Diddley Bow Workshop, NIMHAF 2022

Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts Festival 2022 (GATHERING)

A how-to for making your own custom acoustic-tech ‘monochord’. Viewers are show how to select, combine and play materials. All tools are shown and techniques demonstrated. Various options to suit your very own build.

Barry’s approach is a akin to a recipe where he suggests potential ingredients, a step by step process (how & why), and even some serving suggestions.

BJC – UM Versions FESTIVUS

The latest TONEBURST release is available.

There are a limited number of built instruments and PCBs for DIY.

https://toneburst.bandcamp.com/

The UM66 chip was designed to play popular monophonic
melodies: The chip used in this circuit plays several melodies.
The UM66 is used two times. They are not synchronised.
This DIY EMI has potentiometers to control voltage starve & volume as well as a switch to change the ‘bent’ character of the sound. It is possible to use headers sockets for the ICs to allow them to be swapped, enabling user control over the output.

This version was designed with a Winter celebration in mind, hence the name FESTIVUS as celebrated in regions of Europe and beyond. Nollaig na mBan! (little/women’s christmas Ireland) Trettondedag (13th day Sweden) día de los Reyes Magos (3 kings day Spain), also; Epiphany.

‘It’s the night the taxi drivers quiver in their boots’ Pauline – Cork

(Battery not included.)
These DIY EMIs require a 3v CR2032 battery for power.
The output is a mono mini jack (3.5mm).

Companion Box Recipe (Hardware Remix / Circuit Bending)

Instructions to build a DIY electronic musical instrument.

Instructables link.

Compositions using the instruments made following this tutorial can be heard on the toneburst release, ‘Boxes & Blocks”.

Stereo Lunetta 080120 01

bjc – D&Dv2_Studies_v1

The latest TONEBURST release is now available.

https://toneburst.bandcamp.com/

bjc - D&Dv2_Studies_v1_cover

Studio improvisations.

The recordings are mono. From instrument to hard drive. From hard drive to tape. Each of the four tracks were made using the Drone & Drama v2 instrument. The recordings were selected from a pool of recordings made over the course of one working week. Each day (Monday to Friday) four recordings were made using the same guidelines. Four studio improvisations of around five minutes were recorded according to the following guide to how to use the instrument.

Drone to drama.
Drama to drone.
Drone to drama & back.
Drama to drone & back.

After capturing the recordings four of the representations were selected for release.

Cassette & sine instrument.

The recordings should be played back and played along with using the sine instrument. The listener / audience ‘finishes’ a composition by giving it attention. Listening is a form of composition; deciding, discriminating. The inclusion of an instrument with this recording offers another type of participation to the audience. This is to make available and explicit the active role people can have when deciding to spend time on music activities.

Contribute to the composition. Complete the work.

The instrument requires a 12 volt DC power source (2.1mm tip negative) this is not supplied in the box set.

released September 27, 2019