Dear MMD readers,  from time to time we will find in MMD requests from people, "Seek Help To Make a Music Box".  It is not easy to make a cylinder or disc musical box.  The only easy way is to take a paper strip musical box.

The 20-note Sankyo paper strip movement is well known, but a few days ago I accidentally found a "Yunsheng 15 Notes Paper Strip Musical Movement" at the Internet auction house eBay.  The eBay description was more or less poor and the movement was not to be seen; it was in a small box.  I thought I would receive a 20-note Sankyo paper strip movement, but it was this much smaller Yunsheng movement from China. It sounds not too bad and looks brand new.

Here are the data:

Box:       9.0 cm x 6.5 cm x 4.5 cm without the crank
Movement:  6.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 2.8 cm without the crank
Paper Strip: 4.1 cm x 48 cm
Comb with 15 notes (C-Key): C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

Attached were a sample melody strip, four blank strips, a hole punch and an instruction manual.  With that manual a musical newcomer should be able to punch a strip, if he can find an arranger who can reduce the song to the 15 notes.

If the box you will build is very small, the Yunsheng movement could be an alternative.  The Sankyo 20-note movement needs much more space, more or less double in length and width.

Kind regards from

Hauke Marxsen (Germany)
25 Nov 2002 13:58:37 +0100

Images of musical movements are shown at the web site of the factory, Ningbo Yunsheng (Group) Co., Ltd., at http://www.yunsheng.com/english/podu/fenlei_music.htm  More images, and the addresses of the Yunsheng distributing companies, are at http://cn.ningbo-export.com/trademark/enterprises/yunsheng/default.htm  and  http://cn.ningbo-export.com/trademark/enterprises/yunsheng/series.htm