Dong-PONG

For our project “Tree PONG I" we wanted to build a growing sound sculpture that invites interaction and sound experiments. The building blocks of the sculpture are two larger metal frames, leftover from constructing the kiosk — originally it was a greenhouse. We planned the instrument on-site and only packed a few basic materials.

Sound

Time and again it occurred to us to build an instrument in Messestadt that mainly uses wind for sound production. In the neighborhood there are many open spaces and, ultimately, a lot of wind. A Kunstwerk in Messestadt titled „Löwenspinne" thus (perhaps also by chance?) becomes a sound installation as soon as the wind whips through the ropes of the sculpture…

For our sculpture we initially set aside this aspect of sound production and worked with strings, a contact microphone, and wooden and metal parts.

The Drill

A workshop participant had the brilliant idea to fasten a cable tie to a drill chuck and thus pluck the strings quickly and repetitively. It was sonically interesting and had a nice reference to the building-cultural context of our project.

Through mallets, a contact microphone and a small amp we could produce an extremely wide range of sonic nuances while playing, and the instrument was, as hoped, diligently played again and again. In the future we will develop the instrument further and record even more performances.

Equipment and Tools:

• Contact microphone
• Marshall Mini Amp
• Piano strings and tuning pegs (+ tuning key)
• Cordless drill (+ bit holder and cable tie)
• Wood and metal parts