"door-chime" guitar

i made one of these and they sound great.
-do you remember those chimes that your grandma would have on here kitchen door? A little hollowed out box with three or four strings and little hammers that would bang against them when the door was closed?

-well, we can do this with a guitar. you just need to make a "bridge" of sorts that hangs the little hammers (wooden balls attached to string) over the strings.
-you designate one ball to each string, hanging them in a sort of triangle pattern so they don't run into each other.
-it is better if you have a sort of clamp system up too, so that you can change the length of the string so that they fit right over the strings.
-the result will be, that when you play strings/strum chords on the guitar, the balls over each string will bounce off at different paces creating the same effect that the door chime would have. something that sounds very unique and pleasant with the guitar.

diagrams/photos to follow.

complication: the problem with my prototype was that the strings tended to get tangled really bad, sommer suggested fishing-line instead perhaps.

stories

to generate random/semi-random patterns of notes/song structure/beats etc.

useful with live, reason, or any other computer music program with a "keyboard assign" option.
it is simple: you assign a different tone, sample, pattern, to every key on the keyboard and then once that is done, you "input" any text by typing it.

the result is a confusing, maybe harmonious, maybe dissonant, seemingly randon series that is nevertheless, completely reliant on the text. therefore, a strong/subtle connection between text and sound is formed.

in essence, this could be used as a type of code:
for example: A= C (octave shift)
B= D2
F= E (filter shift) etc. etc.

Sound decision (am#36)

http://www.mediafire.com/?tg2tqj5j2m0
Sound Decision
Setup:
- 10 tracks of Dulcimer/acoustic guitar with automated panning on each
- 4 tracks of manipulated vocals
- Pitch-shifted/manipulated electric guitar
Execution:
- This is the only “non-live” mm recording right now, mostly because I wanted to play around with automated panning, which is only really an option with multi-tracking. Recorded in one afternoon in Ridgewood, NY to ibook.
Result:
- This was originally “released” as one copy, sent to Markus in Dresden but seeing as how the “sound fortress” triple cassette wont be finished for some time, and that this wont be included on it, I’ll leave it here instead.

25bpm (accidental music #41)

http://www.mediafire.com/?u2mndilyg0n
SETUP:
- FIELD RECORDING OF RAINSTORM ON THE PATIO AT VIEJOS MANCEBOS
- 12 SOFTSYNTHS, EACH RUNNING INTO A STEP SEQUENCER.
- THE 12 SEQUENCERS EACH HAVE A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF STEPS FROM 7 TO 19, EACH ONE PROGRAMMED TO PLAY ONE OR TWO NOTES.
- A SHORT, MIRRORED MIDI MELODY
EXECUTION:
- TEMPO SET TO 25BMP WITH LONG ATTACK AND SUSTAIN.
- RESULT EXPORTED FROM “REASON 2.0”, APPROX. 17 MINUTES.
- AUDIO CUT IN HALF, STEREO-FLIPPED AND DOUBLED ON ITSELF
- COMBINED WITH FIELD RECORDING (THE SAME NIGHT)
RESULT:
- AMBIENT LOOPS COMBINING IN CONTINUALLY DIFFERENT WAYS DUE TO THE DIFFERENT STEP LEGNTHS OF THE SEQUENCERS.
- THIS METHOD COULD BE INCREASED IN STEPS, SYNTHS, OR OVER TIME TO CREATE A CONSTANTLY CHANGING, REORGANIZED MELODY.

poisonous snack (accidental music #40)

http://www.mediafire.com/?emejqznyodw
SETUP:
-SIX CONTACT MICS TAPED TO WINE GLASSES, TUNED INTO HARMONY (OR DISSONANCE) RUN INTO MIXER WITH HEAVY REVERB
-2 SMALL CONDENSORS WITH REVERB, PANNED, FOR VOCAL
-ELECTRIC GUITAR
-ALL RUN INTO RC-50 INTO THREE SYNCHED STEREO LOOPS
EXECUTION:
- IMPROVISED VOCALS AND GUITAR WITH WINE GLASSES TO CREATE LOOPS THAT WERE MIXED LIVE TO COMPUTER LATER.
RESULT:
- SHORT RECORDING BUT A LOT OF IDEAS FOR FUTURE WORKS. A CONTACT MIC TAPED TO THE BASE OF A WINEGLASS IS VERY REACTIVE, VERY CLEAR.

