Notes from Bart Hopkin

Hello to everyone, including those who've long been acquainted with Experimental Musical Instruments and those who are new to us. Here's an update of goings-on at Experimental Musical Instruments as of mid-February 2008.

Just out, a new book with audio CD from Experimental Musical Instruments: Slap Tubes and Other Plosive Aerophones. These instruments can be simple to make, yet they are fully musical and they sound great. This book tells you everything you need to know to make them, with ready-to-build designs as well as the information you need to design your own. Details here.

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The book and CD collection Gravikords, Whirlies and Pyrophones, which was produced here at Experimental Musical Instruments and was first published in 1996, is now, finally, really and truly sold out. (If you happen to know of a stash of new copies hidden away somewhere that we could purchase wholesale, please let us know.) The sister collection to this one, another book-and CD entitled Orbitones, Spoonharps and Bellowphones, also sold out quite some time ago. The two collections, published in conjunction with Ellipsis Arts publishers, featured between them the work of 30-plus of the coolest instrument inventors around. I would like to keep the collections in print and available, perhaps in the more affordable form of a CD ROM, but there are serious obstacles to doing so, mostly having to do with legal and copyright concerns. For that reason, the prospect is unlikely. Meanwhile, you can usually find used copies online. I just checked Amazon and found several, in varying condition and with varying degrees of price inflation.

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The complete set of Experimental Musical Instruments back issues is now available on CD ROM! For years we’ve been selling the complete back issues set in the form of photocopied books, but the printing and shipping has been so expensive that we've had to charge a rather substantial price. Now you can get the same material in a two-CD package for less than a fifth of that price. Fourteen years' worth of great stuff! It's a real treasure chest.

To produce the CD package with top graphic quality and fully searchable text would have been prohibitively expensive, given the limited numbers that this rather specialized collection can be expected to sell. Instead we've produced a not-so-glamorous but far more affordable and eminently usable product. Details here.

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Earlier on in this space I've mentioned our series of how-to books (each with audio CD) on the making of various instruments. The first in the series was the one called Funny Noises for the Connoisseur; the second was one on making wind chimes, both available in our catalog. The third, as mentioned above, is our brand new one on slap tubes and other plosive aerophones. The fourth, long promised and much delayed, is one on bar percussion instruments, including marimbas and related instruments. It is in the final stages of production now, soon to be sent out to be printed, and will, we hope, be available this spring. Yet to come in the series, if we all live long enough, are book/CDs on truly simple home-buildable instruments for children, ocarinas, lamellaphones (kalimbas, mbiras and such), simple flutes, and ... well, and whatever else seems like a promising candidate for such treatment. Typically these books are authored by Bart Hopkin and a co-author chosen for his or her expertise with the instrument in question. Each book presents basic principles for design and construction along with sets of plans.

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Arno Lambert is developing an online archive of original musical instruments. Check it out and let him know of instruments you think should be included at http://noisejunk.eu.

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Manfred Bleffert, German instrument maker, composer and sculptor, will be giving a series of courses in the U.S. in the summer of 2008. Manfred is known for gongs, glockenspiels, cymbals and other percussion instruments, as well as his work in pedagogy over the last thirty years. The courses will take place in Santa Rosa, California. Registration begins in January, 2008. For information see www.manfred-bleffert.net or contact Tim Allen at timothyallen1@mac.com
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Baltimore instrument maker Neil Feather has an extensive, eclectic mix of wonderful and improbable instrument designs to his credit. One of them, gleaned from a collection of photos he recently sent, is the Melocipede shown on the right (with a full image and a detail shot). The Melocipede, Neil writes, “is a bicycle-based roto-zither. It has 14 strings (strung hub to rim) and 8 (1.5v ) motors and 4 magnetic pickups.  The pickups run through a mixer as the melocipede is pedaled in both directions and bouncing plucking etc.happens.  It sounds alternately like a cello, calliope, operatic whimpering/laughing puppy.  It also knocks down to fit in a suitcase.” You can see more instruments, hear sound clips or reach Neil through his web site at http://www.neilfeather.org/.

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The Turkish instrument maker and performer Zeki Çaðlar NAMLI has been developing the idea of string instruments, both plucked and bowed, with a soundboard and sound chamber at each end. This increases the volume and provides a fuller stereo field. The second sound chamber can be designed for a different sound quality than the primary one, thus varying and enriching the tone. It can even by made exchangeable for a variety of tone qualities. With fretted instruments, the presence of the second sound chamber allows for audibly playing the strings on either side of the fretting hand. Zeki Çaðlar has applied for a Turkish patent on the idea. Some links to see and hear more:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QRMYp2a67R0,
and http://youtube.com/watch?v=C6qbgXbPyRk .
For information on the CD La Lune / Köy, google “La Lune / Köy.”:  

