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guitars --- wind instruments --- percussion --- diy electroacoustics --- performance notes
The electric guitar is one of the most common instruments that can be used as a source of experimental noises , so we'll start with the easy stuff .
A .- Effects Pedals
The regular sound of the guitar is a bit boring for a lot of folks
, so we often resort to modifying it's tone by using effects pedals .
Distortion - does what it says on the box and turns that nice clean tone into a roaring uncontrollable monster . Most distortion pedals are supposed to simulate the sound of an overloaded valve amplifier , but they rarely succeed . What they do manage is to make everything sound nasty and harsh , as well as making the guitar hum , buzz and feed back . Every little scrape and rattle is amplified and turned into auditory torture . Not everyone likes this , but used in the right context and avoiding the temptation to play rock guitar cliches , distortion is an unbeatable way of tormenting the poor listener . The only drawback is that the signal clipping involved in making this happen destroys any sense of dynamics , so you lose any sense of subtlety . The only easy way to control the volume of your playing is to plug the distortion pedal into a .......
Volume Pedal
- not only can you control the volume level of your instrument , you can also
use it to fade in the sound thus altering the attack and producing those violin
type sounds . Some guitarists prefer to use the volume control on the guitar
to do this, but it's difficult to do while you're playing .
To get really spacey sounds use the volume pedal swell effect with plenty
of ....
Delay and Reverb - or echo to you and me . The difference between the two is that delay gives a definite repeat effect whereas reverb gives the effect of a cavernous room . Don't be tempted to use too much of these effects , I know they sound nice but you can go over the top too easily and end up with an ambient mush . Some delay pedals allow you to sample and loop the sounds going through them , so you can loop a sound and play over the top of it . another old trick is to play in time with the the delay to create pulsing sequencer type effects . Messing around turning the knobs randomly can also yield interesting results .
Wah Pedals - not just for psychedelic retro funksters , the wah pedal is a primitive sweepable band pass filter so you can use it to control feedback or if you want that Pete Cosey 'Pangaea' tone , plug it in before the distortion pedal .
Phasers , Flangers and Chorus - yuk ! Only for the retro minded - phasers = 70's , flangers & chorus = 80's . These pedals should only be used sparingly , maybe to modulate feedback , for jet engine noises or to add a bit of wobble to your sound .
Multi Effects - there's a lot of 'all in one' pedals around now - Zoom , Korg , Digtech etc. some of these have the disadvantage that the sounds aren't continuously variable , but they do have sounds in them that can be worth using - ring modulators , pitch shifters, filters and the like . The ones with expression pedals , like the Zoom 707 or Korg AX1G aren't bad , although beware that you can't always have all the effects you want at the same time or in the order that you want .
Check out the Harmony Central and Harsh Noise websites for info on guitar equipment and other music technology .
B :- Preparations
So called preparations for electric guitar are an easy way of generating complex timbres without getting into expensive electronics. A lot of the techniques applied to the guitar are stolen from John Cage's works for prepared piano and as a result are more suited to abstract playing than melodic performance .
Wedging things
under the strings . Screwdrivers , kitchen utensils , bits of wire , springs
, old biros etc . Try different ways of pushing them under the strings or
even better under and over alternate strings .do this near or directly above
the pickups for some wild results particularly at high volume and/or using
plenty of distortion (steel and magnetic objects create great rumbling noises
as you move them past the pickup magnets).
Experiment with scraping different things across the strings and pickups - rough
edged bits of metal , plastic combs , brushes , whatever . Handheld electric
fans and vibrators held against the strings can create interesting grinding
and whirring noises . A violin bow is another useful weapon in your armoury,
don't forget to use plenty of rosin .
