DIMITRI VOUDOURIS

Abstract:

Inseparable from its environment, the human brain gradually underwent incremental changes in response to external stimuli. Patterns of behaviour in humans involve a natural selective process in a similar manner to how physical characteristics evolve. The need was to develop cognitive principles: thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving.

Mental processes developed mechanical tools and in this “delusional state of grandeur” a combination of these processes created a mirror image of “the self” adding a pseudo-life force to inanimate creations, enabiling humans the artificial ability to believe in their creative capacity, the proliferation of mobility, industrialization, emergency services, monitary policies, further developments, information technology, entertainment, television, mass communication media, computers (a mimicking artificial brain source), access of the internet, mobile phones etc. Megalomania elevated the human status above all other living matter as the elements of biological creation are pushed further apart. Moving from an aural to a written society, we repressed and lost our bodies and started synthesising them into a sort of abstraction that reorganised our thoughts and our imagination. Computer and communicative revolution demanded changes, gaining more knowledge and the ability to engage, interacting with literacy and the media as we handle more information. Altered perception, conceptualisation, behaviour, increase in materialistic values, vision conditioning “seeing what we want to see”, gradual tuning of average hearing to the sound world around us as the cacophony of every-day sound pollution creates evolutionary changes in eco-acoustics, climatic conditions change the Earth’s natural acoustic fabric shiftting the acoustic structure that all sound-sensitive organisms such as marine, terrestrial experience altering the vocal frequencies of vocal organisms.

Subsequently, human health deteriorated undergoing massive changes, common medical conditions recoded were an increase in immobility, headache, inability to cope, depression, anxiety, psychosis, shortened thinking, reduced amount of natural sleep, weight gain and other chronic ailments that would follow. Re-engaging with listening skills and habits is of utter importance in falling silent, making time to listen and experience natural sounds helps discover our creative process. Through engagement, we learn to understand ourselves better, re-engaging with the healing power of nature and the world around us. The outer and inner sounds of the world generate through body and voice and act to create internal states of being whose resonances evoke sensual experiences and inspirations. The outer sounds of the world feed the kinaesthetic trigger in various domains, memories evocative of childhood, artistic inspiration and performance, elevation and spiritual awareness within biotic and abiotic environments.

Challenges of engagement:

Primal instruments are designed to emulate natural sounds, their purpose was to engage in ritual practices rather than entertainment. Indigenous people immersed in environmental soundscapes express their emotions through music creation and storytelling. Currently, the need is to compete with an ever-evolving environment impregnated with noise pollution affecting soundmarks, density of sonic environments, transparency or lack of it, seasonal, climatic and day-to-day variations. The arid / semi-arid region of the Karoo has unique acoustic features (biophony, geophony, anthropophony) which make up its sound ecology. The Khoisan, early inhabitants of the area, acquired instruments from the immediate natural surroundings (wood, gourds, animal horns, skin) and natural environmental waste, creating an interactive interplay between sound and spoken word. Loss of these assigned sounds and introduction of new ones signal changes with the infiltration of noise-waste. A state of alienation lurks in communities that have an auditory engagement with the traditional instruments, voice and animal sounds within the landscape.

Interpreting:

Subjective universes cannot be described in merely objective terms. They imply a learning history of multiple interactions between organisms and the surrounding environment. Human listeners have differences in distinct phases as part of their ontogenetic development; pollution of the natural sound environments have become more common through inhabiting and competing. At the onset of the industrial revolution, natural sound became more complex and challenging, affecting listening (hearing – understanding – learning – integrating into our intellectual or sensual system) from infancy right through childhood development and adulthood. The sonic environment on its own does not define the soundscape evoked mechanisms. Connecting this physical environment to the soundscape’s mental concept requires a listening process which involves multi-levelled attention, higher cognitive functions, memory, template matching, and attentive being, the most important analytic listening style in soundscape construction and the preconscious process of holistic listening. Visual information triggers expectation, and sound occurs to facilitate attention drawn to it. Meaning involves a collection of associations evoked in the person’s mind by listening to sounds that influence and determine how we interpret the world around us. Cognitive appraisal of the sounds heard together with meaning, reinforcement of positive or negative emotions triggered by the sonic environment. Sounds depend on acts of focal attention, which are subjective (what we actually “hear” and how we “listen” is heavily filtered by our cognitive state) to some extent. Music is a subset of the sonic universe, which can be considered as the collection of sound-producing, transmitting and modifying elements that represent the totality of sounds as a virtual infinity of possible combinations of individual vibrational events. Acoustic identity, the performer’s emotional connection, and the cultural significance of the space depend on environmental influence.

