365 HOWLS #33: Reintroducing The Howler
4-16-2013
bret harold hart
gear:
The Howler (home-made, electronic 1-stringed percussion instrument)
2 mallets
Digitech RP155 20s looper
Tascam recording platform
I built The Howler 30 years ago when I lived in South Korea. I don't care about appearances of things, so was able to throw this noisy badboy together in an afternoon from available parts and a $6, flat, plastic pickup (I believe it's a piezo) with the word 'FENDER' written on it that I found in a cool music store in Osan. While living over there for four years and knowing some of the language, I was able to come away with a brain-full of fascinating viewpoints toward art, music, and things that really matter that I just simply could not have gotten any other way.
The Howler is one of several instruments, not the first, that I made after hearing masters playing the koto and kayagum (they are roughly analogous instruments) in Japan and at Min-Sok-Chon (the national 'folk village' museum) in Korea. The instruments are microtonal, played by bending toward or away from desired tones by applying/releasing pressure on a string with the left hand, to the left of a central tall bridge, while percussing/plucking/frailing the string on the right side of the bridge. (At least that's how I do it.) The Howler has one bass string (salvaged from a piano) with a bass tuner mounted in a 2"x2"x27" block of hardwood and can be plugged-into an amp or mixer.
It has been played on many records over the years, as well as live with Automatic Music and the F-Art Ensemble. Still works! We've grown up together as improvisors.