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Hi everybody,
I posted the following message to the wonderful JUNKMUSIC group at Yahoo
(that boasts
a few very creative L.D. members).
It was in response to a thread about people trying to find inexpensive
sources for
Blugels (or Whirlygigs, which are merely corrugated plastic tubing that you
whirl around your head to produce whistling overtone series).
It got me to thinking that I would love to participate in a thread about
unusual ways of using looping technology to produce really intersting,
unusual
and/or wierd/avante garde sounds.
I am fascinated with taking this technology and using it to create sounds
and ways of making music that haven't been done before (Richard Zvonar will
of course now post and tell me that some guy was doing this with a wireless
recorder in 1927 but I had not heard anybody do this when I first started
doing it.............<smiles at the Dr. of all things wierd and wonderful in
music>).
OK here's the post, with the technique mentioned first and then the
information about obtaining the blugels at the end for anyone interested in
this fascinating and ultra simple way of producing comb filtering effects
acoustically.
post to the junkmusic group:
Also, don't forget that the smaller sizes of tubing produce whistle sounds
that comb filter up through the harmonics of the tube as you blow harder.
Whirling them around
cause air to 'play' the pipe so you might as well blow through them.
I have a whole series of corrugate straws that are given out at various
k-marts, seven elevens and cheap tourist stores that produce beautiful
harmonics.
A fabulous trick if you happen to own a looper that has
backwards/forwards/half speed double speed characteristics (a LINE 6 DL4
inexpensively or an GIBSON Echoplex EDP if you have the bucks and want your
life changed in a positive way)
Is to start a loop and toggle the reverse button and the half speed/double
speed buttom randomly and very rapidly until you end the loop recording.
what is so cool is that you will then be playing octaves of the harmonics
that you are playing so that , as avante garde as it sounds (and it sounds
like pygmies on acid ;-)
it is always in the same key.
I then take that loop, resample it into my ELECTRIX Repeater and then play
it's pitch
with a wind synth midi controller. Unlike a normal sampler, the Repeater
has algorhythms
that automatically stretch the sample at ever pitch so the the rhythm is
maintained.
Totally unusual sounding and yet I can play "You are the Sunshine of my
Life" (if I were to feel like it................NOT!!!!) and anyone can
instantly recognize the melodies.
I know that this is a found sound forum, but this looping shit has got to be
experienced if you are really into acoustic sounds and how to manipulate
them in real time in front of an audience.
and...........the first part of the post:
Jon Wagner surprised me at one of my loop shows with
a Sampler packet from
www.globalmedinc.com
that has several sizes of corrugated clear plastic
whirly gig tubes.
they are available in
25 mm
22 mm
19 mm
15 mm
13 mm
10 mm
6 mm
sizes. there were enough samples in the packet that I got
to cut several octaves from it (half of half of half of half and so on).
also, there were samples of expandable medical tubing
which is awesome because it clicks into place and when expanded
makes a guiro like sound whose harmonics phase shift downwards as it
expands because the fundamental pitch of the pipe goes down as the tube
becomes longer.
Just awesome sound sources.
You might e-mail Jon and ask him how he got the samples.
All I know is that I had completely planned a found sound looping
performance and
just threw one of my pieces out because I was so stoked to get the 'care'
package from him
and I made up a piece on the spot with it. Afterwards I went home and cut
up all the octaves.
Try it, you'll like it.
yours Rick Walker