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VOLUME
11 #1, SEPTEMBER 1995
Letters
and Notes. 6 pages; 5 photos; 2 drawings; 2 diagrams.
Will Dahlgren: Information on the prospect of Leon
Theremin's availability to the public. Craig Packard: Stroh
Violins still being used in Transylvania by Romanian and
Hungarian Folk Musicians. Dennis James: owner and performer
of Stroh-style phonoviolin and Stroh phonofiddle has
soundtrack project to include theremin, Baschet cristal,
ondes martenot, and phonoviolin. Robert Rich: Speed bump
music; A musical bridge using a textured roadbed plays Peter
Gabriel melody as cars drive across it. Michael Meadows:
ideas for tone roads, where grooves strategically placed on
highways would play geographically correct songs (i.e.
"Oklahoma" in Oklahoma). Blake Mitchell: How to create more
resonance for the round surface of tubulongs and a
description of one of his own aluminum tubaphones; he also
describes book on marimba design in the making. David
Strohauer: description of Magnum Tube-A-Tone, made of 6"
diameter tubing played with foam padded paddles. Description
of Mark Whitecage's soundsculpture, the Glass House
Ensemble. Includes photos of the Bowed Horn, Crystal, and
12-Bolt Steel Cello. Homemade Instrument Day at Lincoln
Center. Bulletin of Primitive Technology has several
articles devoted to instrument construction without using
modern technology. Cassette to accompany Volume 10 issues
available.
"Sound-Making
Mechanisms In Contemporary Children's Toys": Bart Hopkin. 6
pages; 11 photos; 1 drawing.
The author describes acoustic sound mechanisms used in a
variety of contemporary plastic toys. Everything from a
plastic nose whistle to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action
figure are described. The different toys are categorized by
their method of sounding: Spring and Diaphragm toys; Clacker
Flexers; Edge Tones; Reeds; Accordian Squeezers; Bouncing
Ball Percussion; Mechano-Acoustic Playback System;
Magic-Sound Baby Rattle [additional keywords:
Humanotone, labial reeds; aerophones; Zube
tube].
"Music
As Fragile As Its Material: The Classical Repertoire of the
Glass Harmonica": Mitchell Clark. 2 pages.
A brief historical account of the glass harmonica, a general
term for glass instruments sounded through friction. Clark
notes that the armonica is now considered the first
"American" musical instrument. He then goes on to describe
two recent recordings, both including compositions written
by Mozart for the glass harmonica, one including a Beethoven
melodrame from the play Leonore Prohaska [additional
keywords: glass-chord; glass bowls; musical
glasses].
"New
Discoveries from the Cloud Eight Archive of Musical
Instruments and Fortean Musicology: The Prehistoric
Brass/Woodwind Connection": Davey Williams. Illustrations by
Hal Rammel. 4 pages; 6 drawings.
Humor/nonsense: In this second installment on musical
instruments long buried in the Cloud Eight Archive's dusty
storehouse (1st in EMI March 94), Williams establishes a
lineage between brass and woodwinds [additional
keywords: Thaddeus Partly Fardworthy].
"Nature
On Record: Part 2": Rene van Peer. 5 pages.
The second installment of this series concentrates on
recording soundscapes, focused mostly on the animals that
live in them, to portray natural environments. The author
explores issues such as the role sound plays in nature, the
editing and portrayal of nature sounds, the increasing
difficulty of locating places where human technology does
not infringe upon them, the process of recording, and
listening to such recordings. Includes thorough discography
[additional keywords: crickets].
"Perpetual
Instruments and Requiem For A Radio": Qubais Reed Ghazala. 4
pages; 4 photos.
An inquiry into the communication of sound and emotion,
theology and science. Reed Ghazala goes on to describe
requiem for a radio, a recording of the process of a radio's
destruction wherein the four movements are based on the
structure of the Requiem Mass [additional keywords:
muscae volitantes].
"Bamboo:
The Giant Musical Grass": Richard Waters. 4 pages; 9
photos.
The final installment of this 3 part series on Bamboo -- the
1st discussed varieties of bamboo species and their
characteristics, the 2nd covered bamboo cultivation. Here,
Waters focuses on tools and methods for working bamboo, then
goes on to describe some of his own recent bamboo
instruments, including his bamboo aeolian device (BAD), a
hybrid of an aeolian flute and bamboo wind chime
[additional keywords: wind flutes; aeolian
harps].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkin. 3 pages; 2 photos; 1 diagram.
The author describes his experimentation with the rotary
rasp (later renamed Savart's Wheel), an attempt to create a
sound device that does not create sound through natural
oscillation based on the springy or elastic qualities in
vibrating bodies, but instead uses an external mechanism to
force a vibratory motion controlled by a driver. The
instrument uses a system by which a plectrum scrapes over a
surface with evenly spaced ridges at a steady speed,
creating a recognizable pitch associated with some steady
number of ridge-bumps per second. The article includes
directions to determine scales [additional keywords:
Telharmonium; Hammond Organ; drag stick/sound
radiator].
Book
Reviews. 1 page.
Hugo Pinksterboer: The Cymbal Book. [additional
keywords: percussion; bells].
VOLUME
11 #2, DECEMBER 1995
Letters
and Notes. 8 pages; 10 photos; 8 drawings.
