Jump to content

Daxophone: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tags: Reverted Visual edit
 
(43 intermediate revisions by 17 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Experimental musical instrument}}
{{Distinguish|Saxophone}}
{{Distinguish|Saxophone}}
{{Infobox Instrument
{{Infobox Instrument
Line 24: Line 25:


== History ==
== History ==
The first usage of the daxophone in a musical work was the release of Hans Reichel's album ''The Dawn of Dachsman'' in 1987.<ref name="efi">{{Cite web|url=http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/photos/idax.html|title=Daxophone|website=Efi.group.shef.ac.uk|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref> Even with Hans Reichel's second album featuring the daxophone, ''Shanghaied on Tor Road: The World's 1st Operetta Performed on Nothing but the Daxophone'', the instrument had remained very obscure. It was not until after his release of ''Yuxo: A New Daxophone Operetta'' that the daxophone began to gain notability through the internet, spawning [[YouTube]] videos and inspiring other artists such as [[Michael Hearst]] to create their own albums featuring the daxophone. Even today, the daxophone remains fairly obscure, and as such it has not been mass-produced, requiring any aspiring daxophonists to build their own.<ref name="dfiction">{{Cite web|url=http://dfiction.com/daxophone/|title=Daxophone|website=Dfiction.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref> Luthier [[Yuri Landman]] has designed a simple-to-build daxophone for DIY workshops he regularly gives throughout Europe on academies, art spaces and festivals where participants build their own rudimentary version.
The first usage of the daxophone in a musical work was the release of Hans Reichel's album ''The Dawn of Dachsman'' in 1987.<ref name="efi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/photos/idax.html |title=Daxophone |website=[[University of Sheffield]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507160248/http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/photos/idax.html |archive-date=7 May 2021}}</ref>


== Construction ==
== Construction ==
The daxophone consists of a wooden piece called a tongue, approximately 330&nbsp;mm in length, 30&nbsp;mm in width, and 5&nbsp;mm in height, and fixed to a wooden block (often attached to a tripod, but also clamped to a table top), which holds one or more [[contact microphone]]s.<ref name="efi"/> This wooden block has a cavity which is carved with a [[chisel]] for the insertion of two contact microphones, and a [[snakewood]] soundboard laid on top with the contact microphones glued to it. A wide range of voice-like [[timbre]]s can be produced, depending on the shape of the tongue and the type of wood. The tongue shape is made with a [[bandsaw]] or [[jigsaw (power tool)|jigsaw]]. Denser woods such as [[ebony]] and [[oak]] produce a mellower sound than light woods. These sounds are notable for their comical, often human sounds.<ref name="oddmusic">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om08800.html|title=Daxophone,experimental musical instrument invented by Hans Reichel,bowed and plucked idiophone|website=Oddmusic.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>
The daxophone consists of a wooden piece called a tongue, approximately 330&nbsp;mm in length, 30&nbsp;mm in width, and 5&nbsp;mm in height, and fixed to a wooden block (often attached to a tripod, but also clamped to a table top), which holds one or more [[contact microphone]]s.<ref name="efi"/> This wooden block has a cavity which is carved with a [[chisel]] for the insertion of two contact microphones, and a [[snakewood]] soundboard laid on top with the contact microphones glued to it. A wide range of voice-like [[timbre]]s can be produced, depending on the shape of the tongue and the type of wood. The tongue shape is made with a coping saw, a scroll saw, or [[bandsaw]]. Denser woods such as [[ebony]] and [[oak]] produce a mellower sound than light woods. These sounds are notable for their comical, often human sounds.<ref name="oddmusic">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om08800.html|title=Daxophone,experimental musical instrument invented by Hans Reichel,bowed and plucked idiophone|website=Oddmusic.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>


Another vital part is the ''dax'', sanded into a curved shape approximately 150&nbsp;mm long and 50&nbsp;mm tall, with a custom width tailored to the player's hands, and curved on both sides to allow for frictionless pitch changing.<ref name="efi"/> One side of the dax is fretted according to a random logarithmic succession, while the other is left unfretted and covered with a sheet of cardboard for a mellower sound and to preserve the surface. Two large fingerholes are drilled through the sides.
Another vital part is the ''dax'', sanded into a curved shape approximately 150&nbsp;mm long and 50&nbsp;mm tall, with a custom width tailored to the player's hands, and curved on both sides to allow for frictionless pitch changing.<ref name="efi"/> One side of the dax is fretted according to a random logarithmic succession, while the other is left unfretted and covered with a sheet of cardboard for a mellower sound and to preserve the surface. Two large fingerholes are drilled through the sides.