In the community of Candeal, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, there's an extraordinary music group called Lactomia. The group is made up of young people of the community, ranging from children to young adults, and they produce their music, which is mostly percussive, on instruments made from found objects. They perform in wonderful, outrageous and colorful costumes also made from recycled materals. The ensemble is in some ways as much a community-oriented social movement as a musical group. Documentary film maker David Zucker has just released a documentary on Lactomia, full of the sounds, the color, and the life of the group and their locale. Learn more about it at http://www.projectfoundsound.com

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The photo on the right shows a kantele created by Peter Pringle, beautifully carved and inlaid.. The traditional 5-string Finnish kantele evolved in the twentieth century into a more modern instrument with many more strings, as can be seen in the photo. Peter has has furthered the evolution with the addition of pickups. He used the oversized magnetic pickups made by Jason Lollar that we sell here in the Experimental Musical Instruments catalog -- a perfect application for these extra-long pickups. (The pickups are located beneath the wooden cover at the far end of the instrument in the photo.) Learn more at http://www.peterpringle.com/kantele.html.

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Steve Mann of the University of Toronto is the designer of the Hydraulophone, a water-modulated musical instrument interface. Near the heart of the hydraulophone concept is the idea that the interaction between flows of fluid and players' fingers can have a kind of multidimensional dynamic variablility that is richer and subtler than that between fingers and keys or levers. Steve has made quite a few of these interefaces, some simple and some elaborate, and installed them in museums, public fountains and other places. As you can see in the picture, they often (though not always) involve arrays of water-spraying holes. The player covers the holes, restricting the flow to varyng degrees, to activate the sound. And what are the actual sound sources? Steve has used the interface with a variety of sound-producing mechanisms, some digital, some purely acoustic and some hybrid. For more information:.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8p1QMEOK50I.

... And another from Steve Mann, suitable for the winter season (photo on the right). Steve writes "In keeping with my states-of-matter instruments, I've invented another musical instrument that uses water in its solid state-of-matter (ice), which I call the 'pagophone' from Greek 'pago' which means 'ice'." The girl is Steve's daughter, Christina.

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David Lapp, physics teacher at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California has over the last several years run a series of workshops on musical instrument making for the physics classroom. In connection with that, he has been developing a book for physics teachers titled The Physics of Music and Musical Instruments. "I am working on a major revision now that I've had feedback form the participants of the workshops," he writes, "but it won't be done for quite a while. In the meantime, people can find the book as a PDF document at http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/physics_2003_wkshp/book.htm." In addition, the hardcopy book and/or CD-ROM (lots of interesting sound files here) can be obtained directly from David at this address: David Lapp, P.O. Box 97, Petaluma, CA 94953.

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The image on the right is the recently completed, beautifully gemoetric bellophone, created by Martin Salinas (jamsalinas@gmail.com), seen as the player would look upon it from directly above. Notice the dimensions; it's quite large. The sounding elements are steel bells, tuned 96 per octave.

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The photograph below is the Udderbot, created by Jacob Barton (udderbot@gmail.com). An udderbot arrived, here at EMI, unsolicited, a few weeks ago, so I was able to give it a try and see how it actually works. As you can see, it consists of a glass resonating chamber (bottle) with a latex bladder (rubber glove) attached below. You can't see this in the photo, but the bottom of the bottle has been cut out, so when you add water, it runs down and fills the glove below. Before playing, you add enough water to fill the glove but not the bottle. You play by blowing over the rim of the bottle in the time-honored fashion of bottle-tooters everywhere. As you play, you squeeze the glove to varying degrees. This forces water up into the bottle, which has the effect of varying the size of the air chamber, thus controlling the pitch. So how does it work? Great! It sounds just as you'd expect a ariable-pitch bottle to sound, and with practice you can either play conventional melodies or seek out more unusual effects. Jacob comments "Some people say 'You should really get that patented! (And then get rich!)' But I see it more as a folk instrument."

Jacob runs a forum for new musical instrument design at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/new_instruments. It's scarcely active at this time but anyone who wishes to inject some life will be welcome.

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The Jamaican bamboo saxophone maker and player Sugar Belly Walker was featured in the Experimental Musical Instruments book-and-CD compendium Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones. His irresistable tune "Shake Up Adina" has been one of the most popular on that CD. A while back I got a call from Sugar Belly's granddaughter, now living in the United States, who pointed out some misinformation in the account appearing in the book. Most importantly, Sugar Belly's given was not William, but Wilfred -- Wilfred Fitzgerald Walker, to be complete. He was born in Highgate, St. Mary in the island of Jamaica. The unidentified young man in the photograph that appears in the book is his son. Many thanks to Ms. Harvey for bringing the corrections to our attention.

