The Driftless Area Long Tone Society (DALTS) is not a cult, despite the silly name. It’s just an open collective of people who make long tones sometimes! Last year, our first year, we gathered on Latsch Island to play pitch pipes together, with a little computer tambura drone. This was the “score”:
We’re hosting another small event on Latsch Island this fall (September 13th!) and this year the theme is wind.
I’m learning how to make aeolian harps this summer so we have enough for any folks who’d like to join in on the Latsch beach when we gather and make a (probably quiet) windy racket together.
An aeolian harp can be many things, but the basic idea is to tension a string (fishing line, etc) between two points, and put it near some kind of box or tin can or flower pot or any kind of resonator to help amplify the sound. When the wind travels across the string, it activates it at many different harmonic nodes and makes a pretty delightful sound.
This is an open call for anyone else who’d like to join in and make a harp! We’ll gather in September to bring our harps together and let them be excited by the wind. You’re also welcome to just show up and use one of the ones I’m building this summer.
We’ll be joined by a St Paul area composers collective who will be accompanying us in some as-yet-to-be-determined way.
Uli Wahl has a really amazing site about building your own harp with lots of cool ideas I’m hoping to try out over the summer – including this incredibly wild sonic kite design: Tones on the Kite Line. Drachen Leinen Töne.
Check out https://www.windmusik.com/ for a lot more ideas.
Hope you can join us!