Reichel has documented the construction of the instrument in a way that a skilled woodworker could build his own. Plans are downloadable from [http://www.daxo.de his website], with a collection of proven shapes for the tongue delivered in the file format of a font, thus playing on Reichel's other profession as a typeface designer.
Reichel has documented the construction of the instrument in a way that a skilled woodworker could build their own. Plans are downloadable from [http://www.daxo.de his website], with a collection of proven shapes for the tongue delivered in the file format of a font, thus playing on Reichel's other profession as a typeface designer.


<gallery widths=250px>
<gallery widths=250px>
Line 41: Line 42:
Normally, the daxophone is played by bowing the free end with a bow, most commonly a [[double bass]] bow, but it can also be struck or plucked, which propagates sound in the same way a ruler halfway off a table does.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://oddstrument.com/2008/09/15/what-instrument-would-dr-seuss-play-a-daxophone-perhaps/ |title=The Daxophone, An Odd Instrument by Hans Reichel |access-date=2009-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819081955/http://oddstrument.com/2008/09/15/what-instrument-would-dr-seuss-play-a-daxophone-perhaps/ |archive-date=2009-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Vibrations then continue to the wooden-block base, which in turn is amplified by the contact microphone(s) therein. The timbre is adjusted by where it is bowed, and where along its length it is stopped with the ''dax''. One side of the dax is fretted according to a randomly chosen logarithmic succession.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daxo.de/download/DaxInfo.pdf.zip |title=Some information on the daxophone|author=Hans Reichel|quotation=19 MB|website=Daxo.de}}</ref> The frequency interval between each fret in the succession will change due to the difference in pitch range between tongues, which is why the unfretted side is more frequently used for playing tonally in known compositions.
Normally, the daxophone is played by bowing the free end with a bow, most commonly a [[double bass]] bow, but it can also be struck or plucked, which propagates sound in the same way a ruler halfway off a table does.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://oddstrument.com/2008/09/15/what-instrument-would-dr-seuss-play-a-daxophone-perhaps/ |title=The Daxophone, An Odd Instrument by Hans Reichel |access-date=2009-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819081955/http://oddstrument.com/2008/09/15/what-instrument-would-dr-seuss-play-a-daxophone-perhaps/ |archive-date=2009-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Vibrations then continue to the wooden-block base, which in turn is amplified by the contact microphone(s) therein. The timbre is adjusted by where it is bowed, and where along its length it is stopped with the ''dax''. One side of the dax is fretted according to a randomly chosen logarithmic succession.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daxo.de/download/DaxInfo.pdf.zip |title=Some information on the daxophone|author=Hans Reichel|quotation=19 MB|website=Daxo.de}}</ref> The frequency interval between each fret in the succession will change due to the difference in pitch range between tongues, which is why the unfretted side is more frequently used for playing tonally in known compositions.


==In popular culture==
⚫
== List of known daxophonists and discography ==
The 2022 horror film ''[[Smile (2022 film)|Smile]]'' features the daxophone as the lead instrument in its music score.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/smile-horror-score-music-composer-1235404446/ |title=Scoring ''Smile'', Sans Strings or Synths: How the Composer Made a Horror Hit Even Creepier With an Unusual Instrument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629224856/https://variety.com/2022/music/news/smile-horror-score-music-composer-1235404446/ |archive-date=29 June 2023}}</ref>
*[[Kriton Beyer]], aka [[kriton b.]]

** Nuc Box Hums (2017, Creative Sources Recordings – CS 408 CD)
The 2024 supernatural mystery film [[The Watchers (film)|''The Watchers'']], directed by [[Ishana Night Shyamalan|Ishana Night Shymalan]] and scored by [[Abel Korzeniowski]], features daxophone on nearly every track of the score. It is the first time sections of daxophones have been used as an orchestral texture. The daxophones made for this film score were built by luthier John C.L. Jansen, and feature a new type of extended contrabass tongue, developed and built by the request of the composer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-25 |title=THE WATCHERS – Abel Korzeniowski |url=https://moviemusicuk.us/2024/06/25/the-watchers-abel-korzeniowski/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=MOVIE MUSIC UK |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Samuel Burt]]

⚫
== List of daxophonists and discography ==
<!-- Only add entries if the artist is notable enough to have a Wikipedia article, or the album/artist is referenced by an independent, non-self-published source (no Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube) -->