panoply (accidental music #39)

http://www.mediafire.com/?4gzitti2yt4
SETUP:
-A TENT CONSTRUCTED OF SCRAP 2X4’S, COVERED IN OLD SHEETS AND BLANKETS SO IT WOULD BE TOTALLY DARK INSIDE.
-2 SETS OF HEADPHONES
-FENDER RHODES MARK 2 (GLOW IN THE DARK PAINT ON THE SUGGESTED KEYS)
-2 SMALL CONDENSOR MICS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE TOP, RUN INTO IBOOK WITH AUTOMATED REVERB AND PANNING, ON A 5 MINUTE LOOP TO CREATE DIFFERING SENSATIONS OF SPACE.
-2 SMALL CONDENSOR MICS RUN INTO A MIXER WITH DELAY AND REVERSE DELAY.
-3 STEREO LOOPS (BETWEEN 1 AND 3 MINUTES) MADE WITH THE SETUP PRIOR TO THE INSTALLATION.
-2 CONTACT MICS, ONE ON FLOOR, ONE ON WALL.
EXECUTION:
-THROUGHOUT THE THREE-HOUR EVENT, PARTICIPANTS WERE INVITED TO GO INSIDE AND TALK AND FEEL AROUND, HOPEFULLY PRODUCING A CHANGING SENSATION OF SPACE AND SOME AMOUNT OF DISORIENTATION.
RESULT:
-MOST PEOPLE WERE CONFUSED AND THE SPACE WAS NOT SOUNDPROOFED SO MUCH OF THE END SOUND WAS PROCESSED EXTERNAL SOUND.
-ALL THREE HOURS WERE RECORDED OUT OF MIXER DIRECT TO MINIDISC. I ONLY LISTENED TO PART OF IT.

Reflections on contemporary independent music

Is DIY ruining music?

