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Object | Motion | Rhythm

Percussion Instruments

A new adaptation of familiar musical instruments.  Design that came in the wake of an in-depth study of sound and motion. Instruments that are simple and easy to use,  even for those  who not  play a  musical instrument.

A research, cultural and formal project that examines the relationships between rhythm, motion and sound in musical instruments.

The design of four new percussion  instruments based on the principles of  familiar instruments.

I began this project from a somewhat different starting point. I am not a musician and I have never played a musical instrument professionally. Therefore, the obvious  question is,   why did I choose  the world of music for my project if I have no connection to it?  The answer to that is because music  touches me  as it touches   all of us,  sometimes    subconsciously.  It is inherent in us,    from the rhythm of our stride  to the tempo of our heartbeat. Rhythms can change our mood and even affect us physically.

The fact that I am not a musician  and my decision to work  in this field without prior experience proved to be an advantage to me in the process. It should be noted that  it enabled me  to work without restraints  and to relate to the objects with a degree of  audacity and naivety.   

I chose four familiar and iconic instruments which were selected as the   preliminary    basis of a work method focusing on formal and functional cultural research. These instruments were chosen for their simplicity. The manner   in which the sound is produced is easy  and  they    emphasize the relationship between body and instrument.  The sounds are influenced by body movements.

I began an in-depth study aimed  at stretching the boundaries of  sound and  form, simplifying, maximizing, changing, combining, redefining, decontextualizing,  experiencing and innovating.  I studied the instrument from a cultural and historical perspective. I analyzed our body movements and as result I created a series of instruments which produce rhythm in different ways that relate to movement.

 

The four instruments presented here were chosen after discussion with potential users: amateur musicians, percussionists, and people who have no knowledge of the subject at all. Their  reactions and the ways in which they used the  instruments enabled me to focus on the most precise instruments.

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