tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30348799747078364882011-07-07T20:53:26.873-07:00Here's the developing story of Philip Blackburn's sound projects developed for the Flint Hills Children's Festival at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Last year was a Sonic Playground; this year it's the Singing Garden. Here too are extra residency projects that involve making, playing, composing and performing with homemade instruments.Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-1935261727604185982010-01-23T20:26:00.000-08:002010-01-23T20:38:23.095-08:00

CUBA or THE COUNTRY WHERE THE TOP JOB IS AS A WAITERMARCH 11One of the Aguada Hotel pleasures is meeting other transplants in progress; people decompressing, falling in love with a place, waiting.I check out and see Bill Butcher calling from the van: "Are you Philip Blackburn?" Has he just realized something? Remembered my initial email or fame or new gossip? Won't find out for a few

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-31981031874027179282010-01-23T20:04:00.000-08:002010-01-23T20:18:54.891-08:00

CALL OF THE SEATHE CONCH FANFAREfirst performed by 37 conch shells from the Schubert Club's Kugler Collectionby Philip BlackburnMarch 16, 2007Science Museum of Minnesota, Discovery Hall, St. PaulWild Music A Go-GoLISTEN (Wild Music encore)LISTEN (Wild Music premiere)LISTEN (Moorhead State University, 2009)• For as many conch players as possible playing the Kugler Collection shells. Duration 3-4

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-64717072829959430702010-01-23T19:21:00.000-08:002010-01-23T19:38:36.287-08:00

The pipe organ is the king of instruments for a reason; usually one guy with many units doing his bidding on command. How can we make it a bit less monarchical? In the democratic system it is One Person, One Vote: Repeat Every Four Years (modified here so that everyone with a pipe to play gets to play One Person, One Toot). Sometimes we just play when there are gaps and we want our precious

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-15603145741106364202010-01-02T16:57:00.000-08:002010-01-02T17:28:26.284-08:00

LISTEN (world premiere)LISTEN (Univ of Arizona, Kendra D'Ercole, dir)For as many players as possible, amplified as needed. You will need: • Ingredients list of a commercial junk food product (the "Recipe"). Use several Recipes, at least one Recipe per player, switch around so ingredients do not become too familiar. • Bubble Gum (such as Ouch! or Bazouka brands for maximum burst

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-78312719168115128482010-01-02T16:12:00.000-08:002010-01-02T16:22:51.531-08:00

Composed in 1998 or so, originally for the pre-show of the Tape Beatles at the Southern Theater, then at CSPS in Cedar Rapids.For any number of performers. Collage of Desire is a cut-and-paste mandala made of text and images from the printed medium arranged to create a large circular diagram on the theme of Desire (though you could come up with any other theme). During the act of

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-63800716510991217902009-12-03T18:48:00.001-08:002009-12-03T19:12:46.875-08:00

On December 1 and 2 I drove on over to MSU-Moorhead with a load of conch shells, organ pipes, plants, and sculptural materials to work with Dr. Henry Gwiazda's (and other) students. A great time was had with fun, curious and friendly students that more than made up for the Spartan dorm room and chilly drab weather. The weather failed to provide the expected wind velocity to power the five

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-32048647027359978282009-08-12T19:29:00.001-07:002009-08-12T20:08:00.703-07:00

July 2009 I was artist in residence for the UBEATS summer camp near Greensboro, NC testing new biomusic curriculum for grades 2-5. Twice a day for a week we made instruments and prepared a site-specific performance in the woods with 60+ people.We had a mile long pathway that the audience was shepherded around, led by me playing the flute. After passing through the magic bubble machine bubbles,

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-83366140955975499822009-08-12T19:13:00.000-07:002009-08-12T19:28:30.921-07:00

June 2009 I led a group of 2nd graders attending summer camp at St. Paul's SteppingStone Theater in the art of instrument building. The camp theme was loosely based on Peter Pan and Neverland so I watched most of the Disney version on Youtube as preparation.We made sea urchin shaped pan pipes, cat food can steel pans, fishing line guitars with styrofoam resonators, straw oboes, drainpipe

