments are proper instruments,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09but they're not copies
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- and they're made of... - Well...- scrap, rubbish?- Yeah.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Anything which is not conventional.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Yeah.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20My concern is obviously,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22how will it sound,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24how are the players going to respond
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and, you know, the Proms is not regarded
0:26:27 > 0:26:29as a rubbish orchestra festival.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34How confident are you that the instruments WILL sound well?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Well, I'm going to stop at nothing to make sure they do.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38We do have an amazing roster
0:26:38 > 0:26:41of some of the very best instrument-makers in the country,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45so if anyone can achieve miracles with rubbish, they can.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48But clearly we've got to put down a marker that...
0:26:48 > 0:26:52if it's not going to work, if the instruments aren't going to sound well,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56if the Concert Orchestra players are unhappy, we'll just have to pull it
0:26:56 > 0:26:59because there's too much at stake, so if I'm not happy,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I'll have to say, "It's not going to happen."
0:27:02 > 0:27:04A sobering thought,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07especially as the bulk of the instruments are still to be made.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11MUSIC: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The woodwind section plays a crucial role in the orchestra
0:27:16 > 0:27:21by providing melody, harmony, texture and colour.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Despite their name, only some are made of wood -
0:27:24 > 0:27:28others metal, bone, plastic or ivory.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32But all use vibrating air to create sound,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35either by blowing through a reed, like a clarinet,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38or against a sharp edge, like the flute.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40As in many big orchestral pieces,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44the 1812 features solos for all the woodwind instruments,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49each one bringing its own distinctive colour and character to the musical narrative.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53So, our scrap instruments will really have to perform.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Most wind and other orchestral instruments
0:27:57 > 0:28:00are the result of refinements to very old ancestor instruments.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07The clarinet, however, is not the result of gradual developments to an ancient instrument.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10It was a revolutionary invention in the late 17th century.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12CLARINET PLAYS CLASSICAL PIECE
0:28:16 > 0:28:18A German instrument-maker, Johann Christoph Denner,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20adapted a shepherd's pipe,
0:28:20 > 0:28:24using primitive keys to play in the higher, as well as lower register.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32The instrument grew in popularity,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34in particular in the hands of Mozart,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36who adored it for its unique sound.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Andy Wheeldon has to make two clarinets, two flutes
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and a piccolo for our woodwind section -
0:28:53 > 0:28:56five instruments that would usually take him
0:28:56 > 0:28:58the best part of a year to make.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03Andy's got less than ten weeks, and he's never made them out of scrap either.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04A plastic water pipe.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08This should be ideal for the clarinet.
0:29:08 > 0:29:14'The water pipe should work perfectly because the clarinet is simply a straight tube,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18'unlike other wind instruments whose bodies taper out along their length.'
0:29:18 > 0:29:20That ain't ever coming out again, is it?
0:29:20 > 0:29:23You'd struggle, I think.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'The finger holes are precisely placed to achieve the clarinet's wide range of notes.'
0:29:30 > 0:29:32This is the moment of truth.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35HE PLAYS RESONANT NOTES
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- That is amazing!- Sound good? - Bravo. Absolutely fantastic!
0:29:47 > 0:29:48That passes muster.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50I think your work is done.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- Well, we haven't...we haven't got... - I know.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- We need all the keys. - Yeah, we've got the gap there.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59But the basic design, it's going to work, isn't it?
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Well, yeah, but that's the easy part.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07The keys on the clarinet are designed to cover the finger holes
0:30:07 > 0:30:09that are out of the player's reach.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13The earliest versions featured simple keys
0:30:13 > 0:30:14made out of pivots and felt pads,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17but they were often less than reliable.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24So, how IS Andy going to overcome the same challenges
0:30:24 > 0:30:26that early instrument-makers faced,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30to make this complex keywork from scrap?
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Hi, there. I was told you've got some cutlery.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37On a regular clarinet,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40you're looking at 21 individual key pieces
0:30:40 > 0:30:43made of a number of other separate components soldered together,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46so it's quite a jumble of parts.
0:30:48 > 0:30:49Eat your heart out, Uri Geller!
0:30:49 > 0:30:53All the keywork has got to work properly, everything within reach,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55pads have to seal holes,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57they have to move without sticking.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Utilising things that are entirely scrap
0:30:59 > 0:31:01I've still not pulled it off yet.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02HE CHUCKLES
0:31:02 > 0:31:05A further challenge for Andy is the reed,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07the heart of the clarinet's sound
0:31:07 > 0:31:12and the impulse that its resonating body turns into music.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14The reed itself, what it's doing
0:31:14 > 0:31:16is opening and closing on the mouthpiece,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19and the number of times it does this a second
0:31:19 > 0:31:21will depend on the note the player's playing.
0:31:21 > 0:31:26So, for a concert pitch A, that's 440 times a second.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28HE TOOTS NOTE
0:31:28 > 0:31:32Reeds are cut from wild cane,
0:31:32 > 0:31:37but I think Andy's rather enjoying finding a less exotic scrap alternative.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41It was a chocolate-covered ice cream coated in almonds - lovely.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44So, we're going to have a go at making a reed.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47See if we can make something that will make a sound.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54NOTES ISSUE FALTERINGLY
0:31:54 > 0:31:56It's very difficult
0:31:56 > 0:31:58SQUEAKY NOTES
0:32:02 > 0:32:04It's not having it!
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Despite the problems with the reed, Andy's clarinet is ready for a road test.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13And who better to do it than Derek Hannigan,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15second clarinet with the Concert Orchestra,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17watched by me and Ian the arranger.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21- Are you ready for this?- I think so.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- Ah!- Oh, my goodness!
0:32:24 > 0:32:25- Wow.- There you go.
0:32:27 > 0:32:28And the keys are made of...?
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Mainly cutlery.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- That's a fork...- Yeah, yeah. - ..with the tines. Another one there.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35And these are spoon handles.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37THEY LAUGH
0:32:37 > 0:32:42After the failure of the scrap reed, I reluctantly decide that Derek
0:32:42 > 0:32:47CAN use his own reed and mouthpiece to test Andy's prototype instrument.
0:32:47 > 0:32:48Right, let's see what happens.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51HE PLAYS NOTES
0:32:51 > 0:32:52Oop.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54HE PLAYS NOTES TENTATIVELY
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Try and find the fingers.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58HE PLAYS A SQUEAKY SCALE
0:33:03 > 0:33:05NOTES SQUEAK
0:33:09 > 0:33:12That's very resistant, isn't it. Kicking back.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15I would feel a little worried
0:33:15 > 0:33:17if I had to perform on it tomorrow, or today, even.
0:33:17 > 0:33:201812's got all these fantastic fast runs
0:33:20 > 0:33:23and I'm looking at that and I'm thinking...
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Well, there aren't keys there to play some of those notes at the moment!
0:33:27 > 0:33:30So, the jury's out a little bit on that at the moment
0:33:30 > 0:33:34cos it's not working well enough to know whether we can get round that or not yet.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36HE PLAYS: "1812 Overture"
0:33:41 > 0:33:43I'm never going to live this down, you know!
0:33:45 > 0:33:49With most of the instrument-makers now well under way,
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Paul Jeffries, our percussion-maker,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55is still on the hunt for scrap to make three timpani, or kettle drums.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01I've spotted a river buoy...
