http://www.moonmilk.com Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:59:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I made a little sound sculpture - a sort of wind-powered banjo - for this weekend's Figment Festival on Governors Island. Here it is installed on the island's waterfront by Castle Williams, with a spectacular view of downtown Manhattan. (If you're in the New York area, come to ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/06/27/trumpet-marine-at-figment-festival/ installation proposal for artbots 2008 from ranjit on Vimeo. Proposal for Artbots 2008 Simple automatic instruments are constructed from local materials and objects on site. The system learns the sounds it can make by trying out its instruments, and then uses its range of sounds to try to reproduce the rhythmic and ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/05/06/all-my-candy/ I've got three noisy things happening or starting soon: Friday afternoon (April 4): instrument workshop/jam session at The Tank, NYC Opening Friday (April 4): Everything Must Go -- the last ever show at Flux Factory's current space in Queens, soon to be flattened by the MTA. Opening Saturday (April 5): Artistic Mediums: Revelations ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/04/01/three-noisy-things-coming-soon/ Thanks to everyone who came to the 29 Noisy Noises party on March 1 and helped me celebrate finishing 29 instruments in 29 days! Lots of great people came over and made a lot of great noise on the 29 instruments -- you can hear some of it below. Photo ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/03/14/pix-and-sounds-from-29-noisy-noises/ This Sunday 3/16, noon to 4:30pm, the Coney Island Museum celebrates automatic music - organ grinders, player pianos, and more - at the Band Organ Rally. I'm building a brand new automatic instrument for the event, and bringing some older ones too. Sneak previews below. something new something old http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/03/14/coney-island-band-organ-rally/ It’s a dog. Eating from a metal bowl and then fighting with the blankets, he sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/dog.mp3] If you’re in NYC and you’d like to meet this or other instruments-of-the-day, check this out. I’m going to continue with the instrument building, one a week for as long as I can ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/29/thing-29-dog/ Gonna have a party on Saturday March 1st to celebrate surviving the building of 29 instruments in 29 days! It'll be 3-6pm (or so) in Long Island City, Queens, NYC - contact me for more info. There'll be beer and snax and making noises. Bring your own noisemakers ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/29/29-noisy-noises-celebrate-homemade-instruments-tomorrow/ I found the box in the garbage while walking the dog yesterday and I knew I had to make a fiddle. It looks like it was a chunk cut out of a cheap veneer door or something. This was my most ambitious instrument-a-day, coming in at 6 hours. The ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/29/thing-28-rotten-stick-box-fiddle/ Today my ebay order of mongolian horse hair arrived! So I made a fancy horsehair bow. It’s an awful bow, of course, and I have no idea how to use a bow anyway, but what the heck: here’s what it sounds like on the rotten stick tension guitar ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/28/thing-27-awful-horsehair-bow/ Yes, it’s another rotten stick! But no walnuts this time. It’s a saxophone of sorts, using reeds made out of coke cans, subway passes, and whatever else I had lying around. Here’s what it sounds like with three different reeds. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/saxamophone.mp3] Construction details: I cut the stick in half ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/27/thing-26-rotten-stick-saxamophone/ Bart Hopkin calls it a boo - a tongue drum made from a tube of bamboo or a box. It might not seem complicated compared to some of my earlier instruments, but for me, cutting and attaching these five pieces of wood was like brain surgery. Notice that ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/26/thing-25-oak-box-boo/ Ever since I saw it in the instrument collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I’ve been obsessed with the trumpet marine, a giant one-stringed instrument that’s supposed to sound like a trumpet. Besides its monstrous size, the most important characteristics of the trumpet marine are that it’s fingered ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/25/thing-24-trumpet-saline/ Continuing to explore the variable tension theme from yesterday: the rotten stick tension guitar uses a hand lever to stretch the string and thus set the pitch. I had that bit of coconut leftover from the banjo, so I used it as a sound radiator. The walnut on ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/24/thing-23-rotten-stick-tension-guitar/ I thought I’d try changing the pitch of a guitar string by pulling it with a solenoid - thus “tension guitar.” I thought I’d be able to get multiple pitches by turning the puller on and off very quickly (PWM) but that didn’t work well, so I was stuck ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/23/thing-22-automatic-tension-guitar/ In my junkbox I found this vintage 1977 (or so) 76477 synthesizer chip- this model used to be used in arcade machines. It was gonna be another Matchbox Synth - you can see I have the case all prepped - but, whether because it’s old and broken, or because ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/22/thing-21-syntho-77/ The scraper-shaker has a graduated series of notches, an aluminum sound cone, and, of course, a walnut shell full of steel washers. