Not as easy as one may think...

Marsan starts by taking a 4-meter-long, 1-centimer-wide posterboard "ribbon" and wrapping it diagonally around itself to make a 20-centimeter-long cone. He then carefully shapes the cone, and voila, a paper saxophone. All in less than two minutes. He then adds the finishing touches of a mouthpiece with a bamboo reed and the saxophone's flared bell end.

New Year's trumpets in Jakarta began evolving three years ago when vendors, by customer request, started coming up with the fairly elaborate paper instruments resembling the real ones, even the tanjidor (traditional trumpets from Jakarta).

The next step, said Marsan, revealing a trade secret, was to dip the entire piece in an adhesive solution -- wood glue mixed with water -- and dry it in the sun for up to two days.

"It's just like making krupuk (traditional crackers)," he said with a chuckle.

More complicated horns require several separate pieces to make. A tanjidor, for example, comprises eight parts. Vendors use pipes as molds to produce straight parts, as they diagonally wrap the paper.

Completed instruments then will be wrapped with the glittery "reggae" ribbons in red, blue, green, silver or gold.

"It takes a lot of skill to make these, even though it may seem easy," said Marsan proudly. Every year he and his merry band of craftsmen try new and increasingly elaborate designs, like the tanjidor and the cangklong (oldman pipe) this year.

Nevertheless, people can still find the old-fashioned cone trumpets amid all the new designs.

A new trumpet vendor, Agus, said that the old model still had a market niche since the sophisticated ones were sold at much higher prices.

Agus bought all the material for his trumpet at Jatinegara market in East Jakarta, spending around Rp 150,000 (US$17).

"We bought the glittery paper for the wrap and the tassels, glue, and of course the plastic mouth pieces with different colors.

"We curled the poster paper, which then is over wrapped with glittery paper. Then we glue some tassels at the tip of the cone. The last touch was simply putting a mouth piece on," he explained.

Agus said he did most of the work in the wee hours of the morning when his sons were asleep, so they would not disturb him.

"I don't want them wrecking the trumpets, even though, they're the only reason I'm doing this," he said with a smile.

-- Leony Aurora and Tony Hotland