ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some basic instructions for making shell trumpets. The shell trumpet has been altered from the animal’s natural shell in such a way that would make life uncomfortable for the actual mollusk itself – that is, a hole’s been poked in the shell. There are two basic places this hole may be placed, and so there are two basic approaches that can be taken for making a conch shell into a shell trumpet. A hole is made either at the apex of the shell, or, alternatively, in one of the whorls to the side of the spire. The mouth hole may be on the side of the spire if the spire is more steep. In some cases, the hole itself forms the mouth hole; in others, a mouthpiece is added. The qualities of sounds which shell trumpets can produce are varied and also layered in the meanings and responses such sounds evoke.
