Preface: So far, much of the practice side of my PhD has taken the form it has done in my wider work for a while now – an open exploration of an idea with updates posted to Twitter. I find this way of working useful as it provides both impetus and feedback.

I have been moving things other than air with speaker cones, transducers, mechanisms for some time. The most completed example of this is the resonator gongs I created for my band ORE where two 32″ gongs were drilled and a Clark Synthesis TST239 tactile transducer attached to each in a spot that corresponded to the “home note” of my tuba and Beck’s trombone. This has produced great results in a variety of settings, as tested through a short tour at the end of 2019.

Whilst not totally complete (is anything ever?), I feel this system may have broader appeal and application. The sound created is an acoustically processed version of whatever is driven into it. I hope to add feedback to this in due course too. For now, I made a start and documented the process and findings via a Twitter thread.

As per the suggestion in the preface to this post, as a result of publishing this exploration on Twitter, I was directed (by Chris Weaver) to look at Dan Wilson’s journal article Miraculous Agitations: On the Uses of Chaotic, Non-Linear and Emergent Behavior in Acoustic Vibrating Physical Systems, which can be found here. Excellent.