*[[Daniel Fishkin]]
*[[Daniel Fishkin]]
**You're A Strong One
**You're A Strong One
**[https://triptickstapes.bandcamp.com/album/dark-listening Dark Listening]
*[[Michael Hearst]] (born 1972)
*[[Michael Hearst]] (born 1972)
**Michael Hearst Songs For Unusual Creatures (2012) (Urban Geek Records)
**Michael Hearst Songs For Unusual Creatures (2012) (Urban Geek Records)
⚫
*[[Hans Reichel]] (1949–2011)
*[http://richardvanhoesel.com/daxophone/ Richard van Hoesel (also makes and sells custom daxophones)]
⚫
*[[Hans Reichel]] (1949-2011)
**The Dawn of Dachsman (1987, FMP)
**The Dawn of Dachsman (1987, FMP)
**Shanghaied on Tor Road: The World's 1st Operetta Performed on Nothing but the Daxophone (1992, FMP CD 46)
**Shanghaied on Tor Road: The World's 1st Operetta Performed on Nothing but the Daxophone (1992, FMP CD 46)
**Lower Lurum (1993/1994, Rastascan BRD 016)
**Lower Lurum (1993/1994, Rastascan BRD 016)
**Yuxo: A New Daxophone Operetta (2002, A/L/L 003)
**Yuxo: A New Daxophone Operetta (2002, A/L/L 003)
*[[John C.L. Jansen]]
**Music for Amplified Wood and Strings
*[[Robert Schwimmer]]
*[[Mark Stewart (guitarist)|Mark Stewart]]
*[[Mark Stewart (guitarist)|Mark Stewart]]
*[[Kazuhisa Uchihashi]]
*[[Kazuhisa Uchihashi]]
**King Pawns: Live in Berlin 2006 (with Hans Reichel)
**King Pawns: Live in Berlin 2006 (with Hans Reichel, Innocentrecords ZEN-006)
**Talking Daxophone (2018, Daxophone solo series, Innocentrecords icr-23)
*[[Rei de Vries]] (born 1998)
**Singing Daxophone (2021, Daxophone solo series 2, Innocentrecords icr-25)
**Debut (Sound Lounge) (On Three D Radio, with Cellist Vladimir Dale)
*[[Oneohtrix Point Never]] (real name Daniel Lopatin)
*[[Oneohtrix Point Never]] (real name Daniel Lopatin)
** Black Snow from Age Of (2018, Warp Records via Inertia Music) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stoneyroads.com/2018/05/oneohtrix-point-never-releases-self-directed-video-for-black-snow/|title=Oneohtrix Point Never releases self-directed video for ‘Black Snow’|website=Stoneyroads.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>
** Black Snow from Age Of (2018, Warp Records via Inertia Music) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stoneyroads.com/2018/05/oneohtrix-point-never-releases-self-directed-video-for-black-snow/|title=Oneohtrix Point Never releases self-directed video for 'Black Snow'|website=Stoneyroads.com|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>
*[bugs cry what(吉本裕美子Yumiko Yoshimoto + 狩俣道夫Michio Karimata ) jigen production2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jigen-p.net/catalog/catalog-1879|title=bugs cry what　(吉本裕美子 + 狩俣道夫) &#124; 時弦プロダクション|website=Jigen-p.net|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 75: Line 76:
== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}

*

*[http://www.fmp-label.de/freemusicproduction/musiker/reichel.html Hans Reichel's FMP releases]
*[http://www.fmp-label.de/freemusicproduction/musiker/reichel.html Hans Reichel's FMP releases]
*[http://dfiction.com/blog/2014/08/building-a-daxophone-with-hans-reichel-2007/ Reichel's step-by-step construction of a daxophone]
*[http://dfiction.com/blog/2014/08/building-a-daxophone-with-hans-reichel-2007/ Reichel's step-by-step construction of a daxophone]
*{{YouTube|F0IZxu3OJt8|Daxophone demonstration by Mark Stewart}}
*{{YouTube|F0IZxu3OJt8|Daxophone demonstration by Mark Stewart}}
*[https://archive.org/details/dandelionfiction-youreastrongone Album by American daxophonist Daniel Fishkin, featuring some live-looped daxophone recordings]
*[[iarchive:dandelionfiction-youreastrongone|Album by American daxophonist Daniel Fishkin, featuring some live-looped daxophone recordings]]
*[https://vimeo.com/371052427 video showcasing the process of building daxophones by Daniel Fishkin]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XkqyKt0DyY The Daxophone - An Acoustic Synthesizer - Audio demonstration by Richard van Hoesel]


{{Experimental musical instruments}}
{{Experimental musical instruments}}

Latest revision as of 03:09, 15 August 2024

Not to be confused with Saxophone.
Daxophone
Kazuhisa Uchihashi playing the daxophone at Deutsches Jazzfestival 2015
Classification Idiophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification132.1
(Friction idiophone with individual plaque (electric))
Inventor(s)Hans Reichel
Developed1980s
TimbreAnimal-like, vocal
Related instruments
Musicians
  • Daxophonists

The daxophone, invented by Hans Reichel, is an electric wooden experimental musical instrument of the friction idiophones category.

