Music From Junk

Making musical instruments out of recycled or discarded materials, ergo junk, is a worldwide phenomenon. There are entire orchestras in Venezuela and other relatively impoverished cultures, where children use junk instruments to participate in orchestras of their peers, learning to play and concertize together. There are many, many videos on YouTube showcasing these groups, as well as instructional ones about optional materials and demonstrating construction techniques to produce playable instruments.

At Rhode Island College, the Freshman Year Seminar “Music From Junk” begins with these videos and brief lectures about sound, vibration and acoustics to pave the way to the hunt for raw materials: sturdy and resonant boxes, tubes, buckets, etc., along with wire, twine, rubber bands, bungee cords, etc. The construction process is lengthy and experimental, requiring many trips to the theater department shop, where technicians construct the sets and props for theater productions. For us, they generously saw, drill, screw, glue, or bend parts of the invented instruments, carrying the process much further than we are able to achieve in the classroom.  From Amazon we acquired a thousand rubber bands, in every imaginable size, quality and color, which became strings for boxes and bucket guitars.

Instruments began to emerge, with varying degrees of function. Some were successful, while others were either scrapped or retooled to achieve better sound potential. To get a head start on playing with viable sound sources, a quantity of stemmed wine glasses from the dining hall were “tuned” with various amounts of water in each, and then numbered 1-8, indicating which note in the scale they played. Each of the 22 students took a couple of glasses of different pitches to their desk, where they began to discover how to play the rims with a wet finger. Combinations of scale numbers were written on the board, and students played when their numbers were pointed out. In this way they were able to play a little pop song. Here is the video from that day:

As the instrument construction neared completion, classes were devoted to learning the basics of music composition. Using a graphic timeline to visually represent a composition, its duration and parts, students could indicate elements of contrast, repetition, variety, variation, atmosphere, emotion, story, etc. Students were assigned to compose a piece for their own instrument, practice it, and then perform in a concert for the class. This concert occurred about halfway through the semester.

Next, students were divided into small groups, ensembles of 4-5 players, based on which instruments would work best together. At this point, classes alternated between videos of junk ensembles performing, continuing lecture about composition techniques, and rehearsals of the groups. Rehearsals required several isolated rooms. These activities were observed and critiqued on how they were negotiating their music, with suggestions and encouragement toward fullest engagement. At the end of each class, the groups returned to the classroom and performed what they had accomplished that day. The last day of class was a formal concert by those groups, which had named their group, titled their music, and were primed to perform. Here is that concert.

The transformation of this group of freshmen, from eye-rolling cynics to cheerful improvisors and collaborators was dramatic. This was accomplished through many one-to-one conversations about construction, composition content, playing techniques, and rehearsal strategies. The college posits multiple desired outcomes for these required Freshman Year Seminars, of which this is only one of many. The clear outcomes of this one are perhaps the most challenging to achieve: engagement, interaction, communication, and active presence, which were amply demonstrated by rehearsals and performances of these students. I cherish the bonds that were formed, and I will miss them.

 

Professor John Sumerlin is head of strings and composition at RIC. He teaches violin, viola, chamber music, composition, orchestration, and directs the Chamber Orchestra at RI College. He is also leader of the Proteus String Quartet, in residence at the college since 2011. His professional orchestra memberships have included the American Symphony (Stokowski), the Dallas, Cincinnati, Honolulu, and Santa Fe Opera orchestras as first violin. While Concertmaster of the Amarillo Symphony, he founded the Harrington String Quartet with a permanent endowment from the Harrington Foundation and led the quartet to the finals of the first Banff International Quartet Competition. Represented by Artistry Associates International  Management, he played solo recitals in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

johnsumerlin.com

proteusstringquartet.com.