Current Assignment(s)Students should be working on the Remote Learning Assignment for the week of May 26 (due Monday, 6/1). Details can be found in Google Classroom. | Updates |
Do you know what today is?
On May 29 put a pillow on your fridge to bring good luck and wealth to your home because it is Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day. The origins of Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day are unknown, but common wisdom is that the holiday gives a modern day twist to the old tradition of putting linens in the pantry to bring luck.
Happy Birthday: SEPTEMBER!
Since the Chorus Bulletin Board didn't officially get going until October, we missed celebrating all of the September birthdays! So in our last official Birthday post of the year, we wish you either a very early or very late Happy Birthday!
Weekly Feature: Unique Instruments 2
Several weeks ago, I featured a new unique instrument every day. Because there are no shortage of interesting instruments in this world, here's part 2!
Wintergatan Marble Machine
The Marble Machine was created in 2014 by the Swedish Band Wintergatan. The group describes their musical style as "folktronica" - a hybrid of folk and electronica. The Marble Machine is essentially a music box that uses marbles to play instruments. The machine is powered by a hand-crank, and works by raising steel marbles through the machine into multiple feeder tubes, where they are then released from height via programmable release gates, falling and striking a musical instrument below. Instruments played by marbles striking them include a vibraphone, bass guitar, cymbal (the folk part), and emulated kick drum, high hat and snare drum sounds using contact microphones (the electronica part). The music score is stored on two programmable wheels that utilize Lego Technic beams and stud connectors to trigger armatures to release the marbles.
In 2016, the band disassembled The Marble Machine and announced their plans to make a new one for the purpose of touring. The new machine, to be called "Marble Machine X", would solve a multitude of mechanical functionality problems with the original Marble Machine. The project is still ongoing (the picture below shows the work in progress), but you can click here to see a playlist featuring videos that document the creation of Marble Machine X, and check out Wintergatan's youtube channel for more.
In 2016, the band disassembled The Marble Machine and announced their plans to make a new one for the purpose of touring. The new machine, to be called "Marble Machine X", would solve a multitude of mechanical functionality problems with the original Marble Machine. The project is still ongoing (the picture below shows the work in progress), but you can click here to see a playlist featuring videos that document the creation of Marble Machine X, and check out Wintergatan's youtube channel for more.
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