Almost every time I go out to the beach I notice something somebody has made out of driftwood. This can range in size from the delicate ornamentation of sandcastles to massive driftwood forts. It’s as if we’re programmed to take advantage of this abundant natural resource the instant we come in contact with it. The compulsion to fabricate something with your bare hands out of a couple of weathered sticks and whatever’s laying around can be overpowering. Once I carved a functioning flute for no apparent reason.

Heeding the call of stonewashed lumber, experimental musical instrument maker Bart Hopkin and his percussionist friend Joyce Kouffman head out to the beach in this video to show us how to build a driftwood xylophone. [Thanks, Sara!]