PLAY-HEAR SIDE-STRUCK

This is a side-struck plosive aerophone with eight tubes tuned by length to a pentatonic scale. The tubes are mounted vertically in such a way that if you pull one forward and release, it springs back and the side of the tube hits a padded cross bar. The tube walls, thin and soft, momentarily indent with the impact, giving the air inside a jolt, and that’s enough to set up the standing wave in the tube at the frequency determined by the tube length. The idea for this instrument was first explored in connection with a public sound installation called Play-Hear.