Robert Grawi: A list of dream instruments and information on
Gravikord. Ernie Althoff: A list of commercially available
Nature Sound recordings, additional comments on bamboo and
children's toys [additional keywords: Fisher Price Happy
Apple]. Rene van Peer: Thoughts on Speed Bump Music
after traveling German and Dutch Freeways. Michael Meadows:
A description of a rotary rasp type device using a Singer
sewing machine. Blake Mitchell: Wake the Marimba book; the
Dancing Waters Color Instrument; bamboo instruments.
Ultrasonic Tape [additional keywords: aeolian harps;
singing telegraph wires]. Qubais Reed Ghazala and rare
wind instruments [additional keywords: rotary rasp;
Helmholtz' simple sirens]. James Coury: Interactive
Sound Sculptures [additional keywords:
randomness].
"The
Flutes and Sound Sculptures of Susan Rawcliffe": Susan
Rawcliffe. 5 pages; 10 photos.
The artist describes the construction, sound, and scale
systems of her handmade ceramic flutes [additional
keywords: Waterflutes; Pre-Columbian Flute Systems; Space
Flutes; PolyGlobular Trumpet].
"Drums
For The 21st Century": Kris Lovelett. 1+pages; 1 photo; 1
diagram.
The author describes the unique qualities of Protocussion's
Lovelett Drum.
"The
Busker": Christopher White. 1 page.
A description of a sound-sculpture arranging objects that
can be struck, plucked, scraped, etc. on a clothes rack in
the abstract shape of a person, or busker (an english street
musician or one-man band) [additional keywords: mallet
instruments; percussion].
"The
Nakers": Kris Lovelett. 1 page; 1 photo.
Similar to its predecessor, the Naggara Drums, described in
EMI June 1994, The Nakers consists of two clay dumbek-shaped
drums that rest in a wooden table, a wood block lying
between. Two foot pedals change the pitch of the two drums
[additional keywords: pitch-varying pumps; mallet
instruments; woodblocks].
"The
Monochord": Sasha Bogdanowitsch. 7 pages; 3 photos; 6
drawings; 7 diagrams.
The first part of this is a historical account, tracing the
monochord's origins to ancient Greece (6th century B.C.) and
Pythagoras, through medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras
to contemporary composers, including Harry Partch, Lou
Harrison and Bill Colvig. This is followed by directions for
the construction of a monochord and a mathematical
illustration for generating scales as practiced by Boethius
and two charts to help the reader generate many historical
and "world" scales. With bibliography [additional
keywords: numeric ratios; diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic,
and tetrachordal scales; Claudius Ptolemy; Greek Perfect
System; Herman Helmholtz; just intonation; trumpet marina;
Vietnamese dan-bu; North Indian alapini/ekatantri vina;
zither; Arabic kanun; clavichord].
"The
Essential Thing the Pipes Play: Piobaireachd and the Great
Highland Bagpipes of Scotland": Mitchell Clark. 1+
pages.
The author describes this instrument and genre of music and
what makes it distinct and popular in relation to other
forms of bagpipe music. He then lists and reviews a small
discography of Piobaireachd music [additional keywords:
Scottish Border Pipes; Irish Villean Pipes; African/Asian
Bagpipes].
"Historical
Musical Instrument Patents: A Variable-Pitch Tuning Fork":
Notes by Bart Hopkin. 1+pages; 2 diagrams.
First in a series of articles on historical music patents,
the author offers advice on researching patents as well as
explaining the difference in patents today as compared to
those at the turn of the 19th century. This is followed by a
brief description of Joseph C. Jinkins' patented tunable
tuning fork.
Book
Reviews. 1+pages.
Trevor Wishart: Audible Design: A plain and easy
Introduction to Practical Sound Composition [additional
keywords: computer software; Fast-Fourier Transforms (FFTs);
Sampling]. Jean Bonin: Piano-Beds and Music by Steam: An
Index with Abstracts to Music-Related United States Patent
Records, 1790-1874 [additional keywords: musical
inventions].
"The
Leskowsky Collection": Daroczi Kiss Marta. Translated by
Coventry House Kecskemet. Photos by Walter Peterne. 2+
pages; 10 photos.
The author describes the instruments and activities of
Albert Leskowsky. The museum contains a collection of over
1000 musical instruments ranging from folk and classical
instruments of various countries to one-of-a-kind
sound-sculptures made by himself and others [additional
keywords: The Fonograf Group; movable sound-sculptures;
Hungarian Folk Music].
"From
the Music Wing of the Dream Museum: Sky Harps": Qubais Reed
Ghazala. 5 pages; 14 photos; 2 engravings.
Reed Ghazala searches for a source to unexplained sonic
phenomena/happenings in the guise of the sky harp, a sonic
device existing in dimensions parallel to ours, occupying
the same space but existing at alternate temporal
wavelengths [additional keywords: Marin Marsenne and
Harmonie Universelle; Michael Pretorius and Syntagma
Musicum; elevation bells; towering sky harp; alien
triskelia; Sound Theater Museum].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkin. 1+ pages.
The author gives some practical tips on how to increase
reverberation primarily for stringed instruments and
idiophones. Coil springs, sympathetic strings, sheet metal,
and wires are cited. A very brief discussion of wind
instruments is mentioned as well as the most effective
reverberant devices: the acoustics of a particular
space/room/physical locale [additional keywords: sitar;
Viola D'Amour].
VOLUME
11 #3, MARCH 1996
Letters
and Notes. 4 pages; 3 drawings; 7 photos; 1 diagram.