Clipping crocodile clips to the strings
is another old favourite - check out Fred Frith and Keith
Rowe
Alternate tunings - It doesn't have to be EADGBE .We have Glenn Branca and Sonic Youth to thank for rescuing us from the folky open chord tunings . Try randomly detuning the strings (don't tighten up the thinner strings too much or they'll break) . Notice that when two strings start to get to the same pitch they start to "beat" producing a low frequency wobble . Alternate tunings are one of the easiest ways of breaking out of old habits , the notes are no longer where you think they are and you can produce combinations of notes that you couldn't ordinarily reach . Some avant garde guitarists make a fetish of never tuning their guitar .
Saxophones & Clarinets
Saxes and clarinets
can be a bit too expensive to just buy and mess around on , but if you can't
resist ...
The first problem is getting hold of one . if you're lucky you can drop on a
second hand bargain and it'll play OK , but sometimes used instruments can be
a bit too used . One of the most common problems is leaky/worn out
pads . this will make the instrument difficult to play because the holes don't
seal up properly and if you don't have much experience of woodwind instruments
it won't be easy to tell when you come to buy it . The International Saxophone Homepage
has some useful advice on the pitfalls of buying used saxes .
At first just getting any kind of sound is a major achievement , the trick is
to fold your bottom lip back over your bottom teeth slightly and , forming a
seal around the mouthpiece with your lips , squeeze the reed slightly with your
bottom lip while increasing the air pressure in your mouth - some sort of squeak
should emerge . It takes a while before you start to develop the muscles of
your embouchure and you should take care not to bite your lower lip , but after
a few weeks you'll get used to it (if it's still hard work , try a softer reed
- #1 1/2 is about right for a beginner). Experiment with how much reed you take
into your mouth and how much bottom lip pressure you exert , check www.bobrk.com/saxfaq/
and www.saxontheweb.net
for practical advice on getting a good sound out of your sax as well as a lot
of useful information on multiphonics , altissimo , mouthpiece exercises , tongueing
and instrument care and maintenance .
Once you've learnt how to
get a sound out of it , you can go on to develop your approach to the instrument
. Many people adopt the intensely screaming '60's free jazz style , as exemplified
by Albert
Ayler , John Coltrane
, Peter Brotzmann , Frank
Wright , Noah Howard
and many others . ( check out the following websites - Free
Jazz Research , Free Jazz.Org
, Free
Jazz Improvisation , One
Final Note , The
Whole Shebang , A
Love Supreme ) This can be a demanding style to play in - lengthy solos
over fast tempos often using advanced techniques like multiphonics , harmonics
and altissimo notes - you'll need to be able to improvise a constant stream
of fresh musical ideas for long periods of time and be able to go from any note
to any other note on the instrument . Try playing different intervals from each
note and develop your ability to play any note you can hear .
Other people adopt the free
improvisation approach developed by players like Evan Parker , Lou
Gare (with AMM) , Trevor Watts and John
Butcher . This is a more 'zen - like' way of listening and responding intuitively
as outlined in the Improvising section of this
site . Generally this method places more emphasis on sound , space and spontaneous
interaction between the players . Information on this way of playing can be
found at - The Improvisor
, Rubberneck
, European
Free Improvisation Pages , Emanem
Records , Incus
Records , Matchless
Records , the London
Musicians Collective and a lot more of the sites listed on the Links
page .
Anything that makes a noise when you hit it can be used as a percussion instrument , but we'll stick to inanimate objects for now . From sheets of scrap metal and old oil drums to a ping pong ball in a tin can , be inventive , search around for things to hit and scrape . Make a collection of different bits and pieces that give a variety of timbres . Carrying all this stuff around for gigs can be a problem so you have to be selective . Some avant garde percussionists have very minimal kits with just a snare drum & a couple of cymbals and they concentrate on getting every possible nuance out of a limited pallette . Others seem to have truck loads of gear on stage . You tend to work with what you've got and see what different sounds you can get by using different techniques . The sound can change quite markedly depending on how , where and with what you hit it . Scraping , rubbing and bowing can yield good results . A violin bow dragged across a piece of polystyrene or the edge of a plastic carton can make some great squeaking noises .Toy balloons are cheap and portable . Taping cheap piezo contact mics onto the surface of your instrument can open up the world of electronic processing , although this can damp the sound a bit and such setups are prone to falling apart when you least want them to . Some people use the microphone itself as an instrument (see diy electroacoustics below). Not much information is available on the 'net about experimental or free improvised percussion techniques , even the masters of free improv percussion like Tony Oxley , Paul Lytton , Han Bennink or John Stevens don't have much of a web presence , but you could try looking on the European Free Improvisation Pages or searching on Google . It might be possible to find out about the kinds of techniques used in contemporary classical compositions like John Cage's "Three Constructions" and Edgard Varese's "Ionization" or the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis . Luigi Russolos' futurist manifesto "The Art Of Noises" might also provide inspiration .