Etymology

[edit]

The dax in daxophone is derived from the German word Dachs, meaning "badger" and referencing the many animal sounds that the daxophone is capable of generating, changed to dax so that the instrument name echoes Adolphe Sax's saxophone.[1]

History

[edit]

The first usage of the daxophone in a musical work was the release of Hans Reichel's album The Dawn of Dachsman in 1987.[1]

Construction

[edit]

The daxophone consists of a wooden piece called a tongue, approximately 330 mm in length, 30 mm in width, and 5 mm in height, and fixed to a wooden block (often attached to a tripod, but also clamped to a table top), which holds one or more contact microphones.[1] This wooden block has a cavity which is carved with a chisel for the insertion of two contact microphones, and a snakewood soundboard laid on top with the contact microphones glued to it. A wide range of voice-like timbres can be produced, depending on the shape of the tongue and the type of wood. The tongue shape is made with a coping saw, a scroll saw, or bandsaw. Denser woods such as ebony and oak produce a mellower sound than light woods. These sounds are notable for their comical, often human sounds.[2]

Another vital part is the dax, sanded into a curved shape approximately 150 mm long and 50 mm tall, with a custom width tailored to the player's hands, and curved on both sides to allow for frictionless pitch changing.[1] One side of the dax is fretted according to a random logarithmic succession, while the other is left unfretted and covered with a sheet of cardboard for a mellower sound and to preserve the surface. Two large fingerholes are drilled through the sides.

Reichel has documented the construction of the instrument in a way that a skilled woodworker could build their own. Plans are downloadable from his website, with a collection of proven shapes for the tongue delivered in the file format of a font, thus playing on Reichel's other profession as a typeface designer.

  • A variety of daxophone tongues
    A variety of daxophone tongues

Usage

[edit]
A daxophone being played by the inventor, Hans Reichel

Normally, the daxophone is played by bowing the free end with a bow, most commonly a double bass bow, but it can also be struck or plucked, which propagates sound in the same way a ruler halfway off a table does.[3] Vibrations then continue to the wooden-block base, which in turn is amplified by the contact microphone(s) therein. The timbre is adjusted by where it is bowed, and where along its length it is stopped with the dax. One side of the dax is fretted according to a randomly chosen logarithmic succession.[4] The frequency interval between each fret in the succession will change due to the difference in pitch range between tongues, which is why the unfretted side is more frequently used for playing tonally in known compositions.

[edit]

The 2022 horror film Smile features the daxophone as the lead instrument in its music score.[5]

The 2024 supernatural mystery film The Watchers, directed by Ishana Night Shymalan and scored by Abel Korzeniowski, features daxophone on nearly every track of the score. It is the first time sections of daxophones have been used as an orchestral texture. The daxophones made for this film score were built by luthier John C.L. Jansen, and feature a new type of extended contrabass tongue, developed and built by the request of the composer.[6]

List of daxophonists and discography

[edit]
  • Daniel Fishkin
  • Michael Hearst (born 1972)
    • Michael Hearst Songs For Unusual Creatures (2012) (Urban Geek Records)
  • Hans Reichel (1949–2011)
    • The Dawn of Dachsman (1987, FMP)
    • Shanghaied on Tor Road: The World's 1st Operetta Performed on Nothing but the Daxophone (1992, FMP CD 46)
    • Lower Lurum (1993/1994, Rastascan BRD 016)
    • Yuxo: A New Daxophone Operetta (2002, A/L/L 003)
  • Mark Stewart
  • Kazuhisa Uchihashi
    • King Pawns: Live in Berlin 2006 (with Hans Reichel, Innocentrecords ZEN-006)
    • Talking Daxophone (2018, Daxophone solo series, Innocentrecords icr-23)
    • Singing Daxophone (2021, Daxophone solo series 2, Innocentrecords icr-25)
  • Oneohtrix Point Never (real name Daniel Lopatin)
    • Black Snow from Age Of (2018, Warp Records via Inertia Music) [7]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Daxophone". University of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Daxophone,experimental musical instrument invented by Hans Reichel,bowed and plucked idiophone". Oddmusic.com. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. ^ "The Daxophone, An Odd Instrument by Hans Reichel". Archived from the original on 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  4. ^ Hans Reichel. "Some information on the daxophone". Daxo.de. 19 MB
  5. ^ "Scoring Smile, Sans Strings or Synths: How the Composer Made a Horror Hit Even Creepier With an Unusual Instrument". Archived from the original on 29 June 2023.
  6. ^ "THE WATCHERS – Abel Korzeniowski". MOVIE MUSIC UK. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. ^ "Oneohtrix Point Never releases self-directed video for 'Black Snow'". Stoneyroads.com. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daxophone.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Daxophone&oldid=1240381582"