The Instrument EP is an acoustic instrument grown on the seven-inch “Extended Play” record format with additive manufacturing (3D Printing).  It is orthogonal to a record literally and conceptually.  Literally, its grooves are orthogonal to the grooves on a record.  Conceptually, it is orthogonal to the record because it is not a record of sound.  Rather, it is an instrument for making new music acoustically.  

To play the Instrument EP you simply place the disc on a turntable and spin it.  33 or 45 rpm work.  When it’s spinning, you touch one or many of the six circular rings with a rigid object.  These six rings are tuned to six notes of the pentatonic scale, together making one full octave.  You do not use the turntable needle.  You are creating acoustic sound: touching these rings creates vibration which is acoustically transmitted to the air.  Music!

The Instrument EP was designed and modeled in a computer and created with additive manufacturing (3D Printing).  The computer design is parametric allowing rapid retuning of the scale by simply entering new pitch values or pitch ratios.  A new and different scaled Instrument EP can then be printed and played.  The design is only limited by the additive manufacturing techniques, materials, and imagination.

The hope is that it will give new life to the “Extended Play” format.

Take a listen to the very first test of this idea.  It is being played with a metal bike component.  Listen for one octave of the pentatonic scale.