0:34:01 > 0:34:06floating, drifting in the channel on the Medway here.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Percussion ensemble is beginning to look good.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19In their slightly more sedate surroundings, our two bow-makers
0:34:19 > 0:34:23are taking quite different approaches to my challenge.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Another bow-maker is making half the bows for the orchestra,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Peter Oxley.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32We're slightly going in different directions.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35We couldn't possibly be competitors.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37HE BLOWS A RASPBERRY
0:34:37 > 0:34:41The material I'll use for the essential part of the stick is an arrow
0:34:41 > 0:34:44so I'm going to now select the best ones
0:34:44 > 0:34:48and get cracking with the violin bow.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50A specialist skill,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53bows are traditionally made from horses' tail hair.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56But Andrew Bellis has found a possible alternative,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59thrown away by his local party emporium.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03As far as I know, unless I was drunk at the time,
0:35:03 > 0:35:07I have never used black party wig hair in a bow.
0:35:07 > 0:35:13It has become really all-consuming and I'm working day and night!
0:35:13 > 0:35:15But we'll see, you know, at the rehearsal
0:35:15 > 0:35:18whether this will all pay off, this hard work.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21It may be that it's wasted on party wigs
0:35:21 > 0:35:24and it makes the most wonderful substitute for bow hair.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Hey presto. One double bass bow with party wig hair
0:35:30 > 0:35:32SILENCE
0:35:32 > 0:35:33Not going to play.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Oh!
0:35:35 > 0:35:40Elsewhere, brass-makers Luke and Heidi Woodhead
0:35:40 > 0:35:42have the beginnings of a French horn.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47This one's made from old plumbing pipe
0:35:47 > 0:35:49and some garden hose.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53We'll make it change key, so now the player's going to play,
0:35:53 > 0:35:54the air's going to come in here,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57and instead of going straight out here,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00it's going to be diverted to here, round the loop and back out.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02MUSIC: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:36:02 > 0:36:05The brass section adds huge power to the orchestra,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08alongside colour and drama.
0:36:08 > 0:36:09The sound these instruments make
0:36:09 > 0:36:13depends on the players' lip tension and air flow.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Brass instruments are just long tubes.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21The longer the tube,
0:36:21 > 0:36:23the lower the instrument can play.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27To get more range, the tube must change length.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31And in the case of the trombones, quite literally.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36Others, like the French horn, use valves to direct air through different lengths of tube.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And this is also true of the trumpets.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Internationally renowned maker Andy Taylor
0:36:46 > 0:36:48has to make three of them from scrap.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51His starting point - an old watering can.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54The pouring spout will be used
0:36:54 > 0:36:58to replace part of the bell section of the trumpet.
0:36:58 > 0:36:59And then that bit...
0:37:02 > 0:37:04..boom, will go on there.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08The bell is crucial to producing the characteristic sound
0:37:08 > 0:37:10that a trumpet's known for.
0:37:10 > 0:37:16For many years, it was limited in the number of notes it could play, and it was valves,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19introduced in the 1800s, which allowed it to cover many more notes
0:37:19 > 0:37:23and revolutionised the way it was played.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29How will principal trumpeter Kate Moore fare on Andy's scrap version.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32- Hi, Andy. How are you, all right? - Good, thank you.- Nice to meet you.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36- Do you want to see it? - I do, yeah. Is that it?!
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Wow.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40- We have a golf club.- Yeah, yeah.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42- Reused plumbing fittings.- Yeah.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46- A piece of hose pipe. Some more plumbing fittings.- Yeah.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49A piece of an watering can. SHE LAUGHS
0:37:49 > 0:37:52- And a table lamp base.- Fantastic!
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Well, it looks like a trumpet.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59SHE PLAYS A LONG, SHAKY NOTE
0:37:59 > 0:38:03SHE REPEATS NOTE
0:38:03 > 0:38:05I can't control that.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07SHE BLASTS A SHAKY NOTE AND HOLDS IT
0:38:11 > 0:38:14I think it's going to be a real challenge to make this work.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21I think it's going to be a whole new language of fingerings.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24SHE PLAYS: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:38:29 > 0:38:32The reason that the intonation is all over the place
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- is the physics have been seriously compromised...- Yeah.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38..by having to use what we could find.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42These problems of intonation, or tuning, of simply getting the right notes,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46will involve Kate finding new fingering patterns, which she'll have to remember.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I'm putting in alternative fingerings where the notes are more in tune.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53SHE PLAYS: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:38:56 > 0:38:59As professional musicians, obviously we are trained to...
0:38:59 > 0:39:01always play to the best of our ability,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04and poor intonation really grates on us
0:39:04 > 0:39:08and I...you know, I can just feel myself getting a little bit...
0:39:08 > 0:39:10eurgh!
0:39:10 > 0:39:12SHE BLASTS OUT NOTES
0:39:12 > 0:39:13Huh.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15- NOTES WAVER - Uh.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17SHE SIGHS DEJECTEDLY
0:39:25 > 0:39:28It's just over six weeks until I'm hoping to lead
0:39:28 > 0:39:32the scrapheap orchestra onto the Albert Hall stage.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Today is an incredibly important day.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38You could say it's the first real crunch day in the project.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I've heard certain of the instruments in prototype form in isolation,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44but I haven't heard them all playing together.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47And we're not here to make a bunch of solo instruments.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50We're here to make an ensemble. Will they work together?
0:39:50 > 0:39:54It's, frankly, very exciting, and also hugely terrifying
0:39:54 > 0:39:56because this is the moment
0:39:56 > 0:39:59when we find out really, genuinely, does the project have legs.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06First to arrive - Daniel, with an oboe and bassoons.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Apprehensive, as I'm sure everybody is.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15This is the first time we'll get to see whether they'll perform,
0:40:15 > 0:40:16so it is very nerve-racking
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Ben's finished his bathtub bass,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21as well as a cello made from a fuel tank.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23I think it's more terrifying
0:40:23 > 0:40:27to think of the instruments playing together for the first time, than exciting.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Next, the bow-makers, Andrew and Pete,
0:40:32 > 0:40:34with a selection of bows.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39I'm trepidatious about their reactions to the bows.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41I'm feeling kind of like I've been up all night,
0:40:41 > 0:40:42because I have been.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47And Andy's completed a second watering can and lampshade trumpet.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49The best thing that can happen today
0:40:49 > 0:40:51is that Kate could offer to buy it off me.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54And the worst-case scenario
0:40:54 > 0:40:58is that I sit in the corner and bawl my eyes out!
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Lastly and, frankly, quite unimpressively at this point,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Paul arrives with only a triangle and a tambourine
0:41:04 > 0:41:07for the percussion section.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08That's all I've done.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10HE CHUCKLES
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- Cool!- What do you think?
0:41:14 > 0:41:15As they wait for the players,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19it's the first chance the instrument-makers have had to see each others' work.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22It looks more scrappy than yours.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24- HE PLUCKS NOTES - That IS cool.
0:41:26 > 0:41:27Now for the musicians.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Seasoned professionals all,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34it's the first time many have met their new scrap instruments.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36I love it to look at it.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Can't quite work out the fingering just at the moment.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42Feels very odd.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45This bow actually works remarkably well.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47CACOPHONY OF MUSICAL NOTES
0:41:48 > 0:41:51This... I'm afraid this is not going to work.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55I can, at least, get my hand round the neck of the instrument.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I'd quite like it if it stood up like that,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01so I can walk off in disgust and it does actually stand.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Ingenious.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04I'm not quite sure whether...
