THE INSTRUMENTS
Our work is the result of year of research into the exciting possibilities of submerged musical performance.
We have conducted countless experiments in collaboration with deep-sea divers, instrument makers and scientists to develop entirely new, highly specialized subaqueous instruments. At this page you can read more about the making of the instruments used in Aquasonic.
Crystallophone
The crystallophone, or glass armonica as it is more commonly called, is a spinning instrument that uses a series of glass vessels graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction.
Usually played with the fingers rubbing against the bowls’ rims, the crystallophone produces the most ethereal and delicately sweet sounds.
Originally invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761, and MIT software developer and inventor Andy Cavatorta re-engineered its structure and acoustic properties to work in our underwater environment.
WHAT
Crystallophone
BUILT BY
Andy Cavatorta, USA
PLAYED BY
Robert Karlsson
Hydraulophone
This hydraulophone is the first instrument to use water rather than air to produce sound. By manipulating water jets through a variable system of tubes and flow vessels, we can stimulate and direct subtle changes in water turbulence to sounding mechanisms inside the instrument, and create compelling acoustic and expressive possibilities.
The Canadian scientist and inventor Steve Mann invented the first hydraulophone in 1985. Since then, he and his colleague Ryan Janzen have created a whole family of instruments, some of them used for musical concerts, while other have been commissioned for parks and science centers including Legoland California, Ontario Science Center and the Experimentarium, Copenhagen.
In 2014 Between Music commissioned Ryan Janzen to make this unique hydraulophone, which is a totally new invented member of the family.
WHAT
Hydraulophone
BUILT BY
Ryan Janzen, Canada
PLAYED BY
Laila Skovmand
Rotacorda
Between Music commissioned MIT inventor Andy Cavatorta to build a special string instrument adapted from the old hurdy gurdy.
We have named it Rotacorda, a combination of the Latin work rota for wheel and the Italian word corda for string. It produces sound by a crank-turned wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin.
We have developed it further adding a brass horn from an old gramophone and experimenting with a lot of different strings and stands to make the sound as warm and stable as possible.
WHAT
Rotacorda
BUILT BY
Andy Cavatorta, USA
PLAYED BY
Nanna Bech
Carbon violin
At first, we started experimenting underwater with a very inexpensive and poor quality violin. And it worked! It actually said something. The violin survived three days of tests underwater and then it disintegrated. The glue is water soluble, so that wasn’t a surprise.
We knew violins were made sometimes from carbon fiber, so we wrote to all the carbon fiber violinmakers in the world and finally chose the German company Mezzo-Forte. They had been experimenting and redesigning classical stringed instruments for the past eight years and specially constructed our violin so it could play safely underwater for long periods of time.
We use carbon fiber bows with synthetic hair, and are currently developing a new kind of rosin for underwater use, together with the Australian rosin manufacturer Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin.
WHAT
Carbon fiber violin
BUILT BY
Mezzo-forte, Germany
PLAYED BY
Robert Karlsson
Percussion
Percussion instruments have an important role in our compositions – bell plates, gongs, triangles, darboukha and many others. When played underwater, however, percussion instruments become very unstable, frequently changing pitch and timbre and sometimes differently from one session to another.
Working together with former electronic engineer turned musical-instrument maker Matt Nolan from the UK, we have developed a series of specially tuned percussion instruments that are more predictable and expressive. Together with acousticians we have measured out the exact placement of every single instrument in the tanks, to get the same sound every time.
WHAT
Percussion instruments
BUILT BY
Matt Nolan, UK, and others
PLAYED BY
Moran le Bars
Morten Poulsen
Singing Bowls
We discovered that glass bowls produce a nice sound and pitch, but they are quite fragile. After we broke one of them and couldn’t replace it, we decided to look for a more reliable solution.
We came across the Asian singing bowl, a type of metal standing bell that produces harmonic overtones when the user either strikes or rubs the rim with a mallet. In Asia they are often used in meditation, religious chanting, or funeral rituals.
Fortunately the biggest distributor in northern Europe, Jane Winther, lives close by us. So we went there several times and tested around 700 bowls in a big bucket filled with water. We found 24 bowls, having a standard pitch of 440Hz, but we still miss some notes.
WHAT
Singing bowls
BUILT IN
Himalaya
PLAYED BY
Moran le Bars