Instrument Build Journal 1

Since the Gamelan Encinal performance season is over, I thought I would share what I will be doing during the ensembles downtime this year.

Earlier this year, David Samas commissioned me to build an instrument like this one built by Lou Harrison and Bill Colvig. This is an instrument built to be able to play up to the 32nd partial of the harmonic series, with the lowest key being the fundamental. We are hoping to finish the build in a timely manner, so that it can be used in upcoming Lou Harrison centennial concerts.

Here are some photos of the Harrison/Colvig instrument. It is my belief that this instrument was built for testing scales, hearing intervals, and for demonstration purposes. I do not believe Lou ever wrote music for it, and I have never seen a score that calls for this instrument.

My designs will hopefully make for a more performance friendly instrument.

I will be posting updates here as this project progresses!