How could DIY possibly be ruining music? Many if not most listeners would see it as the opposite: independent music’s only savior in the face of corporate and consumer music culture. The truth is that the DIY movement is having many negative effects on music today, mainly based in the simplicity of digital recording and the immediacy of the Internet. On the surface, these two elements appear unquestionably positive; they remove the corporate and financial barriers that once existed between musicians and their potential listeners, but I wonder if they haven’t succeeded in making things too easy, or too complicated. Let me explain.
Not too many years ago, a filter existed between musicians and their audience. This filter took the form of record labels, which controlled music’s accessibility and also possessed the capital to pay for expensive studio time needed to make proper recordings. This allowed record labels to decide more or less who would be listened to, or at least, whom it would be easier to listen to. (We’re not talking about mainstream music here, but smaller bands, and smaller labels.) The system delegated by labels was extremely exclusive; and also made it more necessary, or at least useful for bands to know what they were doing before they put records out. The result was music that was more “trend-based”; labels that were more “genre-based” and overall, less accessibility for listeners. It also caused very much great music to get overlooked. This all appears to totally contradict my argument, but now let’s look at what’s happening now.
The filter that once existed has been removed. Musicians can now produce their own music on their terms at home, at very little cost and “release” it, at least online immediately. Therefore, everyone has equal initial access to every listener that has Internet access. This ease has had several very detrimental effects. First of all, it has produced an unbelievable flood of new music, of high to terrible quality. This extreme abundance has ill effects on listeners and the music press. Listeners now are in the position of filter. There are no longer labels delegating what they hear, but they also have to sort through everything to find what they like. This can be so time consuming, that it may result in greater exclusion of the listener and this has been exacerbated by the trend within labels to diversify their acts in order to compensate for the multiplication of trends, and their rapid succession.
In a desperate attempt to keep up to date, listeners and labels turn to the music press. The press has changed also though. Now centered online; the music press can update their information constantly, changing the focus from bands of the week/month to bands of the day. Tied up in this is the attempt to discover new and exciting acts to constantly satiate confused music fans and increase their legitimacy within the industry. This continual need for new talent has resulted in music prospecting that is detrimental to music fans. The music press is now tempted to endorse bands on characteristics other than their music and so the press is dominated now by “story bands”, “gimmick bands”, “genre bands (or throwback bands)” and side projects. The paradoxical thing about many of these projects is that while they are borne of this “DIY” ideology, it is often used in the exact opposite way than one would expect: in the creation of limitations rather than options. Working at home opens things up hugely for musicians but often now, the use of or rather, the refusal to use certain types of instruments/equipment/approaches produces a sound that is almost immediately confined; unable to live beyond the buzz created by the band’s two member rule, their refusal to use keyboards, or their “analog only” creed.
But why is this bad? First of all, it isn’t always. Some great artists have come to light through their “nonmusical” characteristics. (Though I believe that good music will always find its way to people’s ears). This is bad because many of these bands simply aren’t very good. They suddenly gain popularity (often very soon after forming); make one interesting album (maybe) -mostly based in their story or limitations- and then a bad one, and then disappear. This creates a musical landscape that changes daily, constantly losing the consistent and developing acts that one could follow for fresh talent –or if not talent, fresh names. Overlooked now are more “serious” bands that have existed for years but are now considered boring because they are not new.
The irony in this is that so much of independent music today is centered in the aspiration to replicate the movements that were truly DIY. These are the genre bands, the throwbacks, and the story bands. They are founded in a deep respect for no-wave, psych rock, or freak folk and attempt to reinvent the spirit and creativity of their predecessors by imitating them. There are two huge differences between the old and the new movements though. First, the old movements were inventing things. And second, the old movements were truly communities of artists working towards a common creative idea. This does not exist now. The explosion of music today has caused a fragmentation that causes all to suffer and it will fail to produce a history beyond the brief life of today’s trend bands.

Surround Sound Headphones

Picture a helmet.
There are five speakers attached to it.
There are pairs of tiny speakers on each side, the are mounted to the inside of the helmet directly in front of and behind the ears. These pairs will handle the effects of Left/Right panning and the sensations of Forward/Behind as well. A fifth speaker will rest against the base of the skull (like support on a newer version bike helmet). This speaker will serve as a (sub) and will carry the low frequencies directly to the skull causing the cranial bones to vibrate and deep sensations to be felt by the listener. This system will be concealed probably by a "fishing" or "pinhat" style hat (or a Kangol) and a white cord will connect it to the new ipod HD [still under development by Apple]. These headphones will NOT be compatible with most electronics because they will require more power that a headphone jack normally supplies (this would result in low output). An adapter may be manufactured or possibly all new electronics will be compatible with such a system.

Sketches to folllow...

Rainstick Guitar

Quite Simple really; though all of the greatest ideas are.

-----I will build a guitar with a rain-stick embedded in the neck.

Unabandoned Idea #817 B

Form a band called A Band Doned, or a band called The Almond Brothers,
that cover The Allman Brothers songs in a nutty way, or combine all to create
The All Band Bothers Band-Aids Head-Band-Width Band Together.
( This will/still/always work.) (Forever.)

Abandoned Idea #24

A band called "Quarterback" that covers Nickleback all cute. (this would no longer work because nickleback isn't popular anymore).

