Hydraulophone

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Hydraulophone
HHSB playing Suite for Hydraulophone.jpg
Ryan Janzen with the Hart House Symphonic Band
Template: Infobox musical instrument / maintenance / parameter classification missing
range Hydraulophone diatonic rangeWithoutOctave.svg
(diatonic 12-jet hydraulophone)
Template: Infobox musical instrument / maintenance / sound sample parameters missing Related instruments

Flute , glass harmonica , organ

Musician
Hydraulophonists
Water flute hydraulophone (without leaflets) with 45 nozzles, enables complex, polyphonic playing with approach-like tone control, caused by blocking the nozzles with the player's fingers.

A hydraulophone is an acoustic musical instrument that is played through direct physical contact with water (or sometimes other liquids). The tones are generated or influenced hydraulically . Usually the same liquid is used to generate sound that the player comes into contact with through his fingers. At the same time, the term is also used for devices through which fluid movements are detected or measured in an acoustic way. Examples of this are hydraulophones, which can be used to determine which toilet or faucet is used in a building and how much water is used there. The hydraulophone was originally invented and named by Steve Mann . It is also used to convey sensory impressions to people with impaired vision.

Types of hydraulophone and basic operation

The term hydraulophone is used either for instruments in which the flow of water through certain holes is blocked with the fingers in order to produce certain sounds or for instruments in which the sound itself is generated in a hydraulic way. With the hydraulophones in the narrower sense, both apply at the same time. They have an operating area in which a jet of water is interrupted with the fingers, producing a sound. The instruments, which are described in Mann's essay Hydraulophone design considerations , use jets of water that create a pulsating flow through perforated disks , waves or valves and thus sounds, similar to a hole siren . A single disc may have multiple rows in a circle with holes of different numbers to produce different tones. Some hydraulophones have vibrating reeds similar to a clarinet (one or more reeds for each finger hole), some without reeds instead have a block at each finger hole like a recorder . This means that they do not have any moving parts that are subject to wear and tear.

If the flow is blocked by a finger hole, the water is instead diverted to one of the facilities described above, where the tones are produced. The blockage can also, depending on the design, affect another clay-producing mechanism by changing the flow rate or pressure.

Some hydraulophones have underwater hydrophones so that the sounds can be amplified or influenced electrically. Effects similar to those of an electric guitar are possible. A hydraulophone equipped with a hydrophone can also serve as an input instrument for a computer. The computer can then, similar to a MIDI interface, generate tones from another instrument.

Relationship with woodwind instruments

The hydraulophone is like a woodwind instrument , but it operates with non- (or almost-non-) compressible water, not a compressible gas like air. One could call the hydraulophone a “wood-water-steel instrument”, although it is not made of wood, just like z. B. the saxophone is a woodwind instrument, although it is made of metal.

Blowing technique of the hydraulophone

The water must be "blown" into the hydraulophone with the help of a pump. But unlike common woodwind instruments, which have a mouthpiece at the entrance to the flute chamber, Hydraulophones have several mouthpieces at the chamber exit.

A recorder has only one block in the mouthpiece and several finger holes, whereas the hydraulophone has one mouthpiece for each finger hole. A typical hydraulophone used in public places such as B. is set up in a park, has 12 mouthpieces, while a concert hydraulophone has 45 mouthpieces.

The approach is controlled by the "mouth" of the instrument, not the mouth of the player. So the player of the hydraulophone can sing at the same time. Furthermore, the instrument can be played polyphonically, and the player can influence tones and tone color by the way in which he positions his fingers at the finger holes. The sound changes, for example, by moving the finger from the center of the hole to its periphery.

12-beam diatonic hydraulophone

Many diatonic hydraulophones are built with 12 jets of water, one for each of the 12 tones. The range starts with A and extends over 1½ octaves to E.

Range of a diatonic 12-jet hydraulophone

The normal range from A to e, in which a polyphonic approach is possible, can be seen on the left side of the diagram. Some hydraulophones have a higher pitch range that can be used when playing monophonic, here represented by the small note at the end.

The extended tonal range in the illustration on the left results from the operation of special nozzles that are intended to change the key. These are nozzles with which the entire pitch range can be changed up or down by a semitone.

With the jets for changing the key, the diatonic hydraulophone can be played like a chromatic harmonica : you can play chords and play the entire chord a semitone higher or lower. However, this semitone change cannot be applied to individual notes within a chord.

The illustration on the right shows the extended range of the hydraulophones, which have the option of being played two octaves lower or one octave higher as a whole.

45-jet chromatic hydraulophones (concert hydraulophones)

Range of a 45-jet hydraulophone

Hydraulophones used in parks or swimming pools are usually 12-jet diatonic hydraulophones, while concert hydraulophones have 45 jets.

45-jet hydraulophones have a range of 3½ octaves from A to E, chromatic , plus an additional A-flat below the lowest A. The 45 nozzles correspond to the 45 notes.

