contemporary music making for amateurs
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Bart Hopkin, editor of Experimental Musical Instruments, looks at the inspiration behind creative musical instrument making
Composers are always looking for something new. Nobody wants to be accused of rehashing the music of the past. Looking at the music of the 20th century, it's interesting to ask: what aspects of the music have composers and other music-makers focussed on as they seek fresh musical approaches? And, conversely, what aspects of music-making have been overlooked or taken for granted rather than being considered as areas for creative development?
Through most of this century, the majority of composers working in the highbrow traditions derived from European classical music have demonstrated their credentials as innovators by devising highly intellectualized systems governing pitch relationships and, to a lesser extent, rhythmic relationships. But through the same time period there have been those - though fewer in number - who have explored other avenues. I'm thinking of music people who are intrigued with such things as the sorts of social interplay that's implicit in music making; or with the rules governing concertizing; or, particularly, with the nature and diversity of the sounds themselves with which we choose to make music. and with the ways in which all of these things can be areas for musical adventuring.
To me, this is where the fun is. That's why I'm so taken with the idea of homemade musical instruments, and creative instrument making in general. When you decide to make your own instrument, and particularly one that is not modeled after any standard instrument type, you step outside of a whole set of expectations about both the practice and the sounds of music. Having done so, you are free to make music as unconventional as you wish, or as thoroughly conventional as you wish. For instance: you may bend your efforts toward making an instrument that works well in a concert-like setting. But, on the other hand, you can make an instrument that really works best as a private, meditative sort of thing perhaps something quiet, something portable, something whose sound surrounds the player or uses body resonances, in a way that an audience would miss. Or, instead of making a single instrument, you could make a set of simple, anyone-can-play-'em instruments, perhaps all tuned to one another in a simple scale, which can be handed out to a non-audience audience, musically trained or not, for communal musicking. Or you could make an outdoor instrument, set up permanently in a garden location, with a special affinity for conversing with birds.
Here's another for instance: you can strive to make an instrument well enough conceived and built so that, like a violin or a piano, it merits all the disciplined study you can muster in pursuit of its mastery. Or you could build an instrument in which mastery isn't an issue at all. Make it so simple that anyone can play it. Or, as many contemporary experimental instrument makers have done, make an instrument with a will of its own, capricious and unpredictable but full of odd and intriguing sounds. Then the player, rather than attempting to control the instrument, must learn to work with the instrument, follow its lead, see where it wants to go.
If you make your own instruments, you may be able to come up with really distinctive musical voices - instrumental timbres not available elsewhere. But you may find, as you explore, that the most fruitful musical results come not so much from a unique tone quality, but from an overall instrumental personality. A host of factors go into this: the nature of the playing gestures that the instrument calls for, the ways that the human body interacts with the instrument ergonomically, the spatial layout of the pitches on the instrument, the kinds of note patterns or rhythmic patterns that seem to come naturally to it, the scale of pitches on the instrument (which may be something entirely unique, of your own devising or even random), certain things about the way it interacts with other standard or non-standard instruments; even the visual effect of the instrument and the crazy name you chose to give it. A one-of-a-kind instrument with a personality all its own is always a treasure - whether it's something simple, quirky and limited in its capacities, or a piece with real musical depth - because it can take you to musical places you would otherwise never have thought to go. Playing with off-beat instruments may also encourage you to listen, seeking to understand the peculiarities of their sounds and scales, with different ears. So I encourage you: if any of this appeals to you, give the idea a try. Start with some found objects, try your hand at some simple home-mades; if you find the work fruitful, you can seek out more information and move on to more demanding things. Remember as you go to keep your ears wide open.
Experimental Musical Instruments - useful resources for people interested
in unusual musical instruments and the making thereof - can be contacted
at:
emi@windworld.com
http://www.windworld.com/emi
phone/fax (++) 415 662-2182
PO box 784, Nicasio, CA 94946.