Prototype 4 and Experiment #3 of my research into the possibilities of resonance in steel materials through various forms of induction. The piece is installed as part of an exhibition open to visitor interaction from Nov 7-10 2025 as part of Modulus Festival and is being researched for a larger showing at Two Rivers Gallery in February 2026.
Materials: Steel sheet metal, steel plate, aluminum square tube, springs, piano wire
Sheet Metal Experiments Log Book
Sheet Metal Experiment I: Shaping Metal
A prototype exploring structural shapes and forms that could be remapped as stable instruments in larger formats.
Sheet Metal Experiment II: Suspended vs. Mounted Sheet Metal
A prototype that could switch between a metal sheet that was fully mounted to the frame vs. a metal sheet that was suspended by small wires. I also tested using a metal bridge connecting the string from the bridge to the sheet metal for the mounted sheet metal version.
noting that this is the band KRAFTWERK i’m playing the background of the video, not the sound of the instrument!
Sheet Metal Experiment III: Inducing Resonant Possibilities of Metal
The third experiment explores the following:
- resonant properties of metal when a string attached to a frame is bowed, plucked, or tapped/drummed
- resonant properties of metal when a string is strung directly through the sheet of metal
- various positions of springs to explore reverberation
- early failed attempts at creating totally analog delay, but progress was made
- resonant properties of metal when the metal is bowed followed by immediately bowing the strings to see how the sounds interact in the concave sound chamber
- how different shaping choices for the sheet metal shifted the sounds produced
Steel plate: new
Aluminum square tune: scrap
Steel plate 2: scrap
Sheet metal 1: scrap
Sheet metal 2: new