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/scrapershaker.mp3] It’s kind of surprising how much the little sound cone amplifies the sound. http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/21/thing-20-scraper-shaker/ I was inspired when I saw coconuts for 99c at the bodega, but when I got home it took me half an hour just to get all the delicious meat out of the nut. I keep making instruments that are too long for my short arms to play comfortably. ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/20/thing-19-coconut-banjo/ Hammered aluminum, old bbq fork with corks stuck on the tines to discourage autodisembowelment. If I’d known how much work it would be to hammer the thing and that it would turn out to sound like this, I wouldn’t have bothered! [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/trespassersw.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/19/thing-18-trespassers-w/ The toehorn is made from a drinking straw double reed and a nerf missile launcher I found in the trash. It sounds pretty much like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/toehorn.mp3] (suggested use) http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/18/thing-17-the-toehorn/ Gambang kayu is a xylophone used in gamelan orchestras. This thing isn’t really that much like a gambang. It’s made from rotten sticks (my favorite ingredient!), string, and a bamboo windchime that was on sale at Rite-Aid for $3.49. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/gambangbambuhall.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/16/thing-16-gambang-bambu/ I carved this bowl out of some waste wood I found on the street. When I roll walnuts around in it, it sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/walnutbowlhall.mp3] But the real reason I carved it is to use for hammering sheet metal into gong or cymbal shapes. Unfortunately, I don’t ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/16/thing-15-walnut-bowl/ Yesterday’s Thing was a breath controller- blow into it to control the volume of today’s Thing: the Fish Organ, so named because the box used to contain smoked fish. And it sounds a little something like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/fishorgan.mp3] The keyboard is copper tape cut to shape. It’s tuned (approximately) to ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/15/things-13-and-14-fish-organ-with-breath-controller/ I added a fingerboard to the rotten stick electric guitar for easier fingering– it’s still only long enough to play about 5 notes. And I made the worst bow ever from another rotten stick and some waxed string. Together, they sound like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/bowedstickbass.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/13/thing-12-rotten-stick-upgrade/ Today’s instrument is a recurved brass horn with a plastic reed made from a drinking straw from these instructions. It looks so pretty, but it’s my solemn duty to inform you that it sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/brasstoadophone.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/12/thing-11-the-brass-toad-o-phone/ It’s not very complicated, but it’s one of my favorite instruments-of-the-day so far! I found this piece of glass– I think it was a coffee table once– in the garbage. Suspended from jute and struck with a rubber mallet, it sounds like this. (Use headphones or good ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/10/thing-10-glass-garbage-gong/ Kalimba with steel and bamboo tines in an old tea canister, with piezo microphone and 1/4″ output jack. It sounds like this (I did a bit of simple layering with a Loopstation.) [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/jasminekalimba.mp3] Inspired by the amazing kalimbas of RP Collier - listen to his music at soundclick and see the ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/10/thing-9-electric-jasmine-kalimba/ I only had a few minutes to play today, and my first attempt at an instrument today broke, so here’s a teeny tiny little wooden whistle. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/tinywoodenwhistle.mp3] I’m proud of myself for drilling a 1/8" hole in a 1/4" dowel without breaking it! http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/09/thing-8-tiny-wooden-whistle/ Made of discarded wood from a nearby street construction project. It sounds like this [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/woodengong.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/08/thing-7-triple-wooden-gong/ I'm making a new musical instrument every day in February. On March 1st I think I'll have to have either a concert or a bonfire. Follow my adventures at flickr or thing-a-day.com! Some highlights so far: matchbox synthesizer, diet cocarina, rotten stick electric guitar. You can hear sound ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/07/thing-a-day/ A whistle made from an eggshell, fimo clay, and a straw. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/eggwhistle.mp3] With my egg and the earlier turnip whistle, I tried poking some holes in the body to make an ocarina, but I found that it just stops whistling unless I cover the holes. On ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/07/thing-6-egg-whistle/ For today’s thing-a-day: a damp, rotten stick from the park; an old guitar string; a hand-wound electromagnetic pickup. It sounds like this. (Sorry, I’ve only had a few minutes to start learning how to play it) [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/stickguitar.