Peter Lundberg: Corrections in regards to the history of the
monochord article that appeared in the previous issue,
including diagram of Swedish Psalmodikon [additional
keywords: J. Dillner]. Colin Hinz: the Motorchord
[additional keywords: monochord; meccano
instrument]. Barry Hall: Stone Fiddle [additional
keywords: Johannes Bergmark; Egyptian rebabba; flute].
Roger Merrick: Mauricio Kagel's recording with Stroh-like
string-quartet, in response to EMI June 1995 article
[additional keywords: Stroh violins]. Reinhold Banek
and Jon Scoville: Sound Designs on Ten Speed Press. More
Sound-making children's toys: The Fly Swatter; The Jitter
Ball; The Mango Bat -- Refers to article in EMI Sept 1995
[additional keywords: percussion; reeds]. Noise Gate
Magazine. Partch Online.
"Rotating
Tweeter Horn": Keith Cary. 1+ page; 1 photo; 1 drawing.
The author discusses the construction of his Rotating
Tweeter Horn which uses an old thrift store phonograph to
add phase-shifting and tremolo effects to his Hammond M3
Spinet Organ [additional keywords: Leslieoid Baldwin
speaker; Piezo Tweeter].
"Tweak
Those Tones": John Herron. 1/2 page.
Herron gives a brief list of methods he uses to modify sound
(i.e. add reverb; warbling Leslie effect) in an affordable
homemade manner.
"The
Didgeridoo": Steve Wilson. 3+ pages; 2 photos.
The author gives a brief history of this Australian
Aboriginal instrument, describing how it transforms from
eucalyptus or bamboo into a playable instrument, followed by
a list of building materials and instructions, playing
technique, describing the harmonics created, and circular
breathing [additional keywords: didjeridu, aerophone;
bamboo; PVC].
"A
Conversation with Rex Lawson, Pianolist Extraordinaire":
Mitchell Clark. 3+ pages; 2 photos.
After a brief biography of Lawson and a description of the
pianola, an instrument similar to the player-piano but with
which the player controls tempo and phrasing, an interview
discusses some intricacies of the pianola and its brief
existence, cut short by the advent of the
phonograph.
"Historical
Musical Instrument Patents: 4 Patents Relating To String
Instruments": Cary Clements. 3 pages; 6 drawings.
The author muses on the subject of patents including brief
discussions of 4 patents relating to stringed-instruments:
Leo Fender's Stratocastor Guitar Tremolo; Seth Lover's
Humbucker Pickup; Hans L. Deden's Keyed 'Cello and Mr. de
Vlaminck's nearly identical instrument; and Raymond A.
Kidwell's Mechanical Fingering and Picking Device For
Electric Guitar.
"Making
Marketable Musical Instruments": Bart Hopkin. 3 pages.
The 1st of 4 articles concerning the making and marketing of
unconventional instruments, Hopkin presents an introductory
overview. Issues covered include: Cost of Materials; Sound
Quality; Conceptual Hooks; Non-Replacability.
"The
Historical Perspective": Richard Cooke. 2+ pages; 3
photos.
The 2nd article in the series concerning the making and
marketing of unconventional instruments, Cooke provides
useful tips citing his own experience making and selling
both standard and custom mallet instruments, including his
Freenotes, using pentatonic or diatonic scales. Combining
what is familiar with uniqueness is one key to his success
[additional keywords: xylophones; marimbas; Imbarimba,
percussion].
"The
Reeded Mouth Bow": Wayland Harman. 4 pages; 4 diagrams.
The author briefly discusses the mouthbow -- mouth-resonated
string instrument -- and his attempts to create a mouthbow
design in which the harmonic melodies created with it are
more audible than the fundamental drone that often drowns it
out. This is followed by construction ideas with diagrams, a
short history of the mouthbow, and some playing instructions
[additional keywords: reeds].
Video
Review. 1/2 page.
Madeline Tourtelot with music by Harry Partch.
Enclosure 1: Harry Partch.
"Soundculture
96: An Exhibition of Experimental Instruments at the Falkirk
Cultural Center": Mitchell Clark. 1+ page.
The Soundculture Festival of 1996 explored the interface of
new instruments and new music. Tom Nunn, Fran Holland, Peter
Whitehead, and Oliver Di Cicco appeared; short descriptions
of their unique inventions appear in this review.
[additional keywords: found objects; recycled materials;
Electroacoustic Percussion Boards (EPB); Sax
Reeds].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkin. 2 pages; 4 photos.
The author discusses scraping and gives examples of his own
scraped instruments that blend noise and tone: EMT Scraper
Chimes; Scraper Flute; scraper flutes with tone holes; and
rebar scraper chimes. He makes some recommendations based on
his experience [chimes; aerophones; Darrel De
Vore].
"Swords
Into Plowshares: Percussionist, Z'EV, Discusses His Work
With Titanium and Stainless Steel Instruments": An Interview
by Mike Hovancsek. 1 1/2 pages.
Hovancsek introduces Z'EV as a member of the revolutionary
and controversial proto-Industrial/Noise/Punk/Techno group,
Psychic TV and collaborator with Glen Branca. This
introduction is followed by an interview geared primarily
towards Z'EV's interest in percussion and his ideologies of
"Empowerment of the Audience" and "Shamamistic Qabala"
[additional keywords: Rhythm; Ritual; found
objects].
"What
was Walden Pond to Thoreau? 150 Years of Forgotten Rumors":
Kenneth "Turk" Turkington. 1 1/2 pages; 2 photos.
In connection with the sundry articles on Aeolian harps in
EMI Volume 10, Turkington reveals the rumor that Thoreau did
in fact have a deep interest in Aeolian Harps to be true.
