The first venture into instrument building, working with parolees to create a instruments out of scrap steel for Ipswich Arts Festival. It was the first step into the headache-inducing world of tuning metal tubes – in this case to something close to the Indonesian slendro scale.
It was also the point at which my ears pricked up, particularly when we started using the larger tubes. Big Mouth, the largest instrument in the set, had a deep sustaining property beyond a mere tubular bell. the sustaining notes seemed to wobble and wave, creating harmonic chords. I thought of Grisey’s Partiels.
Big Mouth is now installed in the play area of Ormiston Children’s Centre in Ipswich, thanks to the generosity of Suffolk Foundation.
