Choose eight or more wine glasses from your kitchen cabinet. Crystal is best but most types of glass will produce a tone. Ideally these will all be the same size and shape, making it easier to tune the glasses. In a pinch, you can use any sized glasses and simply retune them with more or less water, though their timbres will differ. Although other glasses might produce some sound, wine glasses are ideal for producing a smooth, clear tone because of their shape.
Decide on what scale you'd like to use. If you want to play simple piano sheet music on your new musical instrument, consider using the C major scale. If you don't have access to sheet music, you can learn to play simple songs such as "Ode to Joy" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by ear.
Fill each glass with a varying amount of water. Glasses with more water in them will produce a lower pitch when played, although you'll quickly find this out for yourself as you're experimenting with your creation. Turn on your chromatic tuner and get ready to tune to lowest pitched glass. You can purchase a chromatic tuner from any music store. This type of tuner is a small electronic device that will display the musical pitches that it hears. In addition, it can pick up on small adjustments to help users determine if a sound matches a selected pitch level.
Moisten your fingertip with water, and rub it along the top edge of the glass with the least amount of water. It should sound a musical note. Using your chromatic tuner, add or remove water from the glass in small amounts. If you decided to use the C major scale, this glass should sound a low C when played. Proceed by tuning the next glass to a D, the following glass to an E, and so on.
Practice moving quickly between each glass without knocking it over. This will be tricky at first, but in time you'll learn the correct amount of pressure required to make a clear, pleasing tone with the rim of the wine glass. When your finger becomes dry, simply dip it into one of the glasses to moisten it again.