Using a poem by Thoreau as an example, as well as having
done extensive research on Emerson, the author associates
the spirituality and aesthetic of the transcendentalists to
the modus operandi of the aeolian harp.
VOLUME
11 #4, JUNE 1996
Letters
and Notes. 4 pages; 2 photos.
Guy Grant: Corrections to didjeridu article that appeared in
previous issue. Steve Smith: Marimbula and Rumba box. Dance
and Percussion Performance: Stomp [additional keywords:
found and everyday objects; brooms]. Siegfried Wendel
and Mechanical Instruments Museum: Mechanisches
Musikkabinett. Last Soundscape Newsletter [additional
keywords: environmental sound awareness]. Bart Hopkin's
Musical Instrument Design: Information for Instrument Making
on Sharp Press. Air Columns and Toneholes by Bart Hopkin
available through EMI.
"Liquid
Percussion: An Interactive Installation by the
composer/sound sculptor Trimpin Plays Music for the Rainy
Season": Jake Seniuk. 4 pages; 3 photos; 1 diagram.
The author traces Trimpin's interest in invention back to a
long line of inventors whose credits include the alarm clock
and describes his Liquid Percussion exhibit, which combines
unfixed percussive rhythms created by dripping water,
triggered both by viewers and programmed automatically
[additional keywords: found objects; electronic/acoustic
interface].
"Selling
Unusual Musical Instruments: One Approach": David Strohauer.
4 pages; 4 photos.
In this 3rd article in a series on the making and marketing
of unconventional musical instruments, Strohauer, who
operates the retail store and mailorder catalog Earthshaking
Percussion (now called Earthshaking Music), offers some
helpful tips on subjects such as advertising, selling on
consignment, printing flyers and catalogs, having a
showroom, interacting with potential customers,
do-it-yourself marketing, and more.
"Marketing
For Your Newly Invented Musical Instruments: From the Moment
of Conception to the Attainment of Success": Robin
Goodfellow. 2 pages; 20 drawings.
Humor: The author presents a cartoon narrative of the
marketing process.
"Fascinating
Rhythm: Innovative Percussion Instruments": Tim Anderson and
Janet Powell. 3 pages; 1 photo.
The
4th and final installment on the making and marketing of
unconventional musical instruments features the founders of
Fascinating Rhythm, who concentrate on percussive
instruments for the education market in New Zealand.
Anderson and Powell offer advice on such issues as
marketing, the importance of feedback/criticism, pricing and
expansion, putting any profit back into the business,
whether to sell or manufacture, the problem of others
copying your good ideas, and more.
"Fred
'Spaceman' Long: Troubadour from the 26th Century": Walter
Funk. 2+pages; 4 photos
After giving a historical account of what led Long to invent
instruments, Funk describes several of Long's
electro/acoustic and electronic instruments that make up a
family of instrument called Jokers. Features that are often
found in this family include: springs, sheet metal
resonators, electric pickups, acoustic sound generation and
processing [additional keywords: found objects; singing
saws; Gamelan; string instruments; violin].
"ElectroAcoustic
Coil-Spring Instruments": Eric Leonardson. 1 1/2 pages; 3
photos.
A description of the Springboard, an electroacoustic
instrument consisting of a large 10-gauge coil-spring, a
thin metal can, a small barbecue rack, flat hardwood sticks
and other materials, played by bowing or plucking. It's
amplified by a contact microphone that can be hooked up to a
mixer or amplifier [additional keywords: found objects;
Gamelan; violin bows; daxophone].
"Woodcuts
From an Obscure 19th Century Acoustics Text: Professor
Pietro Blaserna's The Theory of Sound in its Relation To
Music: With Notes by Bart Hopkin. 4+pages; 15
woodcuts.
Reproductions of 15 woodcuts of various mechanical apparati
culled from Blaserna's book, accompanied by captions, to
demonstrate vibrational phenomena.
"Circuit-
Bending And Living Instruments: The Harmonic Window": Qubais
Reed Ghazala. 5 pages; 3 photos; 3 drawings.
After a brief dreamlike introduction in the natural world,
Reed Ghazala goes on to describe his Harmonic Window. The
Harmonic Window is an aleatoric instrument that can stack
small samples to stream together a complex thread of sound.
What follows is an inquiry into his idea of a living
instrument: circuit-bending an instrument expedites the
aging process of the instrument so that it becomes
impossible to retrieve a sound done in the past, as the
sound transforms, ages. Lastly, he discusses whether
circuit-bending instruments are "convulsing".
Book
Reviews. 2 pages.
Eva Rudy Jansen: Singing Bowls: A Practical Handbook of
Instruction and Use [additional keywords:
Tibetan/Nepalese Singing Bowls; Crystal Bowls]. Philip
Dadson and Don McGlashan: The From Scratch Workbook
[Tubular Aerophones; Percussion; glass bells;
truncated bottles].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkins. 3 pages; 2 photos; 3 drawings.
After a short description of his bentwood chalumeau, a
glissando clarinet discussed more thoroughly in EMI Volume
#2, August 1988, the author focuses on movable toneholes
specifically relating to the clarinet. Includes construction
tips and diagrams describing both the bentwood chalumeau and
magstrip clarinets, and compares the differences between the
two.
******************************
VOLUME
12 #1, SEPTEMBER 1996
Letters
and Notes. 6 pages; 8 photos; 3 drawings.
