Super-Sonic Notes | CMT - Companhia de Música Teatral

Opening Note

The construction of instruments and the search for new means of musical expression is as old as music itself. The story of music is also the story of the discovery of new sounds, new ways of producing and combining sounds, and new ways of interacting with objects and people in the sense of creating channels of communication and expression that use sound as a method or material.

Many of the instruments that exist today are the innovations of real technological development and the result of hundreds of years of evolution and research. Although “perfection” has been reached in many cases and we have a huge number of instruments at our disposal, it seems we are never satisfied and need to create more, so we continue to invent and search.

Today there are increasing numbers of research projects dedicated to the creation of new interfaces for musical expression—the immense potential of technological development has only just begun to be explored. At the same time, there is a growing number of projects to design accessible instruments, which can be made at school or at home.

In other words, were are in an age where people are making very sophisticated electronic instruments, which can produce music from brainwaves, at the same time as other people search for discarded objects with which to make sound sculptures or instruments similar to those used in orchestras.

So what’s happening? Is there a problem with recorders, violins, Orff instruments or pianos? Why do we continue to invest in designing and making instruments when it would be much easier to buy ready-made ones?

Short note

There are many reasons to want to make instruments like the ones in Super-Sonics. One is cost, though it is not necessarily the most important factor. The projects we present here are very economical, but it is also becoming cheaper and cheaper to buy conventional instruments. This is important because it shows this type of project is not defined by budgets. In some circumstances, cost may be a decisive factor (many schools do not have the necessary resources to buy conventional instruments) but it doesn’t have to be the main motivation.

In other words, these types of instruments shouldn’t be expected to make the same types of sounds as other instruments, although there may be similarities. A “prepared piano” isn’t a low-cost version of a conventional piano, a “metallophone” made from bells isn’t a cut-price Orff metallophone, in the same way that a “rumbler” or a “roarer” aren’t substitutes for a thunderstorm or a lion.

These projects are cost-effective and have their own identity and special type of imaginative energy. It might not be the most interesting pursuit to try and obtain the same sounds as from conventional instruments, and that also applies musical aesthetics and music itself: music created for conventional instruments will almost always sound better on those instruments. That isn’t to rule out exploring the crossovers between the two worlds, and our experience has shown that there is a universe where it is exciting to investigate these intersections. We’re just pointing out that new instruments or new sounds often seem to demand new music as well.

Long note

The issue of “new music” arises as one of the main reasons for creating new instruments. Being interested in “new music” does not, however, mean being disinterested in music that already exists. On the contrary, this interest is often based on a deep curiosity to know more and understand the appeal of any music we hear. So, if we like the sound of “porcelain gamelan” or “bamboo” we don’t have to stop liking the sound of the harpsichord or the piano or Bach’s Goldberg Variations or Alentejo voices singing the folk song Não Quero Que Vás À Monda (I Don’t Want You to Work in the Fields). The definition “new music” is used here, along with many other concepts, in a very open and uncomplicated way. That doesn’t mean a current of “contemporary music” (the music that comes from an academic tradition and which is supposed to be up-to-the-minute, even if it doesn’t resonate with those who listen to or play it). It simply means music that is new, that is made over again, created from whatever sound resources and people are available.

In that sense, anything can occur within the bounds of music, that is, “new music” can be many different things. It doesn’t have to be “dissonant”, it doesn’t have to lack a beat, although it may indeed have these qualities to a greater or lesser extent. In other words, it doesn’t have to “not be” in order to be. It doesn’t have to cause a rupture or revolution in relation to other music. It exists because it emanates directly from the sounds produced by the instruments and from the responses of the people that play them (who of course bring their own knowledge to bear). So “new music” involves a process of deep listening and communication, it’s not something that can be imposed or made to happen

There are several factors that can support a fruitful relationship at this level, and our instruments can certainly be helpful. Our instruments frequently have an unusual timbre and tuning characteristics and a way of being handled and involving other people that differ from conventional instruments. It is in this new territory that we so often find the clues to the music that seems to make sense for each particular instrument. This issue is particularly important when we work with adults, and in particular with musicians. We often observe “direct translations” of familiar musical paradigms applied to instruments that seem to “demand” another type of music.

On several occasions we have seen a first encounter with a prepared piano, within the framework of the “prepared piano” project, pass through a type of “kizomba” that sounds infinitely better on the instruments for which it was designed. In other words, “new music” demands “fresh ears”, not only for sounds but also for other people, to allow us to hear whatever arises.

So, the word “listening” is extremely important and indicates the need to pay attention not only to the sound but also to the intention. The purpose is to encourage the emergence of whatever seems to emanate naturally from the relationship between people and sound.

Stray notes

There is another set of reasons for carrying out instrument-making projects which are not strictly musical, but are instead ethical or educational.

The “Western” vision that music exists “per se” and can be separated from a huge array of social and biological factors is not a vision we share, but a “mechanistic” exercise can help us to clarify an important aspect of the kind of projects that put music at the centre of our relationship with the world and with other people. Our instrument-making projects strengthen the sense of identity of the communities we work with. By building something that is “made to measure”, not only is it possible to make a real match between individual and instrument (which is particularly relevant for people who for one reason or another are a little bit marginalized) but it also deepens the bonds and communality between the people who take part in the project. Instrument making is part of many community music projects because it enables a process of “attunement” between individuals, a process of cohesion, inclusion, and increased self-esteem because there is a practical result that is the fruit of everyone’s work and commitment. The ease with which we buy a conventional instrument today has taken us far from a set of rituals that were part of the nature and role of music in more distant times.

We can still see this, however, is some more traditional societies where making a drum is part of the process of making a new family, a new home, and is accompanied by a set of rituals to celebrate the close relationship with nature and the community. There is perhaps a “spiritual side” to this kind of project that goes back to the early days of music as an activity for promoting “togetherness”. We may not be certain of this idea, it might be speculation, but our work with communities has made us think that many of the reasons that music endures and continues to be fascinating are related to its ability to promote social cohesion.

Accessibility is a very important issue in the type of projects we undertake: you don’t have to be a musician or go through a long learning process to get interesting results from playing any of the instruments. On the other hand, we have tried to develop ideas that have the potential to go deeper and that don’t burn out quickly. In other words, they have the potential for meaningful learning that goes beyond entertainment.

Short Note

Another important issue in making instruments and dealing with unconventional sound sources is that these projects are particularly fertile ground for “learning by doing”. When we come across an instrument that has to be built from scratch, we have the opportunity to notice the details and question mechanisms in a way that we don’t consider when learning a conventional instrument. Few piano teachers explain to students how the instrument works, how to open it and see the mechanism, what happens when the hammers strike the strings, or when the dampers stop them vibrating, or how the harmonics are produced, or how to tune the piano. So there are lost opportunities to address important aspects of physics, like mechanics and acoustics, and mathematics. Music, and instrument making in particular, is extremely interesting experimental terrain and has the advantage of combining elements of cognition, emotion and play.

Final Note