While normally only 12-jet hydraulophones are set up in public places, the Ontario Science Center has a concert hydraulophone with 45 nozzles.

Themed Hydraulophone

Aquatune Hydraulophon at the main entrance to Legoland Waterpark in Carlsbad, California. This hydraulophone is shaped like oversized Lego blocks

Hydraulophones can reflect a wide range of topics in public spaces. An example of such a themed hydraulophone is the Aquatune, which is located at the entrance of the Legoland Waterpark in Carlsbad, California. Here it is located in the middle of educational experiment stations, where visitors can build dams (made of Lego bricks, of course) or explore the differences between turbulent and laminar flow .

Cold Weather Hydraulophone

Hydraulophone in a warm pool
Hydraulophonist plays for Canada's National Capital Commission in Ottawa at the Winterlude Festival in 2010 on a hydraulophone built into a SpaBerry .
Hydraulophonist plays for Canada's National Capital Commission in Ottawa at the Winterlude Festival in 2010.

Hydraulophones can be installed in warm pools so that they can play outdoors even in cold weather. This keeps both the hydraulophonist (or hydraulophonist) warm and the hydraulic fluid such as water. In this hydraulophone (balnaphone, Greek balnea bath ) the hydraulophonist sits in the hydraulic fluid that the instrument needs.

Video from an EyeTap (portable camera system); the piece is called Huron Carol ; Une Jeune Pucelle

Classification of the hydraulophone

Classification of musical instruments based on physical properties

The hydraulophone does not fit into the standard classification system for musical instruments which was developed before the invention of the hydraulophone. In order to be able to put the hydraulophone in a system, a new systematology was developed. The top category is based on the material that produces the instrument's tone.

The first three categories of Hornbostel-Sachs comply with this physical system of the first category, since the sound always matter in their solid aggregate state is generated.

According to Aristotle 's elements, this physical system is structured as follows:

  • 1 Gaiaphone (earth / solid), instruments in which the sound is primarily generated by matter in its solid state, e.g. B. Piano .
    • 1.1 Chordophone : The sound is produced by solid substances that are essentially one-dimensional (cross-section significantly smaller than length, e.g. strings), e.g. B. violin , guitar , electric bass ;
    • 1.2 Membranophone : The sound is produced by solid substances that are essentially two-dimensional (much thinner than the surface area), e.g. B. Drums ;
    • 1.3 Idiophone : The sound is generated by a three-dimensional solid object, e.g. B. crystallophone, glass harmonica , xylophone , metallophone , etc., regardless of whether the instrument is played in water or in air;
  • 2 Hydraulophone (liquid): The sound is generated by matter in its liquid state, the instrument is played either under water or in air, whereby the water is then fed to the device:
    • 2.0 water flutes (hydraulophones without leaflets);
    • 2.1 single-leaflet hydraulophones (usually have one leaflet per finger hole);
    • 2.2 double leaflet hydraulophones (usually have two leaflets per finger hole);
    • 2.3 poly-leaflet hydraulophones (usually have more than two leaflets per finger hole);
  • 3 Aerophone (air / gas): The sound is produced by matter in its gaseous state, eg woodwind instruments and brass instruments ;
  • 4 Plasmaphone / Ionophone (fire / plasma): The sound is produced by matter in a highly energetic state ( plasma ), e.g. B. Plasmaphone, etc .;
  • 5 Quintephon (quintessence / thoughts): The sound is generated by information technology with the help of mental influencing of devices, usually through the "interposition" of a computer.

Classification according to the surrounding matter

Solid, liquid and gas instruments (left to right), all three in liquid. The surrounding medium does not determine the highest classification category, although it strongly influences the sound. For example, it mutes the guitar (which is of course still a chordophone) or silences the recorder.

At the International Computer Music Conference 2007, the conference theme was Immersed Music . Concerts and performances that took place under water were staged accordingly. A number of important questions were raised regarding the role of the surrounding medium (air or water) in which the instrument is played and the role of water in instruments other than the hydraulophones.

For example, Benjamin Franklin's glass harmonica remains a friction idiophone regardless of the fact that it is played with wet fingers. A glass harmonica that is played underwater has recently been developed. This instrument is also not a hydraulophone, but a friction idiophone.

Accordingly, drinking glasses placed side by side, which are tuned with water, are not hydraulophones, but idiophones. Here the water is not used to generate sound, but only to tune the instrument.

The hydraulophone and the strings / percussion / wind instruments taxonomy

Traditionally, an orchestra is divided into three sections: string, percussion and wind instruments. With string and percussion instruments, the sound is produced by solid matter, e.g. B. with a piano that is both a string and a percussion instrument. In wind instruments, the sound is generated by a vibrating column of air, i.e. by matter in a gaseous state.

Hydraulophone adds a new category: instruments that generate sounds through liquid matter. They are not to be confused with known instruments such as the glass harmonica or the crystallophone, in which water is used for tuning or to change the friction.