0:42:04 > 0:42:06I think we CAN play it, but...
0:42:06 > 0:42:09'As Ian lays out the score he's prepared,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12'it's time to tune up the scrap.'
0:42:12 > 0:42:14- OK, ladies and gentlemen. - CACOPHONY OF NOTES
0:42:14 > 0:42:15Ladies and gentlemen.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17MUSIC FADES
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Vicky, do you have an A for us?
0:42:19 > 0:42:21SHE TOOTS AN "A"
0:42:21 > 0:42:23ORCHESTRA RESPONDS IN KIND
0:42:23 > 0:42:26'Traditionally, orchestras tune to the oboe,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30'because it's instrument least likely to lose pitch.
0:42:30 > 0:42:31'The others need constant tuning
0:42:31 > 0:42:36'because they're susceptible to the slightest changes in temperature and humidity.'
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Can we go in a one-three-four?
0:42:43 > 0:42:47'First, I want to put the woodwind through their paces
0:42:47 > 0:42:50'and allow the brass and string players to warm up a little.'
0:42:50 > 0:42:53THEY PLAY AIRILY AND TUNELESSLY
0:42:59 > 0:43:02OK, let's hold. Ileana, what's going on with that instrument?
0:43:03 > 0:43:04Um...
0:43:04 > 0:43:06A lot of the notes are very good
0:43:06 > 0:43:10but because I don't have three of the notes I require in this passage, I can't play it.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13'Next, I want to test how the strings sound,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15'especially the violins.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19'They're absolutely critical to the success of the 1812,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22'and, of course, they play pretty much continuously.'
0:43:22 > 0:43:24THEY ALL BOW NOTES
0:43:24 > 0:43:27'Rob's violins and Ben's cello and bass have got a job on their hands,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31'to be heard above a pretty feisty scrap brass section.'
0:43:31 > 0:43:35THEY PLAY: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:43:35 > 0:43:38STRINGS PLAY SQUEAKILY
0:43:38 > 0:43:43BRASS SECTION DROWNS OUT STRINGS
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I'm just imagining myself on the Albert Hall stage right now
0:44:11 > 0:44:13and, you know, frankly,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17I would want the bowels of the earth to open and swallow me up.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20When I saw Rob last in Newark, I was under the impression
0:44:20 > 0:44:23that...he was then going to go away
0:44:23 > 0:44:25and make the instruments much warmer in sound
0:44:25 > 0:44:27and have much more projection.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Because at the moment, the players can't even hear them themselves,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32so they can't play in tune
0:44:34 > 0:44:38'Sound isn't the only issue for the string players.'
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Down the muscles around my spine,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43I'm getting serious tension issues.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45I don't think I can play it again today.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49Um... It's that big an issue, I'm afraid.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51I've had to crane my neck
0:44:51 > 0:44:52and I'm getting ten... Oh.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Sorry! ..tension issues in my...in my spine now.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00'And viola player Tim isn't the only one under stress.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04I mean, the problem is that the strings sound
0:45:04 > 0:45:06is absolutely dreadful, isn't it?
0:45:06 > 0:45:07I agree with you.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11I feel like we need to back to the drawing board on those instruments.
0:45:11 > 0:45:12- They just don't sing at all.- No.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15It's a miserable little thin, nasal...
0:45:15 > 0:45:17It's not even a wail. It's more of a whimper.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Yeah. The audience in the hall's hardly going to hear the strings.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23I'm convinced by certain elements but I just think, you know,
0:45:23 > 0:45:25it's not going to work
0:45:25 > 0:45:28if we can't get the string instruments a good deal better,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32and, actually, we might have to say, the project doesn't stand up.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34I don't know enough about what the other options are
0:45:34 > 0:45:36but, you know, they need to be found.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40'As I reassemble the makers, all eyes are on Rob Cain,
0:45:40 > 0:45:42'our scrapheap violin-maker.'
0:45:42 > 0:45:44You know, time's running out,
0:45:44 > 0:45:46and that's my biggest worry
0:45:46 > 0:45:48in terms of the violins, the viola
0:45:48 > 0:45:50and also, Ben, in terms of that cello.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53I think of all the instruments we have today,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57those are the only ones making a sound which is not acceptable.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00At its bleeding heart, there has to be the richest,
0:46:00 > 0:46:04fattest, most visceral string sound,
0:46:04 > 0:46:05which has got to be able to sing,
0:46:05 > 0:46:07it's got to be able to be percussive,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10it's got to have tremendous impact and weight.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13If we've got a string section which can't deliver that,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15we're really in a massive problem.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I'm going to be absolutely on Rob's back and on Ben's back
0:46:20 > 0:46:23over the ensuing days and weeks.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25'If it doesn't improve, I'll pull the string section.'
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I'm not going on stage with that noise.
0:46:34 > 0:46:35'I was...
0:46:37 > 0:46:39'..pretty desolate after that session.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43'I really had hoped for something so much better
0:46:43 > 0:46:45'in terms of string sound.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49'With the next, and full, orchestra rehearsal in a fortnight,
0:46:49 > 0:46:53'and then two weeks after that we're in front of 6,000 people at the Albert Hall,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57'I've come to Newark for a crisis meeting with Rob.
0:46:57 > 0:47:02'Those soil pipe violins have just gone too far away,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05'in materials and sound, from real violins.'
0:47:05 > 0:47:09You make beautiful instruments. I know - I've heard them.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13And surely, in some way, some part of you must have been thinking,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16God, that is a kind of insipid, sort of watery...
0:47:16 > 0:47:19slightly tangy... just not a nice sound.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21- Were you not thinking that? - I was disappointed.
0:47:21 > 0:47:28I didn't really feel that the... the work we put into the instruments
0:47:28 > 0:47:30has been done justice to, really.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34The trumpets sounded really good, but it was obvious
0:47:34 > 0:47:39they'd used a valve mechanism from an original trumpet
0:47:39 > 0:47:43and the easy bit - the mouthpiece and the cone at the end -
0:47:43 > 0:47:46were made from scrap.
0:47:46 > 0:47:47That's not what I want to do.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50I'll leave the project if I'm forced to do that.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52The important thing for me
0:47:52 > 0:47:55is that I'm totally making an instrument from scrap.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56Well, I think that's brilliant
0:47:56 > 0:47:59and if you can stick to that objective,
0:47:59 > 0:48:01but I've started thinking to myself,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05maybe the soil pipe idea was just like a blind alley,
0:48:05 > 0:48:07so I'm coming up to ask you, really,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10to plead with you, to have a rethink.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12I'm not coming here to beat you up.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14I totally know A, how much work you've done
0:48:14 > 0:48:17and B, the extraordinary levels of skills and acumen
0:48:17 > 0:48:19and brilliance you have as a violin-maker.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21That's not in question.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24These instruments, however, just can't be part of my orchestra.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Mm.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32With a shadow still hanging over the violins,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35the makers set about adjusting their instruments
0:48:35 > 0:48:36in light of the rehearsal...
0:48:39 > 0:48:42..and getting on with making the remaining ones needed
0:48:42 > 0:48:44for our full 44-piece orchestra.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48METAL WIBBLE-WOBBLES
0:48:48 > 0:48:51One pretty good cello.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Once we have those points over.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55MUSIC: "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky
0:48:55 > 0:48:58When commissioned to write the 1812,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Tchaikovsky told his patron,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02"It's going to be very loud and noisy."