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-39713846464085703342009-06-05T15:55:00.001-07:002009-06-05T15:57:04.252-07:00

Here's the video of some of the reactions and interactions with my plant. You can't even be vegan any more without eating a sentient being.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-87852343958609982672009-06-01T14:06:00.000-07:002009-06-01T19:01:41.119-07:00

View in Hi Def for better results (those millett rattles sound terrible when compressed). Also here is a 3D interactive model of the event using 625 photos by Preston Wright.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-56580164657005421662009-06-01T12:23:00.000-07:002009-06-01T18:10:56.959-07:00

One of the surprise hits of the festival was the Talking Plant. It was amazing to see the pyschic shock and awe when people (of all ages) realized their behavior could affect a plant's internal life. I told them that plants have evolved successfully because they are responsive to their environment: light, water, heat, vibration. That activity can be measured in the small amounts of electricity

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-63649554802238091182009-06-01T10:05:00.001-07:002009-06-01T10:06:51.448-07:00

Here is the complete timelapse video of the Rise and Fall of the Singing Garden. More to follow;

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-69910475082052510212009-05-29T13:30:00.000-07:002009-05-29T13:33:20.117-07:00

The flowers and sounds are in place, lovely dancing from Jan Louise's team, and young and old are enjoying the plant orchestra. Here's the video of the setting up process. The tear-down will follow all too soon.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-25301968756164514532009-05-27T15:22:00.000-07:002009-05-28T09:19:06.162-07:00

It shouldn't be 50º and raining today but it is and the flowers don't mind, only the hordes of volunteers putting this all together. So far so good: Plants looks great, speakers in place and beginning to look like toadstools. They sound fine but much more subtle than indoors away from bus engine noises. Tomorrow is perfecting the spinnies and firing up the talking plant.Lovely story in the

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-89816502682067688202009-05-21T18:17:00.001-07:002009-05-21T18:23:04.875-07:00

Ever wondered what plants think when you play with them? Some say that saying nice things will help them grow and that playing heavy metal causes them to wilt. They did evolve pretty well to find light and nutrients and whatever life force is going up and down their stalks might contain their deepest wisdom...Anyway, here's what this Bird of Paradise had to say when I conversed with it this

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-27315361852800927082009-05-21T11:21:00.000-07:002009-05-21T11:29:03.463-07:00

As the culmination of all our listening, recording and composing efforts we finally got to hear the full 20-channel version of the Singing Garden. We closed our eyes, listened closely (quietly even), and wrote stream-of-consciousness notes about our experiences. Here are some of the reactions. Notice how few refer to vegetables, the main sound source; their sounds seem to evoke more weather

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-33274553177542114262009-05-15T11:18:00.001-07:002009-05-15T11:25:27.975-07:00

Today we figured out the engineering solutions for the rotating plant frames and how to get the biggest Oomph to strike the instruments underneath. A golf ball is suspended with string from the frame of the plantbed, sometimes it goes up a ramp, and then it falls back down onto a bamboo chime or wooden clapper that is placed at just the right spot and is free to vibrate. It takes time to tune

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-78719855459238425822009-05-11T08:18:00.000-07:002009-05-11T08:38:06.806-07:00

What does a plant think when you go near it?Why not put a brainwave sensor on it and ask?Thanks to the ingenious programming of Jay Anthony Allen, moral support of Brian Heller, and sample crunching of Preston Wright we can now find out. I have three electrical sensors: a Biowave (brainwave EKG set of electrodes), proximity and turn knobs. These send MIDI data to my laptop that can be mangled

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-60979667154541862432009-05-10T20:10:00.000-07:002009-05-10T20:35:36.620-07:00