Talking of microphones , we can venture into the world of electroacoustics ie. miking things up and processing the results . Cheap contact mics can be used quite effectively (Maplin , R.S. Components and possibly Tandy may be able to supply cheap piezo transducers) or use regular mics placed in an appropriate position . All the usual effects and processing can then be applied to the signal and generally some kind of equalisation is handy to correct for the less than perfect response of the mics being used . A lot of people use software like Audiomulch to mess up their sounds in real time . Using these techniques in live performance can be troublesome - loose connections and a tangled mass of cables can be a real nightmare , so if you're planning to go down this route , make sure you've debugged your system and checked all your cables and contact mics beforehand . Recording these sounds for further manipulation can be a better option , computers make it easy to mess around with what you've done - all the standard sampling and editing techniques , as well as a lot of effects processing can all be done using some relatively cheap software . But setting up a computer to give glitch free audio performance isn't so easy and you'll need a decent sound card , so the cost soon mounts up . If , like me , you can't afford this kind of gear yet - don't despair . As long as you don't mind lo-fi sound quality , it's quite possible to make interesting sounds with a variety of cheapo junk shop audio gear and a low budget portastudio . Mono cassette recorders can be used to create William Burroughs style cut-ups by taping a piece of aluminium foil over the erase head and using the pause button and the record button to drop in random sounds . Old record players can be used for avant garde scratching techniques - Otomo Yoshihide , Janek Schaefer and Martin Tetreault are all leading examples of people who make a living out of messing around with turntables . Electronic feedback loops can be created using old effects pedals linked up in a loop - I use a distortion pedal , graphic equaliser , tremelo pedal and delay pedal linked up in series with the input end coming from the aux out of a mixer and the output going back into the input of one of the mixer channels . When you turn up the aux send control on the channel it creates a feedback loop which generates a screaming noise that can be controlled using the knobs on the effects pedals , this appears to be the technique used by Merzbow and that "no input mixing desk person" Toshimaru Nakamura - WARNING - this technique may damage your equipment ! Do not try this in a recording studio or the engineer will go crazy , you may also find yourself paying for some new tweeters . Obviously feedback can be generated by plugging a microphone into a distortion pedal and waving the mic. around near the speakers , plug in a few more pedals and scream down the mic. and you've got instant Masonna . As you can tell , I'm a great fan of distortion because it amplifies all the details and makes everything sound more intense and dangerous . Distorted radios , keyboards and tapes are all a great way of making a low budget wall of sound .
Keep a straight face . Look serious or the audience might not take you seriously--don't make jokes,smile or laugh during performances or the audience might laugh at you , thus destroying the seriousness of the occasion . Of course humour can be used in music , it's just that often it doesn't work , so unless you're naturally good at that type of thing , forget it .
Avoid conventional notions of "beauty," - the uglier and nastier it sounds , the greater will be your "angst quotient" - a vital factor if you want to be Taken Seriously As An Artist .
In order to sound ugly try some of the following :-
Playing
out of tune - odd intonation need not be an impediment to self expression
. Playing sharp increases the tension , playing flat increases the pathos
. Of course you should try to play at least some notes in tune in order
to contrast with the out-of-tuneness .