0:49:02 > 0:49:03And he was true to his word,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06thanks largely to his use of percussion.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14Percussion instruments have become a more and more important part of the orchestra.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18These days, a percussion section includes an astonishing array
0:49:18 > 0:49:21of everything from glockenspiel to anvils.
0:49:21 > 0:49:26Back in Tchaikovsky's time, the standard percussion section would include a bass drum,
0:49:26 > 0:49:31some timpani, a snare drum, crash cymbals, triangle and tambourine
0:49:31 > 0:49:34at the very least.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44Percussion maker Paul Jeffries, who, frankly, had little to show for himself at that rehearsal,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47is still searching for the right scrap material to make the cymbals.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50CYMBALS CRASH
0:49:50 > 0:49:52I'm breaking the sound
0:49:52 > 0:49:55of the cymbals down into three constituent elements -
0:49:55 > 0:49:58the crash,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00the sizzle
0:50:00 > 0:50:03and the bell sound afterwards.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10What I'm looking at today is the crash,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12so I'm wanting to crash something together...
0:50:13 > 0:50:15..and it's an experiment.
0:50:15 > 0:50:21I'm thinking maybe two big sheets of metal, so essentially two car bonnets.
0:50:29 > 0:50:30That sounded...
0:50:31 > 0:50:35..pretty impressive for a clash cymbal.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Meanwhile Rob seems to have accepted that he took his soil pipe violins
0:50:41 > 0:50:44too far away from the traditional violin shape,
0:50:44 > 0:50:46important both for the sound
0:50:46 > 0:50:50and for the musicians not to find it too uncomfortable to even play.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54What I learned the other day at rehearsal is just how far
0:50:54 > 0:50:58you can push the players as well to adapt to something really
0:50:58 > 0:51:02unconventional and it was a lot less than I thought.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06So if we're going to get them to play them
0:51:06 > 0:51:11and take them seriously, what we've got to do is do some reshaping.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16And try to make the shape a bit more ergonomic for the players.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23That's more like the shape I want.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29It will feel much more like a violin. That already feels far better.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31It's quite a nice shape really this.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Back at Paul's waterfront workshop, there's a semblance at last
0:51:38 > 0:51:42of what might just be the first of two scrap cymbals.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45These are the clash cymbals.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48I was looking for something to suspend the car bonnet on
0:51:48 > 0:51:53and in my landlady's garage at home was her old bed.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56She will be delighted to see it at the Albert Hall
0:51:56 > 0:51:59and it works, it works really well.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03This is the beater, the main beater and it will be attached
0:52:03 > 0:52:09to these bicycle forks and it will have a handle coming out.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15So the idea is that the player will get the handle and go crash.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34Having begun to make his violins better shaped for the musicians,
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Rob faces a crucial question.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39To make the instruments sound better,
0:52:39 > 0:52:43should he compromise some of the scrap materials he's using?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45I know I can use wood.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48The less wood I use the better, as far as I'm concerned.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54I can be extremely stubborn when it comes to things like this
0:52:54 > 0:53:01but this is the one area where I'm willing to compromise.
0:53:02 > 0:53:03Using wood under the bridge,
0:53:03 > 0:53:07the point where the strings' vibrations reach the violin body,
0:53:07 > 0:53:09will hopefully be more flexible than plastic
0:53:09 > 0:53:12and allow the whole instrument to resonate.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Intriguingly, one of the only changes made to the violin,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23since Stradivari's time, grew out of demands for more volume
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and the ability to be able to play higher pitches
0:53:26 > 0:53:30to fill the large concert halls of the late 19th century.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Among the changes included making a bigger sound post,
0:53:34 > 0:53:36which you can just see here inside the violin.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40It's a small wooden column that locks together the vibrating
0:53:40 > 0:53:42front and back of the instrument.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Our scrap violins have never had a sound post.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Perhaps this will help to make the difference.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Although this is a very unconventional one,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57normally you use a clothes peg,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01it will work and make the instrument sound louder...
0:54:03 > 0:54:05..and improve the tone of the instrument.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Hopefully a big enough difference
0:54:08 > 0:54:12to keep Charlie Hazlewood happy,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14or quiet, or both.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19More importantly, I think we will have proved that we can make
0:54:19 > 0:54:21a nice sounding instrument out of scrap.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27Paul has finished his three timpani or kettle drums.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29Generally a skin of animal or plastic,
0:54:29 > 0:54:31stretched over a copper bowl,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35our scrap versions consist of a river buoy, a cement mixer
0:54:35 > 0:54:38and a hot water tank, all topped with old sails.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44The principal percussionist of the BBC concert orchestra
0:54:44 > 0:54:46is coming today to try for the first time,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48some of the instruments that I've made.
0:54:48 > 0:54:55I'm just finishing off the snare drum, so I'm quite nervous.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58I really hope this works.
0:54:58 > 0:54:59Hi, Paul. How are you?
0:54:59 > 0:55:01Good, thanks. How are you?
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Great, thanks, great. And here we are. Look at this.
0:55:04 > 0:55:05Wow!
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Thank you. Right, let's have a listen.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Each timp is actually tuned to a musical note
0:55:10 > 0:55:13and the shape of the bowl contributes
0:55:13 > 0:55:15to the tone quality of the drum.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17I love the look.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21It's just going to want more resonance and more power
0:55:21 > 0:55:23but I have to say I've played worse.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27In terms of what we're going to need in the Albert Hall,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31we're going to need somehow, a bit more resonance.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34So what else have you got for me?
0:55:34 > 0:55:36A snare drum.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38- Oh, it's a Burco. - It's a Burco.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41I like the fact it says "hot" there. I like that.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Wow. Those first few notes I played were really exciting.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59There's so much snare coming off.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06The thing I was disappointed with, were the timpani.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08Other than the look - they look great.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10I was so excited to see them.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14It was so disappointing when actually there was a thud,
0:56:14 > 0:56:17albeit a nice thud, but a thud with none of the resonance
0:56:17 > 0:56:19that we associate with the timps.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25Having successfully, I'm hoping, adapted the violins
0:56:25 > 0:56:29he's made so far, Rob's taking home a new idea to shape
0:56:29 > 0:56:32the plastic soil pipe for the other instruments he still has to make.
0:56:38 > 0:56:44So I have a piece of drainage pipe in there on number nine.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50My wife's at work, so she won't know anything about this.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Done to a T... Oh, dear.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Right, OK.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59With the help of one of his students,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03Rob gets to work with his custom-made pipe manipulator.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06I think it might be a little bit overcooked.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Aaah! Just a bit too much there.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17But if there's one thing I have learnt about Rob,
0:57:17 > 0:57:19it's that he doesn't give up.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27I feel that that's just about at its limit.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Although it's very, very late in the day to be making fundamental
0:57:30 > 0:57:35changes, a flatter profile will get a bigger sound from the instrument.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41With the baked pipes seemingly a success,
0:57:41 > 0:57:45the remaining nine violins and three violas must be finished
0:57:45 > 0:57:49before the full orchestral rehearsal in just a few days' time.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52So Rob and his students set up something
0:57:52 > 0:57:54of a scrapheap production line.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04But two things remain to be proven, will the musicians be able to play
0:58:04 > 0:58:08the soil-pipe violins and will the sound that comes out of them be...
