The paulownia tree, also known as empress tree or princess tree, makes little seed pods that are natural rattles. I picked this one up in Prospect Park.
instrument-a-day 20: paulownia rattle
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Monthly Archives: February 2010
instrument-a-day 19: bang on a can ensemble
This actually sounds surprisingly good, considering my lack of rhythm! In case you were wondering, the ensemble members are (clockwise from top left) black beans, chickarina, tuna, italian beans in tomato sauce, and more tuna.
instrument-a-day 18: paper clips
It's a bunch of paper clips screwed to a chunk of wood with a piezo contact mic. It sounds kinda like 1960s electronic music. Kinda.
(mailing list archive) upcoming noisy stuff in the spring
Happy February! I’ve got some upcoming events to share. A lot, in fact!
Tonight is the opening of Flux Factory’s latest show, HOUSEBROKEN, celebrating their new home in Long Island City. I contributed to the show by sneaking a bunch of dishes and cookware out of their kitchen, engraving them with various texts and images, and returning it all. http://www.fluxfactory.org/ for details of tonight’s opening, and if you’d like to see some of my dish-tricks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ranjit/sets/72157623333378723/detail/
I did it back in 2001, 2002, and 2003, but then I neglected it for a while. Now, with the help of NYC Resistor, Lanternfest is back! Make homemade lanterns and show them off in Prospect Park. We’ll have a lantern-building workshop next Tuesday the 23rd (please RSVP to me), and the lantern festival itself on the first full moon of the Year of the Tiger, Sunday, February 28. More details at http://www.nycresistor.com/2010/02/14/lantern-festival/
I’ve got one of my greenmarket produce scan photos up for sale at the Dumbo Arts Center’s benefit Pop-Up Sale – go buy art for a good cause (more art)! The sale is Friday-Sunday Feb 26-28 – more at http://www.dumboartscenter.org/benefit_events.html
I’m in the middle of my annual instrument-a-day month, in which I spend February trying to make a new musical instrument every day. This is the third year, and I think it’s getting harder. You can see and hear the noisemakers so far at http://www.moonmilk.com/ — and like last year, I’m celebrating the end of the month of instruments by performing with the Glass Bees at Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn: Wednesday, March 3 around 7:30pm. Thanks to Bethany Ryker for making this possible! More info: http://www.glassbees.com/ & http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/
I’ll be performing a new piece for robot toy piano at the NYC Electro-Acoustic Music Festival, March 25-27. There’s dozens of interesting-looking performances, and I think most of them will be free! My piece will be at Galapagos in DUMBO, Brooklyn, the evening of the 25th. Check http://www.nycemf.org/ in a week or so for the full schedule.
I’m working on a sort of piano-tickling machine for a piece by composer Zachary James Watkins, which will be performed by Tiffany Lin in Seattle on April 3, at the Chapel Space at Good Shepherd Center. By the way, if any of you in New York have a grand or baby grand piano I can experiment on (harmlessly, I promise!), please let me know!
On May 2, I’ll be performing with pianist Asami Tamura at the Music with a View series at the Flea Theater in Tribeca. Looks like it’ll be a fun show with a bunch of experimental composers and performers! http://www.theflea.org/show_detail.php?page_type=0&show_id=12
And my ongoing daily photo project with Keira Chang continues at http://dontwiggle.com/ – we’re just a few months away from a full year.
Please let me know what you’re up to!
– Ranjit
www.moonmilk.com
instrument-a-day 17: pickup glove
I took some scrap wire and wound it into coils, which I sewed to the fingertips of a knit glove. I tossed some extra magnets under the guitar strings, and then waggled my fingers over the strings while tapping the strings (still tuned to Open D) with a drumstick. It works ok, not great. The next version will use much finer, more sensitive coils, and probably only on the thumb and two fingers. It's hard to use all five!
instrument-a-day 16: guitar marxophone (marxotar)
As I said before, I love the sound of the obsolete Marxophone, but they're expensive on ebay. I made this guitar-marxophone with hex nuts glued to street-sweeper bristles stapled to a chunk of wood. The marxotar straps to the guitar's tailpiece and strap button with zipties, and can be attached and removed without any damage to the guitar.
Despite my unpracticed fumbling with the guitar marxophone and Open D tuning, I think this thing has a lot of promise. Hey manufacturers! You can have the idea, but I want credit and some free product! (Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has already had the same idea.)
"housebroken" opens this friday 2/19
Good old Flux Factory is having a show called Housebroken to inaugurate their new home in Long Island City. They invited artists to come in and mess with the space. I grabbed a few sacks of dishes and cookware from their kitchen, engraved them with various texts and images, and gave them back. They’ll be eating off this “installation” for years – or at least months, until it’s all broken.
Housebroken opens this Friday at 8pm – go!
Here’s some pictures of bits of my contribution. More at flickr.
instrument-a-day 15: mute accordion
I stuck a microphone inside the bass end of my accordion, where the vent is, so I could amplify its breathing and creaking.
I first played mute accordion with the glass bees. Speaking of whom, I'll be playing with them on March 3rd at Barbes!
instrument-a-day 14: musical saws
What could be more beautiful than the sweet, pure tone of a musical saw? How about FOUR saws? Being bashed with drumsticks?
instrument-a-day 13: EGurdy
Who needs an EBow when you can have an EGurdy? The spinning disc is coated with rosin to bow the guitar strings, kinda like the wheel inside a hurdy gurdy.