Abandoned Idea #89

What if everyone interesting and cool picked a special car on the subway (let's say that the second to last). And no matter what train you were on, you'd always ride on that same car. And then it would be easier to meet cool people and have interesting discussions about things. (of course this would/will never work)

10 polaroids

1. take polaroids of things
2. video the development of the polaroids with a video camera
3. compose music to the videos.
4. attach the music to the video and burn dvds
5. include the original photos in the packaging

remix: play the video backwards

projected completion date: 15 july 08

*completed: 10 copies for sale, including original polaroids at: http://www.barkandhiss.com

Abandoned Idea #1

This mostly applied to group music where at least one hand is free. The idea is that rather that plugging in to amps; everyone in the group wears a glove that has the "hot" signal from their instrument attached to it. The "ground" is run straight from the instrument to some shared ground. The amps would have large metal plates on them, the "hot" wire from the amp would run to this plate and the ground would run also to the master ground. Maybe there would be cool effects between the amp and the plate. So the idea is that rather than plugging into an amp, you could just touch the plate and have instant connection/disconnection with the amp, and therefore, it would be easy to switch the amp that your sound is running into. It also means that it would be possible to share amps between anyone in the group. The shared ground would eliminate any buzzing that would result from a broken signal. Maybe the members of the group could shake hands and something awesome would happen. Also, if any of the amps were ungrounded, the possibility of getting shocked would increase. I think that this fear/risk of getting seriously hurt would greatly improve many musical projects.

Mixing with light

1. buy some photo resistors at radioshaq.
2. cut open your guitar cords and solder resistor to ground wire.
3. gather as many guitar amps as you can and place them all over a room.
4. send sounds to all of them.
5. turn out the lights. all of the sound should stop.
6. as you shine a flashlight on each photoresistor, the sound should escape the amp that it corresponds to. Brighter light will produce louder tones.
7. compose pieces based one the movement of the light. compose using geometry rather than normal notation.

variation: get a strand of christmas-tree-lights for each amp (the kind that blink). attach one light from each strand directly to a photoresistor and drape that strand over the corresponding amp. plug all the lights in and enjoy the random composition that the dimmers produce together.

Google Maps Blast

Print musical scales on transparent paper.
Tape paper to computer screen over Google Maps
or the map search web location of your choice.
Then type in your address, or make one up!
When the highway or road changes direction, mark
that note on the transparent paper.
Then play your new composition on your keytar or recorder.
Or you could just assign different notes to the sounds
that your roommates make when they do it....
whatever.
Also, now that e-mail "blast" are popular, do people
confuse Map Blast with E-mail Blast and they think
they will be sending 100 maps virtually?

The Mystery of G Sharp

Empty 12oz beer bottles seem to be tuned to right around g#. I'll try to conduct research this weekend to see what tones 22 and 40 oz bottles can produce when blown over. I am as of yet unsure what notes a breaking glass bottle makes but i theorize that that they will be overtonal derivatives of G# as well. When a bottle meets another object with some force, the glass particles are suddenly forced to resonate and so theoretically, they will produce the resonant frequency of the bottle.

applications:
1. slam a beer during a song at the show and then blow over it right when the band plays a g#.
2. if your band sucks, write songs in G# so that when people throw bottles at you, it is in key.

Jellyfish Jam

Similar idea to the Precipitation Piece posted earlier.

Go to the Akron Zoo's new jellyfish exhibit (opening today) and videotape.

Pick a scale, mentally (or with tape on your tv screen) section off different parts to assign to different notes in the scale. Pick a jellyfish and as he/she (do they have different sexes? I don't know) moves around the screen change notes based on their location in different pre-marked sections. Do this for each jellyfish in the movie and you'll get a bunch of notes moving around in what seems random, but is not random to the jellyfish.

or something.

Can chord shapes affect the weather?

This idea is not fully confirmed but my recent experiments have led me to believe that the type of chord that i play on an instrument may have a direct and immediate correlation with the weather outside. The other day, i discovered what i have named a "minor" chord (named such because it's dark sound recalls the brooding music that someone younger than 18 might enjoy). I have found through 1 test that as I play such a chord on the guitar, the weather immediately becomes cloudy, and it begins to rain. I am currently searching for the "yang"-chord to the minor chord's "ying" and once i find i am certain that it will inspire inverse effects. (mt- 05, June 1885)

the U Haul Van as instrument/studio

The inside of a u haul van sounds like the inside of a giant warshing machine. We should invest more in renting u hauls for a day to pick up scrap metal and do sound projects inside of. the scrap could cover the rental costs. variation: rent a uhaul, tape 50 contact mics on all surfaces of the back, run them into a 50 input audio interface and record a day of throwing scrap metal into the back.