0:58:08 > 0:58:12well, better than the stuff that normally goes through them?
0:58:20 > 0:58:24Even though the flute held up pretty well the first time round,
0:58:24 > 0:58:28Andy Wheeldon still has some air leaks to seal, to make it sing.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32The pressure's on.
0:58:32 > 0:58:36There aren't enough hours, so you have to cut something.
0:58:36 > 0:58:37Sleep's the easy one.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41I'm just doing some final adjustments because,
0:58:41 > 0:58:44although Ileana's been very kind about it,
0:58:44 > 0:58:46I just want to get it sorted right for her.
0:58:46 > 0:58:47That's why I'm doing this tonight.
0:58:47 > 0:58:50What I've done on the key is, I've glued a piece of cork
0:58:50 > 0:58:55and what I'm doing is filing it down parallel to the hole and then,
0:58:55 > 0:59:00in theory, when I stick the foam on there, it will seal perfectly.
0:59:07 > 0:59:10Just two weeks from now, I hope to be walking onto
0:59:10 > 0:59:14the Albert Hall stage with my scrapheap orchestra.
0:59:14 > 0:59:16Today we discover whether instruments made
0:59:16 > 0:59:18from non-traditional material
0:59:18 > 0:59:22really can blend to create a harmonious sound.
0:59:22 > 0:59:25Are they fit for purpose?
0:59:25 > 0:59:27Today is so scary because it's the whole orchestra.
0:59:27 > 0:59:31It's all 44 instrumentalists, some of them meeting their instruments
0:59:31 > 0:59:33for the very first time.
0:59:33 > 0:59:36If we've got 44 people mutinying today saying,
0:59:36 > 0:59:39"I can't play that any more," we're stuffed.
0:59:40 > 0:59:42Let's just remind ourselves,
0:59:42 > 0:59:45we're not trying to create some kind of joke ensemble like,
0:59:45 > 0:59:48"Ha ha ha, they played an orchestra of scrap instruments.
0:59:48 > 0:59:50"It sounded a bit ridiculous."
0:59:50 > 0:59:52This has got to sound very, very good.
0:59:52 > 0:59:55So, I'm full of trepidation and nerves.
0:59:55 > 0:59:57I'm not someone who gets nervous
0:59:57 > 1:00:01but I'm definitely nervous at this point in time because I need to know
1:00:01 > 1:00:04that these stringed instruments can work and can work well.
1:00:04 > 1:00:07Trained musicians are a bit like thoroughbred racehorses,
1:00:07 > 1:00:09they need perfect conditions.
1:00:09 > 1:00:11If they don't have perfect conditions
1:00:11 > 1:00:14they can't perform properly and do you know what? They won't.
1:00:21 > 1:00:23They're not very pretty.
1:00:25 > 1:00:29They're going to take some getting used to, I think.
1:00:32 > 1:00:33I'm apprehensive about today.
1:00:33 > 1:00:36It's been a bit of a rush to get these done.
1:00:36 > 1:00:38There are problems with the instruments
1:00:38 > 1:00:41and I just hope that the musicians can get round them.
1:00:41 > 1:00:44I think there's got to be a point where we do put our foot down
1:00:44 > 1:00:47and get stroppy ourselves because,
1:00:47 > 1:00:49we've done a good job to get instruments here
1:00:49 > 1:00:53which will do the job, even if they're not professional.
1:01:01 > 1:01:03Good morning, good morning.
1:01:05 > 1:01:07Good morning, good morning.
1:01:07 > 1:01:10Today's a very significant and important session.
1:01:10 > 1:01:14I'm all too aware that for many of you, this is the first time you've
1:01:14 > 1:01:19encountered these very strange, odd looking and feeling instruments.
1:01:20 > 1:01:23So, without further ado, let's get on with trying to play through
1:01:23 > 1:01:26at least the first section of our potted 1812
1:01:26 > 1:01:27and see how we get along.
1:02:43 > 1:02:47Good! Is anyone injured?
1:02:47 > 1:02:50Maybe I like to take myself to an appalling dark place
1:02:50 > 1:02:53because when we then inevitably bounce out the other side
1:02:53 > 1:02:57you almost feel like you've been resurrected or reborn or something
1:02:57 > 1:03:01and I do think that if you take away some of the stabilizers
1:03:01 > 1:03:03that we rely on, in any aspect of creative life,
1:03:03 > 1:03:05then people have to kind of become more creative
1:03:05 > 1:03:09and maybe there's a renewing aspect to that, you know.
1:03:09 > 1:03:11It refreshes people.
1:03:11 > 1:03:141,000% improvement on what I was playing last time.
1:03:14 > 1:03:18I could play this as much as is necessary
1:03:18 > 1:03:20and no real problems at all.
1:03:20 > 1:03:23To play, it's almost a joy.
1:03:23 > 1:03:24Great praise indeed!
1:03:24 > 1:03:27It's true the strings have come a long way, in look and feel,
1:03:27 > 1:03:31but our old problem remains.
1:03:31 > 1:03:32Guys, how do you think it's going?
1:03:32 > 1:03:35The main issues we have is with sound.
1:03:35 > 1:03:37They have no sound basically.
1:03:37 > 1:03:39It's volume.
1:03:39 > 1:03:42And we can't keep them in tune.
1:03:54 > 1:03:58It's quite personal really. There's a lot of myself in there.
1:03:58 > 1:04:00It's good.
1:04:00 > 1:04:03There's a part in there where the flute takes the melody,
1:04:03 > 1:04:04I was almost in tears.
1:04:07 > 1:04:09I'm filling up.
1:04:11 > 1:04:14There's been quite a lot of tension and frustration
1:04:14 > 1:04:18and then hearing it actually coming off and working,
1:04:18 > 1:04:20it's a bit special.
1:04:42 > 1:04:44The timpani sounded really good.
1:04:46 > 1:04:48I think all the drums sounded really good actually.
1:04:48 > 1:04:50I was really pleased.
1:04:52 > 1:04:57The players turned round to me after the first run through
1:04:57 > 1:05:03and just said 1-0 to the percussion. And it kind of summed it up.
1:05:03 > 1:05:06Things just started to settle.
1:05:06 > 1:05:10People started to kind of get to grips with their instrument.
1:05:10 > 1:05:12They started to listen to each other,
1:05:12 > 1:05:15so there was definitely a sense of relief,
1:05:15 > 1:05:16of release,
1:05:16 > 1:05:19people kind of enjoying the ride,
1:05:19 > 1:05:23were beguiled, fascinated by the ride.
1:05:23 > 1:05:24We got into a vibe.
1:05:24 > 1:05:29We got into a zone with it, and by the end I really felt quite excited.
1:05:29 > 1:05:33But will the Proms boss Roger Wright share my enthusiasm?
1:05:33 > 1:05:35What do you think?
1:05:35 > 1:05:39Well, it's not exactly silk purse yet.
1:05:39 > 1:05:43Where I was really concerned about whether we could
1:05:43 > 1:05:46give it a green light or not, I think now we could give it somewhere
1:05:46 > 1:05:50between amber and green, as opposed to the red light it had before.
1:05:50 > 1:05:53That's good to hear. We have half a chance of winning now.
1:05:53 > 1:05:57I think we have half a chance, maybe even three quarters.
1:06:01 > 1:06:05I'm confident we're starting to come together as an orchestra,
1:06:05 > 1:06:07but the instruments still have a way to go
1:06:07 > 1:06:09before they're performance-fit.