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/06/thing-5-rotten-stick-electric-guitar/ Can I make another musical instrument every single day of the month? We’ll see if my head explodes first. Today: An ocarina made from a coke can, straw, and poster gum. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/cokarina.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/04/thing-4-the-diet-cocarina/ Sticking with the musical instrument theme: the teeniest little synthesizer. Video and sound here. thing-a-day: matchbox synthesizer from ranjit on Vimeo. http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/04/thing-3-matchbox-synthesizer/ Made from a turnip, held together with toothpicks. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/turnipwhistle.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/03/day-2-turnip-whistle/ Yesterday I went to a whistle workshop, so today I thought it was time to make a whistle out of a walnut shell. On the inside there’s a piece cut from another walnut shell which directs air from the hole at the end up to the fipple. It sounds like this: walnutwhistle.mp3 [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/08/02/thingaday/walnutwhistle.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/02/02/walnut-whistle/ My Parsons students are playing a concert on Sunday the 16th - it's also their final exam. Please come out and support them! It'll be 4pm, Dec. 16th at The Openhouse at 201 Mulberry Street in SoHo, Manhattan - just south of Spring Street. Here's a preview of what ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/12/05/mister-resistor-in-concert/ more greens * buy prints http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/11/03/greenmarket-scans-of-the-week-continue/ Lev's featured in the premiere episode of BoingBoing TV today. Thanks, boingers! http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/10/03/lev-the-thereminbot-sings-for-boingboing-tv/ I was involved in a few events at the Festival of Music for People and Thingamajigs in Oakland, California: Saturday 12-2: Circuit-bending* party at The Crucible to make instruments for Sunday. Bring an electronic musical toy to sacrifice! Saturday 5:30-6:30: Artists' talk at Rock Paper Scissors Gallery along with Stewart ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/29/thingamajigs-this-weekend/ I'm quoted in a wired.com article about the Handmade Music events and homemade instruments. "There's already a lot of crap music in the world and it hasn't killed us." More at wired.com, 9/27/07. http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/29/wiredcom-midi-ironing-boards-theremin-crutches-squeal-at-handmade-music-event/ Here's LEV again, because one "Crazy" wasn't enough. Lev plays Patsy from ranjit on Vimeo. (also on youtube) http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/22/lev-plays-patsy/ Here's LEV, my theremin-playing robot first seen at Artbots 2003, playing a familiar song with the help of the newly built thumpbot and an obsolete synthesizer. Lev and Thumpbot play "Crazy" from ranjit on Vimeo. (also on youtube) They don't play so well, but what do you expect from robots? http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/20/lev-and-thumpbot-play-crazy/ Time Out NY magazine has a small feature about handmade music nights at Etsy Labs, and it includes a little bit about me and a photo of one of my handmade music gadgets. http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/20/ranjit-in-time-out-ny/ Etsy Labs, Create Digital Music, and Make Magazine have been holding a series of handmade music nights at Etsy's Brooklyn headquarters, where people share the musical gadgets they've made. It's just been featured in Time Out NY (scan). CDM's got nice wrapups of the first (with video, including ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/20/handmade-music-night/ I'll be participating in the 10th Annual Festival of Music for People and Thingamajigs in Oakland, CA, September 28-30. This is one of the thingamajigs I'll be bringing. This is another. http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/09/06/music-for-people-and-thingamajigs-oakland/ If you would like to buy prints of my photos, I've set up a little online store at moonmilk.etsy.com. Go! Spend money! new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(5211808, 'shop','gallery',2,3).renderIframe(); http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/08/25/buy-prints/ Misericordiam visited the Figment Festival on Governor's Island, New York City, this July. For the first time, I suspended the piece from a tree in the open air rather than from an indoor framework. It was a beautiful day to hang accordions in trees. Here's some ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/07/08/video-misericordiam-on-governors-island/ There's no attempt to create a humanoid with Misericordiam, by Ranjit Bhatnagar, an accordion hung from a rope. It compresses and, thanks to gravity, decompresses with a convulsive abandon. I don't know if it had any other purpose than humor, but I didn't feel like I needed more. -- roberta fallon ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/05/28/artbots-philly-reviewed/ I'm going to be at the Bent Festival this weekend. My band Mister Resistor is playing Saturday night and I'm going to be making some sort of site-specific sound sculpture on the spot during the festival. Both things are pretty much improvised, but there's likely to be some ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/04/23/bent-festival/ Some of my vegevision has been featured in Edible Brooklyn magazine! More information about the project and about purchasing prints from the series can be found on the project page. http://www.moonmilk.com/2007/04/23/greenmarket-produce-scans-in-edible-brooklyn-magazine/