Anonymous: John Sheehan and the "Horn Guitar". Christopher
Horne: Kitchen utensil music [additional keywords:
mixing bowls; mixmasters; tea kettles]. Barbara Robben
and Paetzold Recorders. Ginger Summit and Jim Widess' The
Complete book of Gourd Craft available; focuses on how-to
techniques on historical and contemporary instruments using
the family's form. Equinox Productions and Dawn Kunzkowski
and Earth Tone Drums [additional keywords: cans/food
containers; specially treated paper; found objects].
Marianne Potje's film Inspiration & Invention: The
Musical Instruments of Hal Rammel [additional keywords;
cicliolin; the one-string snath, sound palette; cigarbox
fiddle]. Longwave Instruments Pocket Theremin
[additional keywords: MIDI]. Web Site and Internet
discussion group listing. Ernie Althoff and bamboo sound
machines and electric Friction Tube Set [additional
keywords: keyboard-like control system].
"The
Art of Sound Effects: Part 1": Ray Brunelle. 5 1/2 pages; 1
photo; 6 drawings.
The first part of a two-part article on the history of sound
effects in theater, film, and music. After a brief history
of drum sets, Brunelle traces the history of sound effects
to ancient Greece and Shakespearean times. After which
follows a list of major sound effects movers and shakers
including: Jules White; Joe Henrie; Morrie Opper; Mel Blanc;
Spike Jones; Monty Fraser; and Joe Siracusa, including
descriptions of some of their contributions [additional
keywords: bird calls; the "Rumble Cart"; the "Thunder
Screen"; the "Slapstick"; duck calls; the
"Latrinophone"].
"A
Musical Instrument Workshop in Hanoi": Jason Gibbs. 3 pages;
8 photos.
In the first part of this article, the author profiles Ta
Tham, a Vietnamese instrument builder who works at the
National Conservatory of Music and at his own Hanoi Music
Conservatory. He builds traditional instruments of Vietnam
and those of his own invention. What follows is a
description of Vietnam's most evocative instrument, the Dan
Bau, tracing it historically and describing its materials
and harmonic structure [additional keywords: dan tranh;
dan ty ba; dan njuyet; dan nhi; zither; contrabasse
Vietnamese].
"Some
basics On Shell Trumpets and Some Very Basics on How to Make
Them": Mitchell Clark. 4 pages; 4 photos.
The author offers some historical information, tracing the
use of shells as trumpets to the Neolithic Era, making
apparent the use of shells as signaling devices, and
pointing out the use of these instruments in the ceremonies
of many cultures around the world. He offers some basic
instructions for two styles: 1) with the mouth hole at the
apex, and 2) side-blown. Lastly, he discusses sound quality
(i.e. pitch modification; harmonics), lists endnotes with
sources, and lists a brief discography [additional
keywords: Strombus Gigas; Japanese Hora; Charonia Tritonis;
Tibetan dung-dkar; Bursa Bubo; Cassis].
"The
Brain, Process Model and Other Phenomena": Grant Strombeck.
3+pages; 6 photos.
The author inquires into the notion of different brain types
(i.e. left hemisphere equals logical; right hemisphere
equals intuitive) and their different functions/strengths in
regards to how one's disposition affects one's process of
building instruments. He follows this inquiry with a process
guide to help others make the building of instruments more
methodical and thorough and thus increase the potential of
realizing one's goal. Photos of the author's instruments
with description of construction and sound: Terminal paper
Gourd harp; Jawlimba; Old Piano-String Drum;
Flexy-Protuberance; Clock Chime Plus; Wobble-Bell. Short
bibliography also listed.
"My
Easy Stereo Tube-Preamp, Leslie Talk Box": John Herron. 1/2
page.
The author describes how he was able to create a Leslie
effect with an old Norelco reel-to-reel tape
recorder.
"The
Monolith: A Two-Dimensional Keyboard for Pitch and Timbre":
Jacob Duringer. 1+ pages; 2 photos.
Jacob Duringer describes the layout and capabilities of his
alternative keyboard MIDI controller for performance and
composition applications. He points out his prior
frustration with traditional keyboard layout and the
limitations one faced performing solo with one. His goal was
to create a MIDI keyboard device capable of multi-timbral
music that can be performed all by one person.
"The
Quartal System: The Introduction of the Two-dimensional
Musical Keyboard": Geary Thompson. 1+ pages; 6 diagrams.
The Quartal system is a concept for a two-dimensional pitch
layout system. The author presents the Quartal system in two
forms: as it would be realized as a guitar tuning and as a
keyboard.
"The
'Terrence Dougherty'": tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE. 1+ pages;
1 photo.
The author describes his aleatoric device named after the
donor of many of its constituent parts which include: a sine
wave/square wave generator; 2 cheap 4-channel mixers; and a
primitive "ring modulator" among many other things. He
describes in detail the way he combined and manipulated
tape-player/radios with his mixers, noise generators, his
percussive unit, Erector Set, and other devices
[additional keywords: indeterminism;
randomness].
"Two
Generations of Experimental Musical Instruments": Tilman
Kuntzel and Margrit Kuntzel-Hansen. 4 pages; 1 photo; 22
drawings.
The author describes growing up with his mother German music
teacher and theorist Margrit Kuntzel-Hansen, who developed a
system of music pedagogy for children, with home-buildable
musical instruments as a central feature, and traces her
influence on his own development as composer and sound
artist. Included are constructions, accompanied by drawings,
of home-buildable instruments for children.
Book
Reviews. 1+ pages.
