Aeolian Vibrations
Although I don’t have much to show for it, I have a passion for wind (aeolian) harps and sound installations. Ever since the other day, when I got on this subject with Steve, I’ve been waiting for some gusty weather so that I could dust off my Standard SoundFarm Issue wind harp, and publish a picture and audio clip to supplement the story I told. We had some wind this evening.
My method of recording was rather crude and resulted in much wind noise. By the same token, that’s what it sounded like ;-> Here’s the audio clip. Someday, when I get the pickup working again, I’ll make some good amplified recordings, God willing. If you listen closely, you’ll hear some creaks then a change in pitch, that’s when I’m “tuning” the harp ;->
Regarding the construction of the SSFI harp, the body is a pine board with a pine block underneath to help stabilize the long neck, which was yanked from a damaged erhu. The short neck was lopped off an old broom, and ornamented with a grinder in the crude fashion characteristic of SoundFarm products. The tuning pegs were from the same disassembled erhu + 1. Down on the Farm, I used to hang the harp from a nail on an outside corner of the house–a great wind-catching spot.
Here’s what a finely crafted (clearly non-SSFI) “window” harp sounds like. Here’s a link to a cool wind site.
Technorati Tags: aeolian, wind, wind harp, piezoelectric pickup, sound installation, art, harp
May 11th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Ma asma’ aye haga … Ma fi sa’out yaa hilu.
May 12th, 2006 at 7:24 am
Eerie!!!
May 12th, 2006 at 11:19 am
This is fascinating – I wonder if, at some point, you could post a tutorial on how to build one of these. I’m interested in trying – it would be a terrific gift for a friend of mine.
May 13th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
A tutorial, eh? I suppose I could, but really, I’ve never gotten beyond prototypes. I know the concepts but I’m not a craftsman, and I’ve never taken the time to master anything. It’s the ol’ jack-of-all-trades, master of none syndrome! If I were to write a tutorial, I’d call it “How To Make Music To My Ears Without Knowing A Thing About Music” because that’s pretty much all I do ;-> That reminds me, I want to post on a book I’ve begun, the title is just that, Making it up as we go along: The story of the Albany Free School. Hmmm, that’s too big for a simple post, it should be a part of Sonikcycle Unschooled, Phase II.
If you’re serious about constructing an aeolian harp, it might be more fun to just do it together, eh!
June 27th, 2006 at 7:35 am
Oh, wow. What’s the background on your interest in the Albany Free School? Looking much forward to hearing more…