1:06:14 > 1:06:17Having initially resisted the use of any traditional materials,
1:06:17 > 1:06:21string maker Ben is forced to rethink his fuel-tank cello.
1:06:21 > 1:06:25Do you think we can just slot that straight in the back?
1:06:25 > 1:06:27Reluctantly, he's adding a reclaimed wooden back
1:06:27 > 1:06:30to improve the instrument's sound.
1:06:30 > 1:06:33I think we've been incredibly ambitious to go out
1:06:33 > 1:06:37of our comfort zone with different materials and with different designs.
1:06:39 > 1:06:41We've tried other ways.
1:06:41 > 1:06:44The only way is going to be to go back
1:06:44 > 1:06:46and become a little more traditional.
1:06:48 > 1:06:53The climax of the 1812 features a volley of precisely-timed explosions.
1:06:53 > 1:06:55BANG
1:06:56 > 1:07:04That made a bang! Problem with that bang is there's a lot of acoustic resonance.
1:07:04 > 1:07:07Tchaikovsky scored it for live cannons,
1:07:07 > 1:07:11but abandoned his plan cos it couldn't be done safely with the artillery of the day.
1:07:11 > 1:07:16Paul's experimenting with a thoroughly modern solution.
1:07:16 > 1:07:18HE SINGS THE 1812 MELODY
1:07:18 > 1:07:20BALLOON POPS
1:07:20 > 1:07:22Balloons, what else?
1:07:22 > 1:07:25POPPING
1:07:25 > 1:07:26Pretty good.
1:07:26 > 1:07:28POPPING
1:07:32 > 1:07:33That one's better.
1:07:33 > 1:07:35HE SINGS THE MELODY
1:07:35 > 1:07:36POPPING
1:07:39 > 1:07:43Henry Hoover's the best!
1:07:43 > 1:07:47The tuba is the largest instrument in the orchestra,
1:07:47 > 1:07:50and is often known as the big boomer, because it plays
1:07:50 > 1:07:54mostly the lower notes the other instruments can't play.
1:07:54 > 1:07:57why have I chosen the biggest instrument?
1:07:57 > 1:08:00Probably because I have the biggest ego,
1:08:00 > 1:08:03and I want to satisfy myself that I can do it!
1:08:03 > 1:08:04So if we can get rid of this
1:08:04 > 1:08:06and take it all apart...?
1:08:06 > 1:08:09Not all of it. Just cut the sections out.
1:08:09 > 1:08:13It takes 16ft of pipe to make the perfect-sounding tuba.
1:08:13 > 1:08:16Brass-maker Andy Taylor is hoping to fashion it
1:08:16 > 1:08:20from a ventilation duct dumped by a fast food restaurant.
1:08:24 > 1:08:29Testing, hello? Scrapheap Orchestra.
1:08:29 > 1:08:33Tonight we're going to play for you the 1812 Overture.
1:08:36 > 1:08:42The instrument will stand like about that height, roughly,
1:08:42 > 1:08:44when it's completed.
1:08:46 > 1:08:49So as long as we've got a reasonably
1:08:49 > 1:08:52average height tuba player, he should be able to hide
1:08:52 > 1:08:55from the bananas and eggs being thrown at him.
1:08:55 > 1:08:59Determined to fire up the Proms audience,
1:08:59 > 1:09:02Paul's making one last-ditch cannon attempt.
1:09:04 > 1:09:05This is the activator.
1:09:09 > 1:09:15This is the exhaust off a double decker bus.
1:09:15 > 1:09:19Inside we have a hole punch,
1:09:19 > 1:09:21which is going to
1:09:21 > 1:09:23flutter down through the Albert Hall.
1:09:23 > 1:09:28This time the tyre tube is inside an old gas cylinder.
1:09:29 > 1:09:32PUNY BANG AND HISS
1:09:33 > 1:09:38It's failed. No-one likes to fail.
1:09:38 > 1:09:41I'm not going to cry. Yet.
1:09:51 > 1:09:53With just a few days left until our performance,
1:09:53 > 1:09:57it's the last chance for the makers to perfect their instruments,
1:09:57 > 1:10:00to improve the colour and give character of sound.
1:10:00 > 1:10:03I really can't get my head around these valves.
1:10:03 > 1:10:06SHE PLAYS A SCALE
1:10:08 > 1:10:10- Have we got a B flat key?- Yes.
1:10:10 > 1:10:12- That one?- Yes.
1:10:12 > 1:10:16Oh it's the spoon. Brilliant. Gosh.
1:10:16 > 1:10:19Those musicians lucky enough to have the finished item
1:10:19 > 1:10:24are getting to know them better in the comfort of their own homes.
1:10:24 > 1:10:28HE PLAYS AN OCTAVE
1:10:28 > 1:10:31HE PLAYS A MELODIC RUN
1:10:31 > 1:10:33SQUEALING, HIGH NOTE
1:10:33 > 1:10:37'You're basically concentrating all the time, 100 per cent.'
1:10:37 > 1:10:39You can't relax playing an instrument like this.
1:10:39 > 1:10:41It's full-on, basically.
1:10:41 > 1:10:47SHE PLAYS SOME NOTES
1:10:47 > 1:10:49PLAYS A MELODY
1:10:51 > 1:10:54It's the subtleties that make it magical.
1:10:54 > 1:10:59I fear that the subtleties from the scrapheap instruments
1:10:59 > 1:11:01are not that possible.
1:11:01 > 1:11:05I'd be very surprised if we hear many magical moments.
1:11:05 > 1:11:11SHE PLAYS A FAST MELODY
1:11:11 > 1:11:13You know, I'm lucky.
1:11:13 > 1:11:16I have an instrument that's playing all its notes,
1:11:16 > 1:11:20and even though the sound is not the most ringing,
1:11:20 > 1:11:22beautiful sound,
1:11:22 > 1:11:25and I'm having to work quite hard, I think I'm lucky.
1:11:25 > 1:11:28It's not that dissimilar to what I play,
1:11:28 > 1:11:31and I'm getting used to it fairly quickly.
1:11:31 > 1:11:37I can play 3 strings at once, which I'm not supposed to be able to do.
1:11:37 > 1:11:39HE PLAYS A MELODIC RUN
1:11:44 > 1:11:49I can do the movements, but the sound that comes out
1:11:49 > 1:11:51is quite a long way from anything.
1:11:51 > 1:11:54Any musician is going to be creased with laughter.
1:11:54 > 1:11:57PLAYS HIGH NOTES
1:11:57 > 1:12:01We couldn't be in a bigger space to fill with these little instruments
1:12:01 > 1:12:03and there's fewer of us than normal,
1:12:03 > 1:12:09so I think I'm still a little bit nervous about that.
1:12:09 > 1:12:12From a distance, I'm not sure what it's going to sound like,
1:12:12 > 1:12:13quite honestly.
1:12:13 > 1:12:18We hope our customers go away with at least a smile on their faces.
1:12:24 > 1:12:28The big day has arrived. Crunch time.
1:12:28 > 1:12:32In a few hours, almost 6,000 people will pile into the Albert Hall
1:12:32 > 1:12:36for a performance unlike any they've seen before.
1:12:38 > 1:12:40I'm just improving the tuning.
1:12:40 > 1:12:44Last-minute repairs are essential.