The Patrick Henry Vegetable band has been busy listening, playing and being weirded out by veggie sounds. Over the last couple of meetings we have:Recorded solos, duets and group performances on:• rubber floor tiles• cantaloupe melon drum• cabbage• leeks (these greens were unfamiliar to many)• bok choy• popcorn rattle• a rubber band whizzer device and• a collection of wooden organ pipes.We

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-52121461972508712612009-04-26T18:37:00.000-07:002009-04-26T18:42:40.439-07:00

Pending edits, feedback and additions from the Patrick Henry students, here's a stereo mixdown of the 20 channel sound bed for the garden. Remember when it comes out of many widely spaced speakers at ground level it won;t sound so chaotic; more like cicadas, water, wind, geese flying over, and enthusiastic frogs. You get to walk closer to the ones that interest you, so I haven't spent time

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-15117481466568984542009-04-22T09:37:00.001-07:002009-04-22T09:41:54.436-07:00

Just came back from the Ordway's Community Breakfast pep rally for the festival. Mark, Angie and I got to test out the prototype of the spinning flowers and they should work in grand style (with a few adjustments).

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-24545655640993907332009-04-19T16:32:00.001-07:002009-04-20T19:41:09.928-07:00

Tests are underway with one of the small prototypes of the spinning flowers, this one with only a 3' radius (the others are 5'). It goes around 6 times per minute on a repurposed softball pitching machine motor.After dreaming of various mechanisms that could strike a sounding body I settled on the simple golfball on a rope solution. This is about the right impedance match (weight, hardness) for

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-18439254567000333582009-04-19T16:25:00.000-07:002009-04-19T16:31:39.365-07:00

The first session at Patrick Henry High School (Liz Kotek's 9th Grade music class) was an introduction to my work and ideas. Shelley led the discussion at the end of both classes and the students came up with the following responses:PATRICK HENRY 1"I noticed"Slow in beginning then got fasterfunny dancingchange in pace of musicsounded like stepping on leaves, crunching,horns were louddifferent

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-17472025703075210972009-04-06T17:57:00.000-07:002009-04-06T19:14:27.041-07:00

As Tom Waits once said, there's a world going on underground. I have been shopping the produce aisle for the Stradivarius potential and been amassing a sound library of veggie voices.Some of them need a contact mic while others are plenty loud enough to be heard by a regular air mic.The band so far includes:Bamboo whirliesBok choy creakingWooden bull roarerCactus needles pluckedCoconut water as

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-18223972388121581742009-03-06T08:29:00.000-08:002009-03-06T09:00:44.726-08:00

Mark and Angie at the Park and Rec Board have commandeered a local gym floor to lay out the background for the petals (the flowers themselves are on order from Holland, where else?). It involves geometry and compasses on a grander scale than we ever did at school.You can also see the shape of the wiggly pathway through the middle. Here is the outline of one of the spinning flowers. More on

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-68836870207659419042009-02-11T12:09:00.000-08:002009-02-11T12:13:43.526-08:00

Work has already begun with the five rotating flower beds and here are the motor housing units. They are going to sit under circular boards which are covered in flowers and cause them to spin slowly. Trippy.Our task is to use them for sound generation and here is what I am thinking for now...So there will be 5’ diameter boards placed on top of these motor housings, about 12" high and lots of

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-10493229665778212582009-02-11T11:58:00.000-08:002009-02-11T12:05:40.464-08:00

It's already time to gear up for the 2009 Festival and this time the project is to bring a sound element to an Alfombra (flower carpet). It's going to be a fabulous collaboration with Mark and Angie at the City of St. Paul Park and Rec Division and I'll be working with Liz's students at Patrick Henry High School to make sounds using vegetables and natural materials. All under the caring

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-20626385332977943752008-06-23T08:19:00.001-07:002008-06-25T19:11:08.453-07:00

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-84840187928795746742008-05-30T18:52:00.001-07:002008-05-30T19:03:29.256-07:00

