Just came across this interview with Hauschka – a German artist which I love. He plays “prepared” piano — a piano that has been modified by hardware additions. For a typical piece, he makes more than 20 adjustments to the innards of a grand piano using duct tape, felt, cellophane, bottle caps, wedges, aluminum foil, sheets of paper. I was reminded of our Metal Music and The Sound of Marbles.
PS: Michael S-W, hope you read this! I was in Berlin for a week and got to see some great shows!
Thanks so much for sharing that! I found the NPR page with more videos – I think it’s a lovely bit of film-making as well as the beauty of the music and the tinkering http://www.npr.org/2010/11/13/131245315/hauschka-gets-the-most-out-of-88-keys
I think musical instruments, especially percussion, are technologies ripe for tinkering! My dad was an Orchestrator, and don’t think I’ll ever forget the day he came from a recording session raving about some special sound they’d archieved after hitting some dustbin lids (he was probably one of the big London orchestras, and these bins were probably on Abbey Rd, but it’s too many years ago to remember the details…).
Loved the marbles too. I think you should have a Tinkers’ Orchestrator.
Last time I was in San Fran there was an amazing busker near Powell St BART with a drumkit made out of what otherwise might be thought of as trash. See if you can recruit him.