Justify your excruciating pitch control by talking about trying to get a
more "human quality" out of your instrument or saying that you're
interested in microtones and non-Western , non-tempered scales .
Avoid conventional melodic ideas,scales or harmonies.
Use only the most dissonant intervals possible , avoid consonance .
Make wild intervallic leaps .
Play irregular rhythms , rapidly change tempo .
Use unequal note lengths .
Use the
sounds on your instrument that are normally avoided (squeaks , rattles,
buzzes etc.) and emphasise them - remember a squeak is just an unintentional
harmonic.
Loudly buzzing amplifiers can give a sense of danger and excitement.
Try to do things with your instrument that the manufacturer never intended . Abuse your equipment , but don't come running to daddy when it's broken and you want a new one - what do you think I am , made of money?
Use non-musical sounds . Musique Concrete is old news now but the inclusion of tape cut ups, radios ,domestic appliances , kids toys, power tools - anything that makes a noise - can liven up any performance. If you can rattle it on the side of yer pram , use it.
Imitate vocal sounds , speech patterns , animal noises and environmental sounds.
Why imitate? Use your voice - it's free and nothing unsettles an audience more than unfettered vocal improvisation. But listen to what people like Yoko Ono, Phil Minton, Maggie Nicols , Julie Tippetts, Vanessa Mackness or Yamatsuka Eye can do with their voices.
Dynamic Contrast - make sudden and unpredictable changes in volume. Startle the audience out of their slumber.
Attend as many gigs by free improvisers/experimental musicians/noisy wierdos as possible, talk to them after the gig , ask questions, find out about their ideas and methods and avoid using them .We don't need yet another plink plonk free improv. group in the country , find your own way . Going to avant garde gigs is also a good way of meeting fellow enthusiasts/wierdos some of whom may be interested in working with you or coming to your performances ( always carry a pocketful of flyers/demo tapes ) .
Take it to the people .Since you probably can't get a gig playing whatever 'orrible racket you've come up with , try busking on the streets. This may be difficult if you use electrical equipment so you may have to modify your concept to include portable acoustic noise makers. Pick you spots with care, strategically close to local arts centres/galleries, radio and TV stations etc. Busk outside other people's gigs while the audience is queuing to get in . Perform at protest marches and demonstrations, there are usually TV cameras present and it'd make a change from the usual hippies blowing whistles and banging drums , but don't take any expensive instruments in case you get caught in a riot or the police decide to confiscate your instrument on the grounds of "disturbing the peace." If you get arrested use it to your advantage and notify all media complaining about artistic freedom etc.
Submit your ideas regularly to arts funding bodies and any potentially sympathetic media , if you hassle them often enough somebody might eventually give you the attention that you so badly crave .
Develop a concept , it's not enough to be creative unless you can justify it (pseudo)intellectually. Read trendy arts and music publications to find out the correct arty vocabulary and buzz words .
Get some black clothes and a very short hair cut ... the 'political prisoner' look will help you to look really serious .
Don't worry about being any good , people will listen to any old crap if they think it's cool / obscure / rare / collectable / cultish / unlistenable / radical enough .
Use a laptop , they're all the rage .
Collaborate with artists in other fields , then you can call it "Multimedia".
Work with some cool , urban dance musicians for a bit of street cred .
Steal shamelessly , but never admit your real influences .
Form your own scene/clique/"improviser collective" - then you've got someone to share your bitter sense of alienation with , as well as the expenses of hiring dingy venues for your performances.
Record everything you do in preparation for that retrospective boxed set of "early works" 30 years hence .
If you have somewhere to practice , invite people to come and listen ."Open Rehearsals" I think they're called ..
If you have an audience , try inviting them to join in , the more people you can get involved , the more you can claim that it's a "Community Arts Project" and apply for arts grants .
If you hate the sound of what you're doing , keep on doing it .
Ignore the audience - they're probably ignoring you . If they're talking too loudly , you're playing too quietly
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