The applause was (justifiably) wild and everyone went home happy. We had an incredible week as everyone's work reached a climax of perfection. Students, teachers, parents and staff were all proud of the shows that were the culmination of many months planning and dreaming.You can hear Webster's world premiere of The Phoenix and the Fish and Burroughs's premiere of Jungle Dreaming.Video will

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-25088971010373473532008-05-20T14:17:00.001-07:002008-05-20T14:29:43.810-07:00

One week to go until Installation Day and the Rumble Strip is taking (enormous) shape. The poetry is being calligraphed elegantly around the organically-shaped rumble areas. Everything has been glued and painted and the warped plywood has been wetted and flattened, rescuing the whole thing from disaster.It make quite an impression (and sound).The Webster poets came up with some watery/sky

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-69768742737479227342008-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:002008-05-02T14:27:50.012-07:00

Listen to Webster as they combine stones, drums and gongs in a thrilling climax.Philip did a spot on KFAI's Art Matters on 5/1/2008with Marya Morestad to promote the show.Slowly the works are gaining direction and structure. The Rumble Strip materials have been delivered so much painting will follow...

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-50839162183092916112008-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:002008-04-25T18:16:39.119-07:00

Here are two sections of music we played today as we explored different ways of organizing our material.LISTEN to the Whirlies and Flutes and Balloon BassoonsLISTEN to Whirlies, Xylophones, Drums, Stones, Gongs and whatnotThis gives us some ideas about what to keep and what to develop in upcoming rehearsals.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-22430221198034891642008-04-25T18:09:00.001-07:002008-04-25T18:13:24.270-07:00

We tried out some sample shapes and textures for the imminent Rumble Strip.We then mapped out the structure of the performance so we can play the best sounding combination of instruments and include all the favorite sections we have played before. There's a long way to go in a short time so nailing down the sections and roles will help, then I will play traffic cop/conductor on the day.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-91673062830590174352008-04-20T08:48:00.001-07:002008-04-20T09:02:21.917-07:00

Working with the rhythms of our names we tried many combinations of patterns on the gongs. In a small room we couldn't do it for long, and the drums and stones are over at Webster.We only have a couple more sessions before the show so we need to bring together all our exercises into a structure that we can present next month.I can imagine the three gong players processing down the strip as they

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-49416570377379678412008-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:002008-04-20T08:48:07.163-07:00

After some heavy lifting (the 12 stones that comprise the Flintstone Gamelan weigh over 700lbs, and the car tires they rest on fill a Range Rover), we have some rocking percussion.Mallets made from finneals with attached handles make perfect strikers. As luck would have it, the stones make a wide tonal range, some would call it a scale. They sound good together anyway.To control the overall

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-55475270048302449592008-04-13T14:20:00.001-07:002008-04-13T14:30:49.774-07:00

"Sit back to back.Share a hum"This simple exercise helps you to listen to your partner (if you can), feel the vibrations down your respective spines, and begin a musical dialog. Doing it in many pairs also means you can't tell whose hum you are meant to be sharing, so individual/group dynamics get interesting quickly.We paired up and played flutes for each other too; this resulted in lively

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-27200709151434751052008-04-13T14:12:00.001-07:002008-04-13T14:20:06.647-07:00

Painting car tires can be fun and scary; a cool pattern emerges instantly but if you have too much paint it can sink into the cracks and never come out. We tried brushes, pads and eventually brayers (rollers for printmaking). We decided to make giant rubber Froot Loops for the color scheme by having everyone use the primary colors (Red Blue Yellow) and mixing secondary colors to get a rainbow

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-79295702075631021512008-03-30T09:57:00.000-07:002008-03-30T10:04:35.678-07:00

Each of the hard limestone slabs I chose from the stoneyard has areas of maximum resonance, and dud zones. It seems to make no difference whether the stones are supported on the car tires at the nodes or anywhere else, they are so dense. I drilled 3/8" holes in locations therefore that are suitable for securing the stones to the right size of tire edge, not for acoustic reasons.In order to help

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-53247870912093440522008-03-30T09:47:00.000-07:002008-03-30T09:57:39.127-07:00

