invented instruments (one more time)

info from http://www.constancedemby.com/instruments_f.html

The Sonic Steel Space Bass
"A Transdimensional Communication Device"

The Sonic Steel Instruments, original designs by Constance Demby, have been recorded by Lucas SkyWalker Studios for use in their filmscores, and filmed by Discovery Channel in Gaudi's "Parc Guell" in Barcelona for their specials.

The Sonic Steel Space Bass is a 10 ft sheet of mirror finish stainless steel with 5 octaves of steel and brass rods. The rods can be bowed, struck percussively, and the metal sheet can be rubbed to create various effects. Several tones can be created by bowing a single rod, resulting in a multi-tiered overtone series. A sound scientist determined that the sound waves on the lowest notes of the instrument are approximately thirty feet long.

The instrument emits deep, primordial, archetypal resonances that put audiences into altered states in which listeners report transdimensional experiences. In healing modality, the ultra low sub-sonic frequencies have been known to break up and dissolve long held encrustrations held in the embodiment, resulting in healings. (see http://www.constancedemby.com/sonicimmersion.html )


ORIGIN OF THE SONIC STEEL INSTRUMENTS
From the artist: I had one-woman shows of my artwork and sculpture in Greenwich Village, NYC, in the 60s and 70s, as my creative pursuits have always extended beyond music to include painting, sculpture, and multi-media, and the steel instruments are the result of my combined love of sculpture and music.. At the time, I was about to torch a big piece of sheet metal to start a sculpture, but the roar of the sheet made my torch stop in mid-air, and thus was borne the first version of the Space Bass, a primitive thunder sheet. Many experiments followed, such as the discovery of the insides of a toy piano, a small horizontal bar with rods attached, which eventually became a key design element in the Space Bass.

The instruments were not preconceived or consciously designed beforehand, rather the instruments designed themselves as I remained in the "don't know" state, a state of uncertainty that teachers such as Deepok Chopra recommend, like a state of innocence or openness to divine accident.

There were others I was co-creating with at the time who added their design elements to the mix, such as Bob Rutman, who eventually created his own versions based on my original design, and Jack Hilmer, who added a brilliant suspension support system so that the sheet of metal is free to sway on the stands, increasing the resonance.