After playing my initial sample for class, I was encouraged to explore tactile sound design to foster a more analog-centric performance. John Cage’s Water Walk was provided as an example of experimental analog music. Keeping simplicity in mind, I started building instruments out of things lying around my apartment and the following instruments took form:
- Activators
- Wooden Spoon
- Rubber Mallet
- Large Brush
- Whisk
- Tennis Balls
- Bike Pedal
- Passive
- Upside Down Djembe Drum
- Bike Wheel Spokes
- Exercise Ball
- Metal pot
- Water
- Cymbal
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to play my new project setup during class, but these are the pictures of the planned performance. Instead of putting instruments at the audience’s direct disposal, I set out soft square pads that served as activators for people to step/sit on. When a person stands on a pad, it prompts me to play a specific analog instrument. While operating a nice mixing board for Ableton Live, I put all of the analog instruments within each reach of one sitting position. This, I believed, would help lower the level of tension caused by scrambling back and forth. The installation space is entered through a small door, and lined with soft squishy pads on the floor. I was hoping that by stepping on the pads, the participants would easily be clued in on interacting with the square pads inside the space.