Chesley Goseyun Wilson, Ruth Longcor harnisch Wilson, and
Bryan Burton: When The Earth Was Like New: Western Apache
Songs & Stories [additional keywords:
Tsii'edo'a'tl/Apache Violin; Apache Flute; Fipple Flute;
Bamboo].
Daniel Goode, editor: The Frog Peak Rock Music Book
[additional keywords: Stones].
"The
Plastic Ukulele and Guitar Inventor: Mario Maccaferri": Cary
Clements. 2+ pages; 4 drawings/diagrams.
As a part of EMI's ongoing series on musical instrument
patents, the author describes the advent of a new kind of
instrument made and manufactured by Mario Maccaferri in the
late 1940's and 50's, inspired by capitalism and populism:
instruments made with plastic. Also included is a brief
history of Maccaferri himself, a renowned guitarist
[additional keywords: plastic reeds; plastic
guitars].
VOLUME
12 #2, DECEMBER 1996
Letters
and Notes. 5 pages; 6 photos; 2 drawings.
Guy Grant: Addition to Mitchell Clark's Shell Trumpet
discography from previous issue. C. Reider: Offers advice
regarding movable toneholes discussed in article EMI Vol. 11
#1, June 1996. Bob Grawi: "Enduring Rhythms: African Musical
Instruments and the Americas" exhibit at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art. Bill Sethares: Edible Instruments. Minnie
Black. Soundscape Newsletter revived as The New Soundscape
Newsletter. Lou Berger and his Drum Shtik, Player Piano.
Brian Stapleton and his unique ukuleles. Starr Labs and
Electronic Keyboard Layout. Corrections to Ray Brunelle
article "The Art of Sound Effects, Pt. 1; Robert Mott &
Jordan Young. Corrections to John Herron's "My Easy Stereo
Tube-Preamp Leslie Talk Box." Hal Rammel gives report on
Newfoundland Sound Symposium.
"The
Development of Bamboo Saxes From Argentina": Angel Sampedro
del Rio. Translated by Mariana Cecilia Iglesias. 4 pages; 7
photos; 1 drawing.
The author describes his modus operandi for building his
bamboo woodwinds, including information on materials and
mouthpieces [additional keywords: Adolphe Sax; Theobald
Boehm].
"Circuit-Bending
and Living Instruments: The Casio SK-1 Escapist Sample
Shuttle": Qubais Reed Ghazala. 6 pages; 3 photos.
The author describes his process of transforming a Casio
SK-1 via creative short-circuiting into an aleatoric
instrument. Includes thorough instructions. He has also
creatively re-wired a Casio VL-Tone and Universe Device.
This is accompanied by a brief patch description by Cynthia
Striley that follows [additional keywords: LED; pitch
dial; poly dial; sound envelope].
"Composing
On The Escapist Sample Shuttle": Cynthia Striley Ph.D. with
Mark Milano. 1 page; 2 diagrams.
Accompanying the previous article wherein Qubais Reed
Ghazala describes the Escapist Sample Shuttle, Striley
offers a sort of guide diagram as an introduction to dealing
with the instrument's inherent complexity.
"The
Citara, type Alfonso el Sabio: A Medieval Psaltery": Nelly
van Ree Bernard. 4 1/2 pages; 5 photos; 8 drawings.
Bernard describes her research and rebuilding of psalteries
depicted in 13th Century manuscript of the Cantigas de Santa
Maria del Rey Alfonso X el Sabio (Songs in praise of Mary of
alfonso X the Wise). She describes tuning and playing
methods, and lists a short discography of recordings using
this rare instrument [zither; harp; chordophone;
harpsichord].
"Sla
Pa Traden: Music on Transport Wires": Atle Pakutsch
Gundersen. 2 pages; 1 photo; 1 diagram.
The author describes his use of transport wires in Norway as
a musical instrument. The transport wires are very long,
strong wires traditionally used to transport goods up and
down roadless slopes in Norway. By means of tapping on the
wires; they are also used to as a rhythmic mode of
communication similar to Morse code, for making known
physical needs that would then be transported using the same
wire. His methods of playing these wires were via bowing and
knocking with a triangle beater. This is followed by a
description of his performance collaborating with a
saxophone quartet, broadcast via ISDN. He continues to
explore the sonics of such everyday objects as fog horns,
flagpoles, subways; sheeps with bells, etc [additional
keywords: drones; found objects].
"The
Art of Sound Effects: Pt. 2": Ray Brunell. 7+ pages; 8
photos; 2 drawings.
In this second part of a two-part article, the author goes
into detail accounting the progression of sound fx from the
days of Vaudeville through the advent of the radio and
finally film and television. He describes the process of
using 78 rpm records to store fx and problems that faced
those creating fx. This is followed by an account of
re-recording technology and processing, including
instrumental contributions from among others: Reuben
Mamoulian; Don Foster's Foster Gun; Raymond Scott's Karloff
and Circle Machine, Serial Doorbell, and Clavivox.
Corrections to Pt. 1 are listed just following the
conclusion of Pt. 2.[additional keywords: Benshi; Analog
Waveform Generator; Telharmonum; Jack Foley; Kurzweil K2500;
digital processing; soundtracks].
"Just
Intonation and My Experiments with Musical Instrument
Building": Jeff Bunting. 2 pages; 4 photos.
The author describe his four instruments (all tuned in just
intonation): Electric 12-string Slide Guitar; Two-stringed
Electric Viola; Electric Diamond Xylophone (based on the
ratios of Harry Partch's Diamond Marimba); and the Acoustic
Lute [additional keywords: Otonalities; Utonalities;
Southeast Just Intonation Center; Arp 2500 Analog
Synthesizers].