On Automated Panning

(This feature is available and most recording software- including cheap-ass cubase)

*Automated panning can be used in a variety of ways in any genre of music; here are some suggestions.

-movement: 1.small incidental sounds are more interesting when they glide across the stereo spectrum. 2.any percussive parts gain life if they don't remain in a stagnant position (try imagining a group of percussionists pretending to be a marching band, dancing around between your ears. pick a random panning pattern for the "leader" and then follow it with other instruments). 3.this can save multi-tracking time as well -move notes back and forth between the left and right ear to emulate call and response.
-texture: subtle panning can add texture to solid/non percussive sounds. gently, steadily panning a sound between the "right center" and "hard right" has an impact on how it sits within the mix and creates a constantly changing texture.
-transition: try group panning to interesting-ify transitions between parts in songs. for example: move the verse off to the right as the chorus enters from the left. new parts could also shove their way in with some resistance from a current part. foreshadowing? (see "applying literary concepts to song design" -to be added later)

Cut-Out Box

This is a super-simple thing to make but i like it:

1. choose a "box"-- a pringles can, a take-out container, etc.

2. take 2 input jacks (the things that you plug guitar cords into) and wire them together (so that the similar looking parts of each are connected with wire and solder.

3. solder an additional wire to the "hot" side of one and the "cold" (maybe-or maybe the ground?? [i dont know electronics very well])

4. when you touch these two wires together, it creates a "short" and the sound cuts out

5. you can contol the amount that a signal cuts out by how complete the contact is between the two wires--so play with the way that they touch to make different degrees of disturbance.

*this works well coming from an organ or any solid sound -breaking it apart and making it more unstable/more interesting

**you can also wire a "switch" or "button" between the two wires to create a solid and more controlled cut.

Stereo Sound Box

Wood is good; or an old metal lunchbox.

Attach a contact mic to two opposing sides of the box- glue, tape, anything - at some level of permanence or professionalism.

Use the box to transport whatever and then plug the 2 mics into some sort of stereo amplifier/mixer

The mics react to very small touches/poundings on the wood/metal thanks to the material's resonant quality.

The stereo amplification gives this amplified space a real feeling of depth, and movement within this space is projected well through the speakers.

*for added impact, buy some 50ft guitar cords and separate your amps on opposite ends of your block or building*

Songs for Birds

1. Record voice with computer digital sound equipment.
2. Be sure to pay special attention to equalizers (waveform shape).
3. With voice, sculpt digital sound waves into birdlike shapes and conifers (en though they're already there anyway.

*additional voice game- 1. Record a voice track
2. Have your fiance/boyhfriend/friend/mom try to reproduce the sound without hearing it, but only by looking at the digital waveform.
3. Then it is your turn

Resonator Box

A home-made sturdy wooden box (12"x14"x12") with a speaker bolted face down on the bottom. The speaker produces a lowlow tone -either constantly or rhythmically. at the top of the box is a series of light gauge guitar strings, strung across the length, tunes tight with "lute" style tuning pegs (the kind of small, square peg you would find in an auto-harp or hammer dulcimer). the strings are tuned however -to a scale, randomly, to a melody. Halfway down the box, across the center, a small board is mounted; and a small electric motor is mounted atop the board. Attached to this motor is a 8" metal rod, extending upwards, with a guitar pickup attached to the top. when the motor is engaged, the rod spins, and so the guitar pickup rotates in a circle just above the strings. This allows a rotary effect and ensures that all strings will be amplified. The speed of the motor is adjustable, and possibly MIDI-synched to the song's tempo. The speaker vibrates, the box vibrates, and so the strings vibrate. The guitar pickup "picks up" this vibration and sends the resulting tones to an amplifier.
*As a variation, the speaker can be omitted and the box can be placed atop a bass cabinet so that as a low bass note is played, the box reacts.