Final Live Piece

After working to the equations as stated before, I have developed my final product using just Conduit pipes, Elastic bands, balloons and i’ve had to use electrical tape to get the stand to secure itself together properly.

This is the final product. All pipes are tuned to the correct pitch to correspond with the notes in the 4th octave, and it is a fully functioning instrument than anyone can play. The Stand is held together by electrical tape wrapped around them, and the playable pipes are attached using elastic bands. This was the most secure way of attaching the piped without requiring a central bar to hold the pipes in place, doing it that way works just fine.

There is no score to follow while playing these instruments because these were created with simplicity in mind. While I was playing with them I realised that the music should not be written down for this instrument and they should be played from the heart. This also came around after I realised that kids would love to play them and most of the young children I know do not know how to read sheet music or graphical scores so this was a major influence on the use of rules over a score to play. The rules are quite simple:

This instrument is designed to be played with passions so that is what it asks of the player.

This project was incredibly intertesing. It allowed me to push the limits of minimalistic music when provided with minimal amount of materials, it also allowed me to explore objects that I would not previously have thought about creating a sound out of. This allowed a lot of creativity and freedom in what I could create, and this freedom is what was passed on for the player to embrace. It gave me the opportunity to explore new things, as well as expolring physical uses of everyday objects to create something that could be used in a musical composition.

If I was to do this project again, I would look into the possibility of making a larger scale model of what I have created. With the minimalistic materials, it would be interesting to see what it would take to create a fill set of notes starting from the first octave through to the seventh octave, and as to how large the instrument would become. this is a possiblity for a project in the future.

-Mikalah Houghton

Live Piece Update – 04/05/2018

My tasks to work upon were to research into the frequency of my pipes and their relative pitch, and to see if there is a way for the instrument to be played without human contact.

I looking into different methods that could be used for playing the instrument that would require human contact, however all of the methods I could think of would compromise of the sound created from the pipes. for example if I was to use marbles to drop on the balloon, it wouldnt create the same sound that could be created by the human touch.
Another method I looked into was using a dippy bird which is a novelty toy. the problem with this is that the dippy bird required to be wet to function, and to do this the balloon would ahve to have a pool of water on top of the skin, this would comprimise the sound of the instrument and wouldn’t work. (How Stuff Works, 2001)

After looking into the ideas I had thought of I decided that I would like to use the human touch however prepare rules for playing so that the instrument got played in a manner that is already specified.

I then wanted to tackle was founding out the frequencies of my pre cut pipes. The way I could find out was by following a pre-determined equation. I followed this equation and got the frequencies that all the pipes already emitted. To find the frequency of a closed end pipe, it is the speed of sound / 4 x the length of the pipe. (Study Physics, n.d)

After I found out the frequency of my pipes I already have, I then had to work out what length I required to make the pipes fit into a pitch. I want to make my pipes into a tuned set of pipes that covers a single octave of all 7 notes between Note C and Note B. I would like to aim for the 4th octave, as I already have a rough idea as to what the frequencies are to the note pitches. The following Document shows all of my workings as to the lengths I needed for a one open ended pipe. This allowed me to look at my already existing pipes and change the lengths of them so that they were pitched.

To work out the length it required a re-arrangement of the original equation. As I already knew what the frequency I desired was,  it was able to re-work the question. The final equation that worked ended up being:  speed of sound / frequency desired, the result remaining is then divided by 4 to reveal the length you require in meters.

I also had to look into the stand that the pipes will be held in. I decided I wanted to take a minimalistic approach by only using elastic bands and more of the plastic tubings to create a stand and secure the pipes to the stand. I created a basic design that would allow me to follow and that would be simple to create.

By following this design and all of the equations stated my final project should be a pitched set of pipes that are played like a drum set with less power, that are encased within a stand made out of minimalistic materials.

-Mikalah Houghton

 

References

How Stuff Works (2001) “How does a Dippy Bird work?”. Available: https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question608.htm. Last Accessed:  23 May 2018

Study Physics. (n.d). Lesson 51: Closed & Open Ended Pipes. Available: http://www.studyphysics.ca/newnotes/20/unit03_mechanicalwaves/chp141516_waves/lesson51.htm. Last accessed 22nd May 2018.

Live Piece Update – 25th April 2018

After experimenting with some pre cut pipes, I have found a great way of turning smaller plastic tubing into a percussion instrument without the requirement of banging or the use of paddles. By following the basic design for a drum I realised if I want to turn the plastic tubing into a percussion instrument then there will require some kind of contact with another surface. For example with a regular drum it is required to be hit by a drum stick or the pedal beater to activate the sound. This is something I wish to try to minimise.

I have created the instrument by picking a piece of pipe and stretching a balloon over it. The balloon creates a drum skin however over all of the different pipes I noticed there were pitch differences. The length of the pipes will change the pitches of the instrument. this is something I wish to work out. What pitches are the pipes? and how can I make them a certain pitch?

To get the drum to play, you don’t have to powerfully play them. The best way to play is by using the flats of the finger tips and tapping the balloon on top. This is powerful enough for the sound produced to be audible and does not require a large amount of power and energy to play the instrument.

My next questions is how can I get the instrument to play without human contact? and is their a way? If there is a way does it need human power?

My next task is to look into the different pitches of my pipes, and if possible make a scale of the pipes so that 7 pipes cover an octave. Another task is to look into playing the constructed instrument and how to amplify the sound of the pipes.

-Mikalah Houghton

 

Live Piece Ideas

For my live piece, I decided I want to explore the sounds that can be created by using Plastic pipes and any means nessisary to gain a sound out of them. Exploring one sound source requires me to be creative in ways to achieve a sound. I went out and I have purchased some Balloons, Some small plastic cars with wheels, I have some rice and I have some elastic bands. Using these sounds I am going to experiment to see in there are any sounds created by the pipes in which I can turn into a Composition.

I have seen on youtube many videos of people exploiting PVC Piping as part of their instumentation during live performances. one of these is the Blue Man Group who regularly use PVC piping as a kind of percussion isntrument.

(Simply Awesome, 2015)

What I would like to explore is if there are any ways of making smaller pipes into a percussion instrument and if so then how is it possible? Are there any ways of being able to play them as an instrument that doesn’t require a heavy hit to the floor or to use a paddle to play them? Is it possible to make a finger played percussion instrument out of pipes? Due to the way they play the PVC Pipes, are there any ways that don’t require the power and energy of the human body to be part of the performance and it be focused soley on the sound produced?

There are many questions I have that through experimentation I wish to find out if there are anyways to complete these questions. Also through the experimentation, I would like to be able to see if there are any other ways I could use the pipes to create a musical composition.

-Mikalah Houghton

 

References

Simply Awesome (2015, November 2). Blue Man Group | Live in Concert | Best Performance [Video File]. Retrieved From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeOb-LcYWgQ