"Instruments
of the Cuban National Folkloric Dance Ensemble": Steve
Smith. 2 pages; 1 photo; 1 drawing.
The author offers some historical background on some
instrumentation and dances that are part of Cuba's cultural
heritage [additional keywords: clave; guiro;
metallophones; marimbula; lamellaphone;
sartenes].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkin. 2 pages; 3 drawings.
In this article, the author discusses sundry alternative
forms for electric pickups on string instruments. With each
proposed potential transduction method, Donald Hall,
professor of Physics and contributor to EMI shares his
thoughts [additional keywords: radar; light sensor; Iron
strings; Electromagnetic Soundboard Pickup].
VOLUME
12 #3, MARCH 1997
Letters
and Notes. 6 pages; 6 photos; 7 drawings.
Eric Cadesky and Glass Instrument world wide web site
[additional keywords: glass harmonicas; glass bells,
glass xylophone]. Adam Mishaga and pyrophones. Karen
Rauter and Woodstock Percussion [additional keywords:
instruments for children; Anyone Can Whistle; Japanese Koto;
African Mbira]. French percussionist periodical:
Percussions. Bond Anderson's musical playground
[additional keywords: metallophones; marimba].
Robert Moore's Drone Machine [additional keywords:
suzuki melodians; Southeast Asian Mouth Organ; Irish
Uilleann Bagpipes; Scottish Bagpipes]. James Boring and
recycled material instruments.
"More
Drums For The New Millenium": Ken Lovelett. 2 pages; 5
photos.
Lovelett describes a few of his drums including: orthogonal
lap drum; thumb drum; belli drum; palm drum; finger drum;
knee drum; udeck; dumbecks [additional keywords:
handheld percussion].
"Industrial
Waste and Musical Taste": Keith Spears. Photos by Jamie Noe.
3 pages; 5 photos.
The author describes two instruments he constructed with
material collected from surplus auctions, junk yards, and
Radio Shack: 1) drum set with drum pedal made with hammer
and assorted cans mounted together with rebar steel rods and
"kill box" -- a set of on/off switches and 2) the Sampler
Table which utilizes answering machine tape loops controlled
with foot peddle [additional keywords: percussion;
ambient sound; found objects].
"Colin
Offord: Mouth Bows, Moonbells and More": An Interview with
Warren Burt. 5 1/2 pages; 7 photos.
A discussion in which Offord describes a number of his
instruments including: the Great Island Mouthbow; the Xylopt
( a bailer-shell xylophone), Moonbells (large aluminum and
brass bells); the Australasian flute (a Western flute with a
bamboo mouthpiece); and the Bambudat (a set of large bamboo
log drums). He also describes his performance group, The
Great Bowing Company. [Additional keywords: Equal
Temperament; kalimba; piano strings; found objects;
percussion; marimba; conch shells;
metallophones].
"Bertoia":
Chris Rice. 1 1/2 pages; 2 photos.
This article focuses on the late Harry Bertoia, a sound
sculptor who released 11 recordings on his Sonambient label.
Included are descriptions of 3 of his sonic inventions, 2 of
which utilize beryllium copper wires that produce resonant
long-lasting sound, with varying guages producing a full
array of tonal and timbral qualities. The last of the
instruments described are gongs produced by sheets of metal
[additional keywords: percussion; drone; ambient; found
materials].
"Swift
Sounds: Harry Bertoia's Sonambient LP's": Ian Nagoski.
2+pages; 1 photo.
The second of these two articles written the two editors of
the cultural music journal halana focuses on Harry Bertoia's
recorded material. Rather than describe each of his
recordings, Nagoski gives an overview, a general
description, with reference to particular pieces as guide
posts [additional keywords: improvisation; ambient;
drone].
"Ostenhorn":
Phillip J. Ostendorf with Bart Hopkin. 5 pages; 11
photos.
Ostendorf relays his attempt to create a brasswind
instrument able to produce all tones of a complete (Western)
scale by control of lip tension alone, without valves,
slide, or sideholes, by using additional, tuned air
resonator tubes set just over the opening of the bell. His
experimentation has led to many interesting creations
including a design capable of playing a major scale over two
octaves [additional keywords: brass; trumpets; tubas;
french horns].
"Walnut
Angklung: A 2x4 Contest Entry": Art Lietsman. 2 pages; 2
photos.
The author describes his entry into the Pacific Woodworkers
Guild 2x4 Contest. A traditional Anglung consists of 2 or 3
bamboo tubes an octave apart and suspended in a bamboo frame
(Liestman replaced bamboo with walnut). When shaken, a short
tab at the bottom of each tube vibrates the tube and sounds
the particular note [additional keywords: wood
instruments].
"Alchemy
In The Nineties. Turning Garbage Into Gold": Jan Jarvlepp. 3
pages; 3 photos; 3 diagrams.
The author wrote a concerto for recycled garbage and
symphony orchestra combining pitched and unpitched
instruments. He briefly describes where certain recycled
household objects are used throughout the various movements
as well as explaining his method of mounting the devices for
performance [additional keywords: found
objects].
"Ramblings":
Bart Hopkin. 3 pages; 1 photo; 2 diagrams.
Following some background on the intricacies of modes of
string excitation and its relationship to the bridge and
soundboard, the author describes his experiment building a
bridge and soundboard for an acoustic bass
guitar.
