INSTRUMENTS INVENTED BY FRANK PERRY

 

 

All of these instruments are created using the PAISTE bell metal and were invented during 1979 - 1980.

 

    PETALUMINE. 

            The very first invention of mine was the Petalumine. This occurred during 1979 whilst visiting friends in Switzerland as a period of convalescence for our first son. I had been made an endorsee of PAISTE in 1973 and other endorsees had informed me that were I to visit their factory in Switzerland that I'd be offered a 'sound disc'. So we made the trip to Nottwil from Meilen and whilst there I was shown a set of five very large 'sound discs' that were considered to be failures. Now abandoned, they were originally intended as the 'black-notes' in the octave below middle C. This was because 'sound discs' are tuned, however these could no longer be said to produce one tone - they were too rich in harmonics and dominant sub-tones. Also they made an unattractive 'clunking' sound when struck with the stick that PAISTE provided for their usual two octave range of Tuned Sound Discs. 

 

            Whilst I stood there in the PAISTE factory, as the first one of these rejected larger tuned discs was being struck, I was suddenly inspired by the thought 'What if I maintained the circumference but reduced the mass in a harmonious way?' I immediately received a vision of a sound disc cut into petals - like a flower. PAISTE very kindly gave me this pile of rejected and dusty discs and the following day I set about creating my first Petalumine in m our friend's workshop. It took around 8 hours using a hack-saw and file. I then suspended the petal-disc by string and struck it with a hammer handle. If the disc was held level with the ear then very strong beats could be heard. Later, upon our return to London, I successfully experimented with resonating tubes to amplify these beats.  However, these obscured access to my other instruments until I was inspired to use my CONA coffee percolator funnels - which I had previously used as a set of glass bells. These worked very well, giving an added brilliance to the sound by virtue of the hard surface of the glass. I called them Petalumines because of the link with flowers (the 'petals' around the circumference) but also in honour of Harry Partch who invented and built a wonderful collection of musical instruments and stored them for some time at Gate 5 Petaluma. The name breaks down into the words petal and illumine. The word illumine arises because of the wonderfully vibrant world of harmonics given off by them. The largest one at 16" diameter rings on for 5 minutes after one strike. These can be heard alone on the NEW ATLANTIS CD (Celestial harmonies) or on the final track of BELOVODYE Volume 1 (currently deleted on the now defunct ISIS label - but hopefully to be re-issued later this year on MBM) otherwise they appear alongside my other instruments in numerous pieces of my music. They are created utilising the science of numerology as applied to the planets. Taking the diameter of the original disc I would translate this figure into a number that then resonated with a particular planetary ray. I would then choose the number of petals according to which combination of two planetary rays I wished to unite. For example, a 16" diameter disc with 12 petals would link Jupiter with Neptune - which two planets rule Pisces.

 

        Please click HERE if you'd like to listen to a sample of the Petalumines.

 

 

SPIROTAPETAL

            This is a variant on the Petalumine created in 1980. I had the idea to rotate the Petalumine over a resonator thereby producing an interesting effect. Furthermore, I had inscribed a spiral onto the Petalumine and then cut the several petals to their lengths along this spiral. For instance, this created seven different pitches in a seven-petalled disc - somewhat similar to the several 'tongues' on a slit drum. As it rotated over an amplifying resonator so something akin to an arpeggio would be heard. Only a prototype has been made so far and more work needs to be carried out regarding the maximum length of cut in towards the centre before the duration of the sound is drastically reduced.

 

 

UFOM

            

Ufom's were actually created from the off-cuts of the Petalumines - again created in 1980. Never one to waste things, I had not wanted to waste such precious metal. I had the thought to make small triangular-shaped instruments with the angles of the triangle being derived from astrological angles e.g. 72 degrees (one fifth - or a 'Quintile' aspect in astrology), 108 degrees (three-tenths or 'Tridecile'), 135 degrees ('Sesquiquadrate'), 90 and 120 degrees. I then put a small radius along the base of the triangle which was derived from a significant number such as 4 or 5. That is to say that the height of the triangle was one quarter or one fifth of the radius. These instruments are very lively, with a clean piercing tone and when played in various combinations together they produce  extremely remarkable heterodyning effects.

 

Please click HERE if you'd like to listen

 

 

TRIANGUHERMEEZEE

            The names of the following three inventions are derived from that of the Burmese meditation gongs called Kyezee. This is because they share a certain similarity in their overall solid triangular shape. However, they all carry the prefix HERM and this has arisen from an attempt at uniting 'her' and 'him' demonstrating a unity of feminine and masculine principles being representative of the view of many ancient cultures of the Great Spirit being both Father and Mother. 

            Here, the triangular shape predominates with the instrument actually being a solid triangle with a 90 degree arc and suspended from its topmost point. These carry a quality of stillness combined with a radiant warmth and a long sustain. They can be spun but I prefer the still sound - whilst a certain amount of movement cannot be avoided.

 

 

PYROTAHERMEEZEE

            

Again stemming from 1980, something of a variant on the above, these are intended to rotate thereby producing something of a 'Lesley' effect. However, they vary in design  considerably from the above inasmuch as they have a curved lower edge whilst, in addition, the angular arcs are derived from regular polygons e.g. one Seventh of a circle, one Eleventh, and one Quarter or divisions by 7, 11, and 4. The radius of the base is then derived from its numerological significance as a division along the central axis e.g. three fifths with the diameter of the circle being adjusted to incorporate all three positions - the two outer angles and the lowest point of the curved base. As might be expected, these produce a far more complex harmonic spectrum than the Trianguhermeezees.

 

 

 

PYRAHERMEEZEE

        Again, created in 1980, the name is comprised of Pyra (fire), herm (him and her), and eezee (taken from Kyezee - a Burmese meditation gong shaped like a flattened hat). The basic shape somewhat resembles that of a Kyezee, being essentially another form of triangle. These too began life as four same-sized off-cuts from my Pyrotahermeezees. These are similar to the Pyrotahermeezees except for several particulars; they are smaller, they do not rotate, and their lower curves are far less pronounced. They combine certain design ideas from the Ufoms and the Pyrotahermeezees. These produce a far more lively harmonic structure than the Trianguhermeezees. This surprised me very much because there is only the slightest difference in the base line and very little material has been removed and yet the sound is strikingly different and a much larger musical interval than I would have predicted. I made four but gave two away - one to Alex Cline in Los Angeles California and another to Alain Presencer.

 

 

(C) Copyright by Frank Perry 1979. All rights reserved. Revised 1999.

© Frank Perry, 1979. All of these articles are copyright. They may individually be copied and shared with others in a spirit of knowledge-sharing and fair play, but they may not be sold, printed or reproduced in quantity or changed in form without the permission of the copyright holder. None of this material may be reproduced in workshops or lectures of any kind unless quotes are credited or properly attributed.  

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