1:12:45 > 1:12:49- Last-minute improvements. - Improvements, thank you.
1:12:51 > 1:12:54I think the Scrapheap Orchestra gives us the opportunity to just
1:12:54 > 1:12:59think again about how sound is made, why it's made and how it works.
1:12:59 > 1:13:02The audience will see these motley instruments making their way
1:13:02 > 1:13:06onto the stage and they'll think, "What on Earth is this,
1:13:06 > 1:13:08"and surely it will sound rubbish?"
1:13:08 > 1:13:09It's going to pack a punch.
1:13:09 > 1:13:12I mean, people will go, "What is that?!"
1:13:12 > 1:13:16Finally the moment has come where we're going to see how it's really
1:13:16 > 1:13:19going to work, how it's going to sound in this magnificent hall.
1:13:19 > 1:13:22this is the first time I've stood on the stage at the Albert Hall.
1:13:22 > 1:13:27Wonderful, isn't it? I've sat up in the seats a few times.
1:13:27 > 1:13:34It could just be that there'll be some traumas during the performance and we'll be running on gaffer tape.
1:13:37 > 1:13:41At this particular stage, I've got to feel confident about it
1:13:41 > 1:13:43because we've said yes to doing it now,
1:13:43 > 1:13:45and if I weren't confident we'd be in trouble.
1:13:45 > 1:13:48But as we've discovered over the past 11 weeks,
1:13:48 > 1:13:53where scrap instruments are concerned, drama is never far away.
1:13:53 > 1:13:56This one involves Paul's bass drum beaters.
1:13:56 > 1:13:59Paul, can I have a chat to you?
1:13:59 > 1:14:02We have our first hitch of today.
1:14:02 > 1:14:03I mean, I thought these sounded great
1:14:03 > 1:14:06but the Proms have a problem with this.
1:14:06 > 1:14:09It's a family prom, and they've just got these visions
1:14:09 > 1:14:12of a teddy bear at the end of a stick being whacked down really hard
1:14:12 > 1:14:16in front of the kids, and the Proms really aren't happy about this.
1:14:16 > 1:14:18You are having a laugh.
1:14:18 > 1:14:23No, I'm not having a laugh. We can't do this, I'm afraid.
1:14:23 > 1:14:24We're going to have to change this.
1:14:24 > 1:14:28- Because children don't throw teddy bears?- Well, this is what they're saying.
1:14:28 > 1:14:32Can these be adjusted so that they don't look like teddy bears?
1:14:32 > 1:14:35Because that, to me, looks like a bass drum beater.
1:14:37 > 1:14:41Backstage, Paul's not the only instrument-maker in a lather.
1:14:41 > 1:14:46OK, we've got a big problem with the double bass.
1:14:46 > 1:14:50We've got to keep the tuning mechanism wet
1:14:50 > 1:14:55because when it's wet the wood swells up and that holds the pegs in tune.
1:14:55 > 1:14:58This isn't something we do with an ordinary instrument,
1:14:58 > 1:15:01but there's a first time for everything.
1:15:01 > 1:15:03So, Teddy-bear-gate.
1:15:03 > 1:15:09The solution that THEY have suggested is mutilating the teddy bears.
1:15:09 > 1:15:10Off with your legs!
1:15:12 > 1:15:15Cutting up the bear is making ME sad,
1:15:15 > 1:15:17never mind upsetting little children.
1:15:17 > 1:15:19Off with his ears.
1:15:24 > 1:15:26I think we can get away with that.
1:15:26 > 1:15:29As the audience starts to file in,
1:15:29 > 1:15:32it's the last chance for the musicians to make sure they,
1:15:32 > 1:15:35and their instruments, are match fit.
1:15:35 > 1:15:39I was just wondering if you could take an inch off all the way round.
1:15:39 > 1:15:41It might make it ring better on the high notes.
1:15:41 > 1:15:46- Am I being too fussy? - No, no. Our aim is always to please.
1:15:46 > 1:15:49I'll come back in a minute.
1:15:49 > 1:15:52He's very demanding. He's actually quite a particular customer.
1:15:52 > 1:15:56- I heard that!- But when you play to such a high level as him...
1:15:56 > 1:15:58Did you hear that?
1:15:59 > 1:16:01FLUTE PLAYS PERFECTLY
1:16:03 > 1:16:05Brilliant. Well done, mate.
1:16:05 > 1:16:07So you can't make any more modifications now?
1:16:07 > 1:16:09It's a bit late, isn't it?
1:16:09 > 1:16:11It suddenly went much higher than it should
1:16:11 > 1:16:15and it made this sort of whimpering noise.
1:16:15 > 1:16:17Daniel's going to fix it for me.
1:16:17 > 1:16:19How's it feeling?
1:16:19 > 1:16:23- Well, it's working.- It's working. - That's a fantastic relief.
1:16:23 > 1:16:27But with minutes to go before the auditorium doors open,
1:16:27 > 1:16:31Paul's got yet another problem - this time with his cannons,
1:16:31 > 1:16:33now powered by fire extinguishers.
1:16:33 > 1:16:37I'm pressing it...and, as you can see,
1:16:37 > 1:16:41there's nothing coming out. The cannon has run out of fuel,
1:16:41 > 1:16:46so I'll have to change the extinguisher inside.
1:16:54 > 1:16:59- So that's the size of the dead one? - That's what we need.- OK. No problem.
1:16:59 > 1:17:02Jackie, it's a standard CO2.
1:17:02 > 1:17:05There's about five minutes now.
1:17:05 > 1:17:08Here it is.
1:17:09 > 1:17:14I think we need to just have a little check. Put that line down.
1:17:16 > 1:17:19Great. Done. Fixed. Mission accomplished.
1:17:19 > 1:17:23- <- Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to open the house, to let you know.
1:17:23 > 1:17:25HE SNORTS
1:17:27 > 1:17:29Eleven weeks ago, I challenged
1:17:29 > 1:17:31some of the country's top instrument makers
1:17:31 > 1:17:36to build an orchestra for the modern age entirely out of scrap.
1:17:36 > 1:17:39At times, I wondered if we could pull it off.
1:17:39 > 1:17:43But these master craftsmen have more than risen to the occasion.
1:17:43 > 1:17:47Now it's down to me to lead the musicians through
1:17:47 > 1:17:49that great showstopper,
1:17:49 > 1:17:53Tchaikovsky's ode to victory, The 1812.
1:17:53 > 1:17:57'Conducting is about an insuperable bond of trust.
1:17:57 > 1:18:01'Somehow I'm able to play this amazing thing called an orchestra.
1:18:01 > 1:18:03'That's my instrument.
1:18:03 > 1:18:06'I've got to walk out here believing in the music
1:18:06 > 1:18:09'and believing in the players' ability to find that world.
1:18:09 > 1:18:11'I have to trust the sound will be there.'
1:18:12 > 1:18:18This is an experiment that's never been attempted anywhere before,
1:18:18 > 1:18:21let alone in one of the world's greatest concert halls.
1:18:21 > 1:18:24Well, here we are, on stage at The Royal Albert Hall,
1:18:24 > 1:18:26at the BBC Proms no less,
1:18:26 > 1:18:28with an entire orchestra of instruments
1:18:28 > 1:18:30made entirely from scraps.
1:18:30 > 1:18:34Here it is on stage and it's about to make, I hope, beautiful poetry.