"Greyworld
Sound Sculpture": Andrew Shoben. 1+ pages; 2 drawings.
Greyworld is an established group of sound artists who
create sound installations and sculptures deconstructing
traditional notions between work and play. In this article,
the members of Greyworld describe three of their recent
inventions. The "Soundwall" is made up of a number of
mounted vertical bars that play a melody when played in
succession. The "Layer" is a carpet or floor covering which
translates human movement upon its surface into music by
assigning segments MIDI-based sounds which are then walked
on. "Shopping" was an installation using sounds extracted
from consumer soundscapes.
VOLUME
12 #4, JUNE 1997
Letters
and Notes. 8 pages; 2 photos; 5 drawings.
Ray Wilding White: Writes on the influence of the drum set,
in response to Ray Brunelle's article in previous issue on
sound effects [additional keywords: trap set; Dee Dee
Chandler; Jean Robicheaux]. Colin Hinz: Mechanical
Musical Digest. New home for one of the world's leading
collections of historical and contemporary musical
instruments: Cite/Musee de la Musique. I AM LISTENING video
available: an exhibit of sound sculpture linking the visible
with the audible including Charles de Mestral and Raymond
Gervis. Frederick Crane: Alessandro Moreschi, The Last
Castrato? Tonehole Liberation: Response to June 1996
"Ramblings" from Angel Sampedro del Rio. Susan Rawcliffe's
report on the 1997 NAMM Show. Longwave Instruments, makers
of theremins have new instrument: Little Infinite Frequency
Expander (LIFE). Peter Etcetera: Hand drawings of instrument
ideas with commentary.
"The
Free Music Machines of Percy Grainger": Rainer Linz. 2+
pages.
Perhaps best known in Europe and America as a "traditional"
composer/arranger of brass band and English Folk tunes,
Grainger's use of "chance" composition in 1912 in fact
predates John Cage. After some historical context including
his guiding theory of Free Music, from which all his future
ideas would spring, the author describes some of the
instruments that were the fruit of Grainger's collaborations
with physicist Burnett Cross. These include: Solovoxes; The
Reed-Box Tone-Tool; The Oscillator Playing Tone-tool; The
"Hills and Dales" Machine, etc. Linz states that Grainger
was never able to achieve his desired theory of Free Music
with these or any instruments. He is no doubt a dramatically
overlooked figure of the avant-garde. The Grainger Museum is
at the University of Melbourne, Australia [additional
keywords: chance; atonal; indeterminism].
"The
Cat's Cradle: 50 strings, 82 pickups, and 2 amplifiers":
John Gzowski. 3 pages; 3 photos.
The author describes the building and playing of his
instrument comprised of a Chapman Stick-type board with a
removable/interchangeable fretboard played somewhat like a
guitar and a set of additional sympathetic strings that
react to the frequencies from the stick. It also includes an
infinite sustain system, not unlike what an E-Bow does
[additional keywords: microtonal; equal temperament;
harp; sitar].
"The
Loop Group Brass": Ray Wilding-White. 2 pages; 8 photos; 1
diagram.
After inheriting some old brass instruments, the author
(with some help) bent and welded them into interesting and
unique shapes that were used in performances. Scales for
each horn shown [Additional keywords: horns; trumpets;
tubas].
"The
Sound Art of Robert Raushenberg": Mike Hovancsek. 1+
pages.
A description of Raushenberg's forays into the sonic medium.
Includes brief description of :Music Box; Broadcast; Oravle;
Dynamic Labryinth; Open Score; Soundings; and Mud Muse, many
of which were interactive pieces that stressed the unique
meeting of each individual with the work [additional
keywords: John Cage; Merce Cunningham; Johan Kluver; Jean
Tinguely; Niki de Saint-Phalle;
Indeterminism].
"Two-Dimensional
Keyboard Patterns": Niles Hokkanen. 4 pages; 14 diagrams.
The
author describes the pros and cons of many different tuning
layouts, concentrating on accordians, keyboards, and
foot-bass pedal board diagrams [additional keywords:
organ; piano].
"Circuit-Bending
and Living Instruments: The Casio SA-2 Aleatron": Qubais
Reed Ghazala. 4 pages; 3 photos.
Reed Ghazala combines several methods of circuit-bending:
body-contact control, human voice synthesis, digital
samples, the equal temperament scale, in his Aleatron and
describes how to modify and manipulate it [additional
keywords: aleatoric instruments].
"The
Helikon": Mitchell Clark. 1 page.
Referring to Mount Helikon, home of the muses, this
instrument, following the simpler Monochord, is known to
have been used for demonstration, in basic geometric terms,
of the harmonic relationships of the perfect consonances
plus the tone: 2/1; 3/2; 4/3; and 9/8. The author explains
the geometric format [additional keywords: stringed
instruments; lyres; zithers; Ptolemy; Aristedes
Quintilianus; Didymus].
"Book
Reviews": Mitchell clark and Bart Hopkin.
Robert Green: The hurdy-Gurdy in 18th Century France.
Includes brief discography in review [additional
keywords: stringed instruments; Baroque Era; drone; lutes;
guitars].
Michael J. Pagliano: Everything You Should Know About
Musical Instruments But Didn't Have Time To Learn
[additional keywords: Instrument Manufacturers; flutes;
clarinets; saxophones; oboes; basoons; brass;
violins].
Reynold Weidenaar: Magic Music From The Telharmonium
[additional keywords: keyboards; Hammond Organs;
Thaddeus Cahill].
*******************************
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