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Books & CDs we've recently seen from various artists & authors (briefly noted):

Ganesh Anandan: Double Identity.
This CD features two instruments created by Ganesh Anandan. One is an aluminum bar instrument tuned to a 22-tones-per octave Indian scale. It may be played with softer mallets to bring out the fundamental tone, or smaller sticks to bring out intriguing blends of overtones. The other is something he calls a Shruti Stick. It’s a 12-string stick zither, beautifully crafted with the aid of luthier Jacques Simoneau. The shruti stick is played with a variety of tapping and bowing techniques, frequently with string preparations such as small weights on the strings. It provides a diverse palette of harmonic and inharmonic timbres, with varying degrees of sustain, often closely contrasted and juxtaposed. Included on the CD is a four-minute MPEG showing the playing of the instruments. Learn more at www.Fingerworks.org, or email ganesh@fingerworks.org.

Nick Penny: Windharp & Wavesong (CD) and Making Musical Instruments from Junk (book)
The Windharp & Wavesong CD features an Aeolian harp built by Nick Penny and recorded near the sea along the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Ocean wave sounds are present, unobtrusively, in the background. The wind harp doesn’t have a soundboard; it’s either close-miked or has some kind of a pickup. The tone is a little bassier than other small wind harps I’ve heard. The shifting harmonics are lovely and sounds of the sea are peaceful and soothing. Contact n.penny@virgin.net.
Nick has also recently come out with a new children’s instrument-making book called Making Musical Instruments from Junk. Thirty-two pages, full color on every page, lots of photos of children with appealing instruments and appealing smiles. A great challenge with books like this is coming up with ideas that truly are simple to make, without requiring tools unsuited for little ones, using materials that really are widely accessible without significant cost. So I’m happy to say that this book really does keep it simple: lots of plastic jugs, balloons and adhesive tape, and very simple instructions. There are 14 instruments, including a few simple rattles and the like, but also including some clever and inventive pop bottle wind instruments and strings. The publisher is A & C Black, www.acblack.com.

SaReel Project: Wordology (audio CD) and SaReel Project Live (live performance DVD)
The four musicians of SaReel Project play a huge number of instruments, a few of them home-made or invented but most of them picked up from diverse times and places and cultures. It’s an up and lively kind of music they play, with just a few slower and more meditative pieces interspersed, never in-your-face aggressive but typically full of a terrific energy and endless diversity of sound. In the DVD there’s a great sense of movement that flowing from the gestures of instrumental performance, and to bring this out still more there’s a dancer in nimble interaction with the musicians … makes you realize how much you miss when you just listen to a CD.
A leading member of SaReel Project is Sasha Bogdanowitsch, who was a crucial part of operations here at Experimental Musical Instruments for several years in the late 1990s. It’s great to hear his vocals (not to mention instrumentalitude) here. For more information, go to www.sareel.com.

Ela Lamblin: Long Period Ambience
This latest CD from Ela Lamblin is conceived around volcanos and the periodic activity that volcanologists struggle to interpret. It’s a subject well suited to Ela’s instruments, because from-the-bowels-of-the-earth sounds seem to come naturally to them – or perhaps it’s just that this particular project brings that aspect of their character to the fore. His instruments include a lot of resonant metal objects, many with strings, very rich in shifting resonances, as well as winds and percussion. Much the CD is about slow-evolving textures which rise up, take over, engulf the listener. Learn more at www.lelavision.com. While you’re there, take a minute to learn about Lelavision’s highly choreographic performance troupe.

Ernie Althoff: Dark by 6
Ernie Althoff makes automated kinetic sounding sculptures using low-tech materials, usually in a form that’s spread out over a floor space. The rotational movements of turntables or cassette players provide the motor force; usually there are several of them in each installation. Most often the turntables turn beaters which strike things, or may activate secondary beaters, but various other sorts of rotational sound-making actions go on as well. The sounding objects themselves may be sections of bamboo, bells, bowls with objects that move inside. This CD lets us here five of these installations, creating soundscapes that come across like a running-brook wash-of-sound when you listen superficially; and reveal a depth of detail when you ask your attention to penetrate. Hearing the CD isn’t the same as being in the presence of these strangely busy collections of objects, but there is something mysteriously quieting or quietingly mysterious about letting the stream of sound wash past. For information: www.antboymusic.com.

Barry Hall: UDU: Clay Pot Drums and How to Play Them (Video and DVD)
Sorry to be a little late with this commentary -- Barry Hall came out with this instructional video in 2002. In it Barry covers basic and advanced playing strokes for side-hole pot drums (aka Udus), highlighting diverse rhythms and playing styles, with excellent demonstrations and bonus performances. The video has the quality of directness, coherence and clarity of exposition that is a hallmark of all of Barry Hall’s work. And of course the instruments featured are beautiful; they including many and various ceramic pot drums, plus guest appearances from a stone fiddle and clay flute. www.BurntEarth.com

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Are you tired of all this online stuff? Experimental Musical Instruments has a 24-plus-page print catalog. It's not as extensive as this web site, but it does have all the pertinent information on what we have available and how to get it. We update this catalog regularly and are trying to spread it around to those people (and there are many) who aren't crazy about looking at the glowing screen all the time. If you'd like a copy, send us your name and address and we'll put one in the mail to you.