Communication:

Communication is a tool by which different biological species transmit signals to interact, giving meaning by engaging with their environment, which is deeply innate, pre-linguistic, involves conscious, arbitrary symbols, and much of biological communication, such as pheromones, vocalisations, and body language, beginning at the point where memory fails and is rooted in our subconscious, a bridge between biological signalling and psychological experience. The force of communication that transcends time, giving order and meaning to the past, the now and the indefinite future. The tangibility of what is reality begins to make sense. The metaphysics of human consciousness, the interaction and interdependency between the animate and inanimate nature, is a mere reflection of the self, consciously or subconsciously interacting with the acoustic environments, which translates into mechanisms of explicit behavioural manifestations. Perception, which entirely depends on information in the stimulus array, cuts across the objective, subjective dichotomy. Breaking down sound recordings to create means in understanding interrelations between motion, gesture, animal diversity, space, behaviour and distribution. The combination of additional scientific data allows us to understand relationships between communities and environments.

Computer technology:

The computer was developed as part of the “self -image” multi-task tools and often compared to the human brain and nervous system. In music it provides output in the form of an alphanumeric representation of standard music notation, printing of notation, music education, propagation, creation, promotion, sharing, preservation, providing material to students, tools to teachers, ample material or content for research and as computer science concepts like programming, algorithms, data analysis are becoming integral parts of music and audio engineering from digital audio workstations to auto-tuning software. Computers allow producers and engineers unprecedented control over the recording and manipulation of sound. Programming the digital computer in a way that output in turn serves as input to an analogue computer, which in turn produces electronic sounds via loudspeakers or transmits the electronic signals to recording tape for later performance. Computer science developments in the musical field of AI is conducting research in neuroscience of music, simulating biological natural processes in music origin and evolution, converting artificial life models into composing original music networks that have succeeded in imitating distinct musical styles so far. Discovering computer technology as a musical processor or instrument is in a state of infancy compared to the dynamics involved in instrument discovery associated with primal indigenous cultures. This establishes a mental bridge allowing cross communication to take place between the past and now.

Synthetic sound and digital processing:

The adoption of digital audio workstations, synthesizers and other electronic music production equipment has led to a greater prevalence of digitally-generated sounds. While these tools offer immense flexibility and precision, they can sometimes lack the organic, imperfect character of traditional acoustic instruments. In emphasising sonic perfection, modern production techniques place a heavy emphasis on achieving flawless, pristine recordings. The use of pitch correction, quantisation, and other processing can result in a hyper-polished sound that some listeners perceive as lacking in human feel and emotional authenticity. Pressure to create radio-ready, commercially viable music has led to a tendency towards overproduction, with layers of synthetic textures and effects obscuring the core performance. Additionally, the desire for a cohesive “hit” sound across genres has contributed to a sense of homogenisation in modern popular music.

Declining live performance and musicianship, the music industry has shifted towards digital distribution and consumption. There has been a decline in the prominence of live performance and the development of musical virtuosity. This can contribute to a perception of a lack of human expressiveness and technical mastery in recorded music. The perception of “soulless” or “synthetic” music is often a matter of subjective taste and can be influenced by generational differences in musical preferences and nostalgia for past eras of music production. Younger listeners may be more accustomed to and accepting of modern production techniques due to ignorances. The computer can be used to produce two types of sound: synthetic sound, as discussed above or an editing tool for recorded natural sounds.

The need to create new instruments:

In indigenous cultures, building new instruments has empowering spiritual and sacred implications. Musical sound is created; nature has provided us with a great richness of sound-making possibilities. Yet most musical instruments are not intended to explore those possibilities anew; they are modelled after pre-existing types. The disadvantages of a kind instrument made as a prototype, no one would have developed the skill to play it, giving it a popular identity. It will not be imbued with the cultural richness of older instruments, and no one will know what its expressive capabilities are. If no one knows these potentials, exploring them could be quite adventurous. The most important instrument types created in the latter part of the twentieth century were electronic instruments, synthesisers, and computer music systems which changed music playing; the majority of electronic instruments are manufactured with a piano-style keyboard as a control system for musical sound, which is one of the infinite number of options. Re-tunable synthesisers can tune outside the 12-note (European) scale; they can be programmed to whatever scale the composer desires. New instrument builders and musicians who need to work with acoustic instruments prepare them by applying minor changes to the existing instrument to attain desired new tunings and extended playing techniques.

DIY building musical instruments from junk and recycled materials:

DIY musicians have the advantages of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, self-paced learning, independence, personalised repertoire and no-pressure. They are disadvantaged when it comes to a lack of guidance, limited feedback, limited resources, motivational challenges, challenging self-motivation, social collaborative opportunities and plateaux of frustration. Some individuals thrive as self-taught musicians, while others benefit from the structured guidance and support provided by music instructors. Ultimately, the choice should be based on your preferences and the resources available to you as you embark on your musical journey.

