In Sound in a Jar (2016) by Ronald Boersen three performers— Ronald Boersen himself, Dganit Elyakim and Hadas Pe’ery—move three different microphones back and forwards to a very small loudspeaker placed in a jar. As Ronald explained me, this piece … read more
Transducer by Robin Fox and Eugene Ughetti
In Transducer (2013), you may easily recognise all kinds of “classical” playing techniques for microphones and loudspeakers, twisted in surprising and clever ways. This results in a performance which reinvents and expands known pieces such as Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music… read more
Speaker Feedback Instruments by Lesley Flanigan
The speaker feedback instruments by Lesley Flanigan are a beautiful example of combining acoustic feedback and musical instruments. What makes the technology of these instruments exceptional is their use of so-called contact microphones (simple piezo-ceramic elements) instead of a … read more
Fifty years of loudspeakers and ping pong balls
Some objects seem particularly suitable for use in preparing loudspeakers. Perhaps ping pong balls were favored objects for this due to their lightness and characteristic sound. Comparing several of these set-ups reveals that—fortunately!—using a similar technology can still result in … read more
Hemispherical loudspeakers for laptop orchestras
With the rise of laptops in music in the 1990s, and more musicians using laptops on stage, it did not take long before the first laptop orchestra was founded. Nowadays there are many of them and there is even an … read more
Doppelbelichtung by Carola Bauckholt
Carola Bauckholt has written several pieces in which the imitation of bird sounds plays an important role. Examples are Lichtung (2011), for string quartet, and Zugvögel (2011/2012), for five wind instruments. In her piece Doppelbelichtung (2016), for the first time, … read more
Tonewood by Hugo Morales Murguía
Tonewood I (2011) and Tonewood II (2015) by Hugo Morales Murguía use small tactile transducers with corks attached to their cones. Five musicians play their instruments with these transducers. The transducers do not sound at all, as long as they … read more
Klangflug by Lara Stanic
In her performance Klangflug (2006 – 2013, several versions) Lara Stanic looks for ways to transmit the airiness and volatility of sound itself to the heavy loudspeakers, needed to produce sounds. By simulating sounds of an airplane taking off on … read more
A sympathetic piano by Gökhan Deneç
An active loudspeaker by Hermann Scherchen
Through his intensive occupation with recording and reproducing music, the conductor Hermann Scherchen (1891-1966) became aware of the enormous amount of people listening to music through loudspeakers. He was concerned with the difference between the complex sound diffusion during a … read more