Relationship with the organ

Many hydraulophones have a single pipe for each note like the organ . The tones are also generated in a similar way (only with water instead of air). In contrast, it is operated by closing the finger holes, similar to flutes.

This hydraulophone corresponds to the organ, only water flows through the flutes instead of air.

Relationship with the piano

In a concert hydraulophone, the finger holes are arranged like the keys on a piano; H. one row of holes with an even hole spacing faces the player, in a second row the holes are arranged alternately in groups of two and three. Organ and piano have the same keyboard layout, but the response to a key press is different. The piano reacts to the speed of the keystroke, while the organ reacts to the movement of the key. The reaction to the "branch pressure" with a hydraulophone, on the other hand, cannot be understood as clearly: on the one hand, similar to the organ, the "strength" of the pressure (i.e. how strongly the water jet is blocked) influences the sound, and on the other hand also the duration of the Pressure (time integral over the pressure level, called "absement" by men). Suddenness (the speed at which a button is pressed) also plays a role.

Kinematics and musical instrument

Relationship to instruments that use water in other aggregate states

The Pagophon uses ice to generate sound, whereas the Hydraulophon uses (liquid) water

The Hydraulophon uses a liquid, usually (liquid) water. It is therefore related to the pagophone, the ice and the calliope , which uses steam to generate sound.

The largest hydraulophone in the world

The world's largest publicly accessible open-air hydraulophone in the Ontario Science Center , Toronto , Canada

The currently largest hydraulophone in the world is located in front of the Ontario Science Center , one of Canada's most important architectural landmarks. It is also the only freely accessible water playground in Toronto that is open day and night.

Finger marks on a standard 12-jet hydraulophone

Braille markings over the finger holes of a school hydraulophone for pupils with poor eyesight. The letter "L" designates the nozzle 12 on the far right.

The water jets obstruct the free view of the hydraulophone. Hydraulophones can also be played underwater, where visibility is also restricted. That is why the finger holes are often marked with Braille characters. Braille also has the advantage that the coded digits match the tones of the standard A minor hydraulophone, i.e. H. Braille character "1" is also the character for "A" etc.

A, 1 B, 2 C, 3 D, 4 E, 5 F, 6 G, 7 H, 8 I, 9 J, 0 K L.

(12 points each, usually from Messigs pens over each finger hole)

Percussion hydraulophone

Prototype of a water hammer hydraulophone

Normally the tone of a hydraulophone sounds as long as the finger hole is closed. In contrast, the water hammer hydraulophone generates the sound through the impact of the water hammer, which dies out immediately after the strike. So the water hammer hydraulophone sounds more like a piano.

Manufacturer

Hydraulophones are currently manufactured by:

  • WhiteWater West , British Columbia, manufacturer of the "AquaTune-Hydraulophon", and of "Nessie", a hydraulophone with conical bores
  • SCS Interactive, Ogden, Utah, USA (office in Denver, Colorado, USA), manufacturer of the "Hydrophone", a hydraulophone with conical bores
  • FUNtain Corporation of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, manufacturer of many hydraulophones and related products

See also

Individual evidence

  1. "Fluid Melodies: The hydraulophones of Professor Steve Mann" In WaterShapes, Volume 10, Number 2, pp. 36-44, New York, NY, USA
  2. a b c d S Mann: Hydraulophone design considerations: absement, displacement, and velocity-sensitive music keyboard in which each key is a water jet . In: International Multimedia Conference archive (Ed.): Proceedings of 14th annual ACM international conference on Multimedia . , Santa Barbara, CA, USA September, pp. 519-528.
  3. Mann, p. FlUId Streams: Fountains that are keyboards with nozzle spray as keys ..., Proceedings of ACM Multimedia 2005, p. 181-190, Singapore
  4. Janzen, R. and Mann, S. Arrays of water jets as user interfaces: Detection and estimation of flow by listening to turbulence signatures using hydrophones. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Multimedia, pp. 505-508, Augsburg, Germany, 2007
  5. ^ Nolan, J., Mann, S., and Bakan, D. (2012). First Splashes in the Frolic Lab: Exploring Play-based Learning, Water and Sound with Nessie the Hydraulophone . Children, Youth and Environments 22 (2), pp. 263-272.
  6. ^ The Electric Hydraulophone: An acoustic hyperinstrument with feedback, International Computer Music Conference, p. 162, Copenhagen, Denmark
  7. a b Natural Interfaces for Musical Expression: Physiphones and a physics-based organology, in Proceedings of the 2007 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME07), pp. 118-123, New York, NY, USA
  8. http://wearcam.org/acmmm2006/
  9. U.S. Patent 8,017,858
  10. Steve Mann, Ryan Janzen, Jason Huang, Matthew Kelly, Lei Jimmy Ba and Alexander Chen, User-interfaces based on the water-hammer effect: water-hammer piano as an interactive percussion surface, Proceedings of the fifth international conference on Tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, 22. – 26. January 2011, Funchal, Portugal, doi: 10.1145 / 1935701.1935703

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