Education levels and applications:

From ages 3 – 5, the development of sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and rhythm allows kids to explore and create simple shakers, plastic, tin can percussion, and rubber band guitars. It encourages creativity and understanding of basic sounds. In primary elementary school ages 6 – 12, understanding of pitch, volume, and introductory science of sound (acoustics), exploration of flutes, tissue box guitars, plastic bottle maracas, and cardboard tube horns. This integration supports science (vibrations) and music (rhythm and composition). In junior high & secondary school ages 7 – 13+, the curriculum should focus on advanced acoustics, engineering, and complex composition, exploring PVC pipe slap-o-phones (thongophones), complex stringed instruments, scrap metal, and electronically enhanced instruments, formation of student bands to compose original pieces using their creations. Adult education community cohesion needs sustainability, and low-cost musical training, e.g. the building of larger percussion ensembles, such as creating instruments for marching bands or community drumming circles, as materials are readily available in the environment, development of recycling and environmental responsibility is continuous. STEM Integration (hard skills – technical abilities, coding, critical thinking, using lab equipment, advanced mathematics, analysis, development of research skills in understanding complex systems, design and development thinking an iterative process of identifying and creating prototypes for problem solving, and low skills – foundational abilities, curiosity, teamwork collaboration coordinates inquisitiveness, adaptability and cognitive flexibility) directly teaches principles of sound vibration and engineering with inclusivity enables all children to participate, regardless of financial background. Creativity and innovation develop new methods and products to improve existing systems. Technical digital literacy aids for programming tasks and data management. Music education should inspire exploration and expression related to students’ everyday lives as well as other academic disciplines and fields. The skills are crucial for adapting to the 21st-century workplace, which is heavily impacted by automation. Making and playing homemade instruments supports creative and comprehensive education, multiple components of sustainability and core standards of music education. The affordability of making instruments from junk or garbage is innovative and reduces pollution. The objectives following DIY instrument creation and performance: Alters the performer’s control (mastery) over the instrument, striving to bring fertile interaction. Breaking the line between performer and audience, musician and non-musician.

In Africa, it is important to create an educational platform in schools to equip pupils with twenty-first-century skills by incorporating science and technology as an approach to teaching and learning through inquiry design-based learning, similar to how scientists and designers approach problems.

Pupils with artistic and cultural aspects of their living environment learn to express themselves through a variety of disciplines, such as music, dance, theatre, and visual arts. Design-based learning involves: exploring, addressing, solving problems, elaborating on and selecting ideas, creating a prototype, testing, optimising, presenting, finally testing and evaluating the design. Affordability: editing programs, recording equipment, instrument build and repair, is the key factor in drawing people’s interest, especially in mid to low income groups, developing an interest of necessity to learn by accessing computer technology. Older computer hardware is often better built and more durable, and low-end laptops make them reliable for audio processing. Desktops offer the flexibility to upgrade components like RAM or swap to a Solid-State Drive (SSD) for faster performance, refurbishment reduces electronic waste, promoting a circular economy. Peripherals from audio interfaces and entry level studio and homemade microphones, older operating Windows programs, free and affordable software, smaller hard drives, memory and CPU’s. The disadvantage of low budget and affordable equipment is acquiring limited equipment capabilities, but this allows for an increase in creative innovation and artistic skills, as pressure is applied on the artist to come up with satisfying solutions, as musical practices imply an emphasis on creativity and exploration. Open-ended interaction allows emerging affordances to occur and an explorative approach to learning. Focusing on alterations of musical instruments which change the spatial layout, the sound-producing system must be seen as one piece of a wider creative ecology. Practising on another instrument may impact the perception of one’s own instrument; the same potential exists in learning music theory, through which conceptual knowledge may be transferred to spatial networks. Learning other music traditions can reveal habitual ways of interacting with the instrument. Such direct attention to aspects of musicianship was not available for reflection being the first step towards change. The objective of the Music in Africa Foundation’s instrument-building and repair project is to encourage the formalisation and professionalisation of instrument-making and repair in Africa, in relation to indigenous African instruments. This project has enabled the Foundation to train young people to make instruments, providing online tutorials to a wider audience across the continent. The programme also includes performances and public dialogues around African instruments. The Instrument Building and Repair project is funded by the International 2020 relief fund for organisations in culture and education, an initiative of the German Foreign Ministry and Goethe-Institut in cooperation with Siemens Stiftung and numerous other partners.

………….News: originating from other African and South American countries:………..

