TUNING digest 1239

Patrick wrote:

>However, I do see great value in building new instruments. New
>physical design, placing of tone-holes, fingering (possibly greatly
>simplified with electronic interfaces for purely acoustic
>instruments) etc would give a more accurate pallette, (ie designedly
>'centred' pitches), improved tonal charateristics, and greatly
>improved facility.

For those that are offended by loose ideas that I will never pursue on my
own, my apologies, but this just occured to me, and it just seemed like the
extemporaneous thing to post.

So it is time to consider new instruments?
Off the top of my head, on this fine Sunday nite, the first thing that
occurs is why not some type of instrument that combines wind and string?
Would it not be feasible to have an instrument that produces sound from not
only an air column, but also a string that is energized by the air column?
Maybe even a very light, hair-like string in its own chamber, with a
transducer to register its signal. Get a small blow-pipe out of some kind of
mouthpiece and figure out some way to connect the string and the air.
Maybe bending something would cause the string to change pitch, or
changing the airflow? Perhaps it could trigger a midi response to
tonics.....Maybe be used to determine automatic harmony response feedback out
of chip? Combining set steps of a scale with an infinite pitch component on
the same instrument? Overblowing a bass string? cross tensioning a
diaphram? bending scales against each other? Anybody else want
to blue-sky the idea of new instruments, right out here in the open? ( I
have thought of something with water, and electricity, but I keep getting
thoughts of ambulances and stuff......)

Regards to all
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn


SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
From: "Patrick Ozzard-Low"
Subject: Autoharp and Woodwinds
PostedDate: 17-11-97 15:38:48
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