1:18:34 > 1:18:37Right! Let me talk you through some of the materials
1:18:37 > 1:18:40that have been garnered to musical use.
1:18:40 > 1:18:42The violin and viola section,
1:18:42 > 1:18:46Cynthia's violin, for instance, is made out of toilet waste pipe,
1:18:46 > 1:18:49ladies and gentlemen. It has been cleaned.
1:18:49 > 1:18:52LAUGHTER
1:18:52 > 1:18:55And the bow, that bow, started out life as an arrow.
1:18:55 > 1:18:58Moving on to the brass. Noteworthy, perhaps, the trombones.
1:18:58 > 1:19:01A lot of plumbing material involved in the trombones,
1:19:01 > 1:19:05you're perhaps not surprised to hear that.
1:19:05 > 1:19:08APPLAUSE
1:19:08 > 1:19:11Look at that tuba, ladies and gentlemen!
1:19:11 > 1:19:13CHEERS
1:19:16 > 1:19:19You'll no doubt be happy to know that that's made almost entirely
1:19:19 > 1:19:22from ventilation duct from a local burger joint.
1:19:25 > 1:19:27So now to the resourcefulness part.
1:19:27 > 1:19:31That falls to the extraordinary band of instrument makers
1:19:31 > 1:19:33we've had the privilege to work with on the project.
1:19:33 > 1:19:37I salute them for their extraordinary resourcefulness.
1:19:37 > 1:19:39The makers are all up in that box there!
1:19:39 > 1:19:43CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
1:19:50 > 1:19:53And can I just say to you that if you hear any strange,
1:19:53 > 1:19:56slightly tuneless moments in this piece,
1:19:56 > 1:19:59I can assure you it is not operator error.
1:20:05 > 1:20:08MUSIC BEGINS QUIETLY
1:20:15 > 1:20:18We had big problems along the way with,
1:20:18 > 1:20:20particularly, the violins, violas and cellos.
1:20:20 > 1:20:23Their sound simply wasn't good enough.
1:20:23 > 1:20:26It was thin, it was weedy, it was nasal, it was metallic.
1:20:26 > 1:20:28It was just wrong.
1:20:28 > 1:20:31Come the performance, of course they've been modified
1:20:31 > 1:20:35and got as good as they possibly could be.
1:20:35 > 1:20:38Plus you've got these fantastic orchestral musicians,
1:20:38 > 1:20:43who, when the light goes on as it were, at the moment of delivery,
1:20:43 > 1:20:46point of sale, performance, they will give so much more.
1:20:51 > 1:20:55I'm going to sound like an old hippy now but I could feel the love.
1:20:55 > 1:20:56I really could feel the love.
1:20:59 > 1:21:01It was exciting. I didn't know what to expect.
1:21:01 > 1:21:04I didn't even know how many people would be in the hall.
1:21:04 > 1:21:06It was pretty packed out.
1:21:10 > 1:21:13It's nice to see the orchestra get into their stride.
1:21:16 > 1:21:19An absolutely unbelievable experience.
1:21:29 > 1:21:33In the eleven weeks, we've gone from scrap materials
1:21:33 > 1:21:35to a symphony orchestra sound.
1:21:39 > 1:21:43I'm immensely proud to be part of that.
1:21:46 > 1:21:52Every single instrument has improved 100%.
1:21:53 > 1:21:57When that oboe solo came in, I was welling up.
1:21:57 > 1:22:01OBOE PLAYS
1:22:14 > 1:22:16I expected bother in the flute department, really.
1:22:19 > 1:22:21Sounds like, you know, a flute played well.
1:22:21 > 1:22:24She just made the damn thing perform, really.
1:22:27 > 1:22:30There's been quite a few dark moments.
1:22:33 > 1:22:37One of the violinists gave me back a violin and said,
1:22:37 > 1:22:41"Thanks very much. I wish I could say it was a pleasure."
1:22:44 > 1:22:47The Scrapheap Orchestra has given an opportunity
1:22:47 > 1:22:50to let rip on the creative side.
1:22:52 > 1:22:55I think I have learnt a lot about my craft.
1:22:55 > 1:23:00I assumed that I was pretty good at looking for sounds,
1:23:00 > 1:23:02tinkering with sounds,
1:23:02 > 1:23:06but not inventing sounds.
1:23:18 > 1:23:21It has been a learning curve. It's made me realise how important
1:23:21 > 1:23:24some of the bits are on our trombones
1:23:24 > 1:23:28cos we've never put on a heap of junk at the end as a bell.
1:24:33 > 1:24:35It's made me a more humble bow maker,
1:24:35 > 1:24:40who really appreciates the quality of the things I'm working on.
1:24:40 > 1:24:45And, perhaps also, why the players treasure them so much.
1:24:58 > 1:25:00I heard this crash!
1:25:00 > 1:25:03CRASH!
1:25:03 > 1:25:06It was like...that's a bloody pair of clash cymbals!
1:25:06 > 1:25:10But it's not! It's a bonnet and a bed.
1:25:12 > 1:25:16Everything on that stage was just perfect, for me.
1:26:27 > 1:26:30MUSIC STOPS, AUDIENCE CHEERS
1:26:30 > 1:26:33AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
1:27:05 > 1:27:08From those dark beginnings on a scrap yard to this
1:27:08 > 1:27:10and to THAT response.
1:27:10 > 1:27:12I've been coming to Proms for years
1:27:12 > 1:27:15and I've never seen an audience go like that.
1:27:15 > 1:27:17That went as well as it could have gone
1:27:17 > 1:27:20and the audience reception was amazing!
1:27:20 > 1:27:22You didn't really get, actually,
1:27:22 > 1:27:25a sense of it being some sort of comedy, some sort of stunt.
1:27:25 > 1:27:28People thought of it as a real performance, which it was.
1:27:28 > 1:27:30I think it does have a purpose,
1:27:30 > 1:27:34to make us think about what we are on this planet, how we consume things,
1:27:34 > 1:27:36what we do with the things we throw away.
1:27:36 > 1:27:40Not only that aspect of it but also about our instruments.
1:27:40 > 1:27:42We take our instruments for granted.
1:27:42 > 1:27:45We haven't created an alternative to a conventional orchestra
1:27:45 > 1:27:47but, I think, in going through
1:27:47 > 1:27:49this at times very painful process,
1:27:49 > 1:27:52certainly a very thought-provoking process,
1:27:52 > 1:27:54we've been forced to challenge and to reconsider
1:27:54 > 1:27:57many fundamental questions about how sound is made,
1:27:57 > 1:27:59why sound works in certain ways.
1:27:59 > 1:28:02We did it, we did it, we did it! We did it!
1:28:02 > 1:28:06- Best response I've ever had. - We got a standing ovation.
1:28:06 > 1:28:08- Yes, and for that playing! - Brilliant!
1:28:08 > 1:28:13You don't often get a standing ovation at a Prom.
1:28:13 > 1:28:15It's just ironic it's for that.
1:28:16 > 1:28:18We have to go back to normal life.
1:28:18 > 1:28:20You don't HAVE to go back to normal life.
1:28:20 > 1:28:24Well, that's the thing. Normal life won't look so interesting.
1:28:24 > 1:28:26I don't think life will BE that normal.
1:28:26 > 1:28:29Hey, look at this!
1:28:31 > 1:28:34Can we nab that for something?
1:28:34 > 1:28:36I've become a kleptomaniac because of this.
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