Pneumatic Drum Kit #1
Pneumatic Drum Kit #1 from Bull and Wounded Horse Misc. components, drums 2005 |
The photograph above depicts the first version of a pneumatic drum kit that I designed and fabricated for use within the Bull and Wounded Horse performance piece. As with most of my work, I also see these drums as sculptural objects. So while the drums find a use on stage, they are also intended to create music for the rest of the objects within the gallery setting.
In the performance piece there are actually three drum kits, a robotic drum kit stage left and stage right and a human drummer in the middle. In composing the music for Bull and Wounded Horse, I established a few moments within the performance where the robotic drum kit # 1 would establish a two measure beat then drop it. The human drummer (Mike Paradise), would then seamlessly pick up the same beat for two measures and drop it. The robotic drum kit #2 would then pickup the beat for two measures (figure 1). This robot / human / robot rhythmic sequence would establish a looping bed over which the rest of the band would vamp.
The video clip below is from the Bull and Wounded Horse performance piece which debuted at Music Hall Detroit on January 28th 2006. In this clip if you look closely, you can see the two robotic drums stage left and stage right. Mike Paradise is on the drum kit in the middle of the stage. This clip shows the robot / human / robot rhythm and vamp from the diagram above. The robotic drums are being driven by two Macintosh computers via midi messages. This allows me to coordinate the drum beats on the kits with the video that is being projected on the three screens above the stage. I wrote a video sequencer and stage controller in Realbasic, and fabricated a midi interpreter from PIC microcontrollers to coordinate the video/interactive with the robotic drums.
Note: The image above is video. Mouse over the image for video playback controls. The play button is in the lower left corner.
Play in Flash Video format | 
Play in Quicktime Format | 
Play on youTube
Note: The image above is video. Mouse over the image for video playback controls. The play button is in the lower left corner.
Play in Flash Video format | Play in Quicktime Format | Play on youTube
Aside from engineering, electronic and pneumatic issues, possibly the most difficult and challenging aspect of these drums, proved to be understanding how to use them in a musical way. This is a deceptively difficult statement to fully comprehend unless you have been faced with the task of working with a musical instrument of your own design. ( Yes, I realize that drums have been around since the dawn of time, and that mechanical drums have a long history). My point is that in a very real sense this specific instrument is a derivation of traditional drumming with a highly specific character. A human drummer has a dynamic sense of time, inflection and rhythm. By contrast this instruments reliance on midi and pneumatics has engendered an instrument is given to "boom"bastic mechanistic beats. I have had to learn to compose music specifically for these drums. I/we have also had to learn how to play with this primitive drummer.
Robotic Guitar Drone
Robotic Drone Guitar from Bull and Wounded Horse Misc. components, Aluminum 2004 |
Obviously there's a context within the performance piece that these robotic instruments are used within. To understand this more fully click here.