Armed with Stamping Tubes, Balloon Bassoons and Balloon Flutes for (almost) everyone we had a jam session at Burroughs. Dividing the class into chamber-sized mixed ensembles, each group, after a brief confab, gave a little performance. Each was different in texture, integration and dynamics.Now the practice period starts, but things are looking promising for some musical results in a few weeks.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-77006139939619622312008-03-30T09:36:00.000-07:002008-03-30T09:47:24.504-07:00

We met in the woodshop and were joined by the Principal and a photographer from St. Paul Illustrated to watch us make 50 balloon flutes.These are made by cutting 1" thin walled PVC conduit into 6-12" lengths. You smooth the burrs off the ends and drill a 1/2" hole off center which you then file flat to make a clean edge tone. Using all your finger strength and a helper you then pull qualatex

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-27226276625610963802008-03-20T19:28:00.001-07:002008-03-20T19:38:24.561-07:00

We started off with some Push Hands exercises, touching fingers and mirroring in space. That grew to groups of four and began to look like dance...Then we made our one-word-at-a-time story:Once upon a timethere was a dog called Pooch that liked to eat elbows.There was a cat named Lulu who liked Pop-tarts with mayonnaiseand popsicles. They went out to the backyard to play games. Lulu kick-boxed

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-66508590058599638222008-03-20T19:19:00.000-07:002008-03-20T19:28:07.629-07:00

We calculated the ratios for the first 9 intervals of the harmonic series, went to the woodshop and cut tubes to those lengths. The students at Webster also made an extra set for their counterparts at Burroughs so everyone now has his/her own stamping tube or balloon bassoon. Next we will decorate and personalize them.

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-19222004444883852362008-03-17T17:55:00.001-07:002008-03-17T18:09:29.426-07:00

Taking advantage of the first above 32º day I went to Lauseng Stone in Lake Elmo to select ringing stones. They have large piles of stones from quarries all over the US but only a few of them resonate convincingly when struck and all of them are heavy and hard to reach.I ended up find a dozen slabs of flagstone, some grey limestone from Grand Rapids and some red flagstone from Colorado. These

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-42982951005347259612008-03-12T10:37:00.001-07:002008-03-13T08:48:05.428-07:00

Today we met in the drama room so we could spread out and start moving. We improved our time on the Cat Nap circle and began mimicking gestures while watching them evolve. Then we did guided listening spheres, from deep inside to the immediate surrounding, to distant galaxies; we heard some amazing things.We did the mirroring Push Hands in pairs, even with eyes closed. Then we sang "Oh say can

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-84971887859090970992008-03-08T09:09:00.000-08:002008-03-08T13:25:23.705-08:00

As I was looking at the pile of 100 red mailing tubes in my car and around the classroom floor, I wondered what these instruments would look like during the performance outside. Yes, they could be kept backstage in a tent and only appear when players carry them into view and move around with them, but what if they became part of the set itself, in plain view the whole time?This reminded me of

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-75339273406418900122008-03-08T08:47:00.001-08:002008-03-08T09:09:39.991-08:00

Yes, I was late for my first meeting at Burroughs Community School (yucky snow and traffic) but the students made good use of the first few minutes learning the Mexican National Anthem to add to their repertoire. Music teacher Pete Hoffman gives them plenty of great vocal and solfege skills so this group is going to be musically quite savvy. With Mr. Hoffman and Janel McGreavy we have great

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-47283813341020157712008-03-08T08:22:00.001-08:002008-03-08T08:46:10.132-08:00

So March 4 we met at the Ordway with Webster for the first time for an inspirational site visit. The weather was frigid so we warmed up indoors with some games (Catnap, Telephone, and Pass It On). We got out some of the portable instruments and tried out some small group performances. Here are three bamboo xylophones that make a pleasant combination of tones no matter what. The students all

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-72482043440569376472008-02-17T18:01:00.000-08:002008-02-18T19:51:36.120-08:00