Automation and instrument mechanisation:

Robotic Instruments are engineered using several core technological approaches – Actuation: DC vibration motors, solenoids, and stepper motors are used to strike, pluck, or bow strings and percussion instruments. Control Systems: Many robots are controlled via MIDI data, allowing computers to send precise commands to the mechanics to produce sound. Feedback Loops: Advanced robots use closed-loop systems—where sensors analyse the sound produced—to adjust the mechanics for improved pitch and performance quality. Robotic applications created the Tremolo-harp: a 12-string instrument creating mechatronic tremolo effects. RoboTrombo: a robotic trombone utilising pneumatic cylinders and stepper motors for moving the slide, managed by MIDI commands. Prosthetic Drummers: Robotic drumsticks attached to human amputees, or as a “third arm,” that can enhance a drummer’s performance using muscle sensors. Calculator Music: Small-scale, humorous robots such as “A-HOGE” utilise robotic arms to press calculator keys, producing melodies. Shimon (Improvisational Robot): Developed at Georgia Tech, Shimon is a robotic marimba player that uses artificial intelligence and creative algorithms to improvise and interact with human musicians. The primary drive behind musical robotics is the ability to explore new musical possibilities and to investigate human-robot interaction in performance settings.

Maxime Rioux (Maxime De la Rochefoucauld), a Canadian innovator and composer who performed at UNYAZI 2005 in Johannesburg, displayed a whole orchestral installation of automated objects. African and Western acoustic instruments in systematic interaction with each other in a sort of mise en scene with the sound’s vibration. Performance of robotic instruments sound-making devices that automatically create music with the use of mechanical parts, such as motors, solenoids and gears, his Ki-system transforms inaudible low-frequencies into an acoustic phenomenon.

Innovators in academic entertainment and art circles design musical robots using algorithms, building interfaces for musical expression sensors and microcontrollers to create MIDI output devices. Building musical robots requires skills and acoustic knowledge, electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, and machining, as used in the Computer Music Society. In the process of energy conservation, an instrument collection of various kinetic sounding devices designed to play in various outdoor environments powered by solar energy. Made from bamboo, plywood, tinplate, aluminium, machines rotate suspended on pendulums of different sizes, shapes and materials elicit timbres from sound components. Various groupings of sound continuity and sporadic sounds are needed. Emulating a sound world of the environment categorises sounds of the sea, cicada song, traffic hum, against bird calls, the sound the artifiscially creative sounds help to fuse and intermingle with the enviromental sound.

Pioneers in the avant-garde, toy pop, and homemade instrument mechanisation share an aesthetic that repurposes toys, Meccano erector sets, and recycled household motors into self-playing, kinetic musical automatons.

Pierre Bastien, a French composer and musician, is best known for his Mecanium orchestra. He constructs delicate, Heath-Robinson-style automatons using Meccano construction toys and repurposed motors from old record players. Machines use an intricate system of gears, rubber bands, and pulleys to bow violins, strike Indonesian, African drums, and pluck traditional instruments like the kora.

Frank Pahl, an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and instrument builder, crafts custom music machines using salvaged junk, toy pop, and tinker toys. His whimsical automatons utilise rotisserie grill motors, cams, and bell chimes, often activated by simple light switches and foot pedals.

Pascal Comelade, a French-Catalan musician, is recognised for his iconic “toy orchestra” he relies heavily on “prepared” toy instruments (particularly toy pianos), blends toy instrumentation with singing saws, found objects, and repetitious, minimalist loops to create a melancholic, festive take on traditional Mediterranean and rock-and-roll music. Musician and writer

Christophe Petchanatz, [of Klimperei], has created a sprawling catalogue of quirky avant-pop. African musicians and composers who work in these realms work in sound art, kinetic sculpture, and experimental instrument design. They repurpose everyday mechanical debris and discarded objects to create new sonic expressions.

Victor Gama, an Angolese composer and electronic engineer, designs and builds entirely new kinetic instruments. His sculptural pieces, such as the Toha and Acrux, feature crafted mechanics, strings, and resonating chambers, blending indigenous Angolan acoustic traditions with cutting-edge digital fabrication.

Francis Bebey, a Cameroonian in African electronic music, was focused on the sanza (thumb piano). In the 70s and 80s, his work incorporated drum machines, synthesisers, and mechanical-feeling electronic sequences layered with traditional acoustic instruments.

Jenna Burchell, a South African sound artist, focuses on interactive installations (Songsmith series), collections of found “junk” objects, rocks, and embedded electromechanical parts, and turns discarded natural and industrial materials into living, sculptural instruments that react to human touch and geographical memory.

Each sonic environment differs in the way sound is perceived and understood. The first indigenous inhabitants created instruments from the world around them, generating music to accompany their vocal expressions, ceremonial rituals and storytelling. Emphasis on the cognitive environment becoming more tactile whilst seeking to find answers. Our first priority is to engage with our biological environment to find answers and solutions; then to incorporate artificial technologies.