I'll slowly add links to some short sound samples here so you can help me imagine what this whole show might sound like. Just multiply by 20 and add 40,000 children and outdoor sounds and you'll get the picture.Flintstone GamelanMembrane PipesBalloon FlutesRumble Strip

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-80587036533505534242008-02-16T18:38:00.001-08:002008-02-16T18:44:41.990-08:00

I will be working with 5th and 6th Grade students from Webster Magnet School in St Paul (Burroughs School I will meet with next week). Webster has the advantage of a woodshop and drama hall so we can make stuff, play with it and store it all nearby. Both schools will prepare instruments and develop parallel performances, but Webster will have things like the Rumble Strip and Car Tire Taiko to

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-85921219434934453972008-02-16T18:11:00.001-08:002008-02-16T18:14:25.761-08:00

The Triumph of Time is a 1574 engraving by Pieter Breughel the Elder. It depicts the inexorable, unstoppable progress of Time as it trundles over everything in its path.Using that as a starting metaphor for this performance I imagine a group of diverse individuals, each moving forward with a dreamlike slowness of speed, along the path of time. Like Butoh dance with frozen gestures and

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-41784107583100570922008-02-11T14:27:00.001-08:002008-02-11T19:19:53.286-08:00

This is one weird musical instrument. You have seen gourd scrapers, maybe even those wooden frogs which you rub on their backs to make them croak. Driving a road with grooved edges makes your car vibrate, sometimes in an interesting way. Well this will be about 100 feet long and 8 feet wide, with two parallel paths you can go down. Maybe by wheeling luggage or with specially supervised

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-31854066710669059192008-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:002008-02-11T14:26:45.159-08:00

Meet the new Skullphone. You put it on your head and run around. The mylar tape falps and howls around you, tingling your ears and vertebrae.Here's a previous one in action.Some of the available pieces for the Flintstone gamelan. Hope to get more big ones from the stone yard when the weather gets warmer.The Camera Obscura is a dark room/tent with room for 3 of 4 people inside. A rotatable

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-90005276481508541422008-02-10T20:03:00.000-08:002008-02-13T13:44:10.456-08:00

The cartire taiko ensemble. Craigslist has used tires for $1. Clean them up and strap them tightly with 3M Packing Tape and you have a decent and durable drum. Prop up the rear end with a brick or something and it resonates well. Practice unison and interlocking rhythms with a little bit of Africa, Japan, and Detroit flavor.A collection of Whirly tubes (corrugaphones), some made from sump

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-13985525813592649782008-02-10T19:47:00.000-08:002008-02-16T18:19:46.390-08:00

The Rumble Strip will be activated by dragging simple amplifying contraptions to make the vibrations travel up a rod and be spread into the air. Here a 1/2" wooden dowel pierces an expanded polystyrene faucet cover for an effective sound diffuser (like a giant record stylus).3/4" PVC pipe with a fipple hole towards one end and balloons at both ends. This sounds like a rubbery ocarina with

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-87845045133910572008-02-10T19:34:00.001-08:002008-02-10T19:47:51.698-08:00

There is a canyon between the Ordway and RiverCentre (near Rice Park) that has a variety of interesting echoes and delays. Clapping or percussive sounds made in this space reverberate in subtle and complex ways because of the parallel walls. Many of the instruments will use this percussive impulse tones so the whole sound sculpture and performances will be site specific and tuned to this

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3034879974707836488.post-3322936269881842242008-02-10T18:30:00.000-08:002008-02-10T19:33:59.640-08:00

Rumble StripSound Sculptural Installation proposal forFlint Hills Children’s FestivalMay 27-June 1, 2007Kids love to run and make noise. Running a stick along fence railings is an old pastime. The Rumble Strip takes advantage of acoustic principles and the kinetics of youth to create a fun musical experience. The Strip is a four-foot wide pathway with carefully planned surface texturing, laid

Philip Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102979192023065264noreply@blogger.com0