The Folk Music of Chance

Electronics: Circuit-Bending
the Modern Coconut
Qubais Reed Ghazala

T .hey began testing nif in gnidt- school. Special

tests. "W'liat"s-wrung-vvitli-Ret'cl?" tests. To t:ike them I'd be
calleti out ol llie elas> righl in the niifUlle ol lhe day'.s ie-s.son.
I soon modified the amplifier in
numerous ways. Placing the circuit
within a larger housing. I ad<led ro-
ABSTRACT

I he author describes the

philosophy and art of circuit-
Wh\' (UHS Reed look out the window all the lime? And whal bending: shorting out conven-
are those Ihings he draws? Those . . . picun es. Or . . . whatever Fig. 1. Mock-up of firsl instrument, tional electronic devices to
ihey are. Wliai is he drawing? circuil-beni transistorized 9V amplifier, reveal unexpected sound and
I was tested and counseled and eneoniaged and interviewed pressbuard platform, tiail and alligalor- music. Starting from his first
clip patch bay, aluminum foil body foray into chance electronics
and on and on and on throughout my school years. Nonetlie- during his |unior high school
contacts, 2-in speakers un spinnint;
less, 1 have always looked at the world ontsidc the school win- dowel driven by slot-car motor and years, he details both his
dow as my fantastic personal laboratory, a stupendous learnint; accelerator pedal, ends of wooden method of working and the
environment all in itself. And it has always been to its flasks table legs, approx. t2 x IO x 8 in, ca. wealth of instruments that have
and less(»iis that I lia\e lelt mosl welcome, and within them 1966-1967 (a series of modifications resulted.

most fnllilled. occurred over ibis period). (© Qubais

Reed Cbazala) Thi.s instrument pro-
When I was in junior high school I found a rabbil hole in voked an irritable 1960s audience lo
my bedroom, masquerading as my wooden mnltidrawered di.srupt a performance by the autbor
desk. In the main diawer was a magic lamp tliat I knew well, and his band, damaging the instrument
but had not rubbed correctly so as to meet the genie within. and forcing a redesign.
It is rare, as Aladdin niightagree, lo hear the genie before tak-
ing sight of it, hut ihis is how the oracle came to nu—in an
abstract musical apparition.
What happened? Sometime during the psychedelic
19(i(i-1967 "Summer of Love" era, in a rush to find a forgot-
ten item for a lost-in-iime project, I closed my desk drawer and
lhe world clianged. I had fallen down tlie hole and heard the
genie call in o.sc illating waves, luring me inside lhe lamp. Or
was it thf sirens of Ulysses, I might |K)nder now, drawing me
to dangerotis shores?
In my drawer a small battery-powered amplifier's back had
fallen oil', exposing the circtiit. It was shorting ont against
.soiiieihing nielallic, causing the circuit to act as an audio os-
cillator. In fact, the pitch was (ontinuously sweeping npward
to a peak, over and over again.
Opening lhe cliawer I di.scovered the amp, my genie lamp.
I immediately thought: If this can happen by accident, what
can be made to happen purposefully? If this can happen to an
amp. not supposed to make a sound on its own, what mighi
happen if one were to short out circiiiis ihat already make a
sound, snch as keyboards and radios and loysr
I was a penniless teenager. I had heard a few synthesizers on
recordings, bnt 14 years old and fnndless as 1 was. owning one
was not in my near ftitnre. Here, however, in this shoited-out
mini amp, I h;td disco\ered a sound source widiin my means
for expl(.)ring synthesis and experimental nuisic.

iibaU Recfl (ihd/iila (artisi, (omjiost r, in.siiiimeni biiildiT). Box 'iOlHl, Ciiuiiinnti. OH
r<2'20. I .S.A. Kmail: <Rl!a/ala©ii[ili-tlifiii>.(c)ni>.

Frontispiece. Circuit-Bending the Modern Coconut (© Qiibai.s Reed

Chazala)

© Z004 ISAST I . l . O N A R l X ) M I S I C [Ot KNAl.. Vol. I 1, |)|>.')|,-!0-|, L'l


lai \ svviu tuvs lo llic shorl-riiciiil palhs so
IIKII I could 1U11 the new circtiits thnui^li
\,irioiis resi,stor.s, capacitors, diodes, photo
t t'lls and any other electronic coniponeni
1 could (ind. Polcnlioim-ters iind push-
bullons were added. I tiiscovcrcd places
on the circuit that, iftouchcd, wotild tnakc
ilie circuil howl: I then added body con-
lacis. Nol knowing I was builflinij; patch
bays, I built patt h hays, I even adflef! a liny
spinning speaker systetn (Fig. 1).
This instritment could synthesizf all
kinds of inteiesting .sotmds—animals, in-
sects, machinery, wind, tluuider—and
endless abstract, tmrecognizable noises
could he prodticed. Tutning the ioiar\
switch scqitenced these sounds and cre-
ated ihvthms of these unusual voices.
Waving a hand over the photo cell gently
swept tlie pitch and animated tlie sounds.
If lhe body contact-s were loiicbed rim-
ing any oi' ihis, the voices cotild be ]jit{ h-
shifted downward, until no thing bul
clicks weie heaid, or upward uiiiil ihe\
were oul ol' hearing range.
A (bain ol people could "play" ea(h
other's bodies using lhe body conlacls. If
one broke the cliain wiih one's paiinei,
one could close the chain dgAin by hold-
ing hands, stroking an arm or kissing (or
in anyway rfsiiniing ilu- coniaci of tieslil
to play ibe instruineni.
98 Ihc l-nik \lii-.ji ol Chain.- l-.lrc imiiic
Fig. 2. Original circuit
now ri'-fillt'd into pcrnia-
nt'iit hou.sinE^, firciiit-bciit
transistorized 9V ampli-
fier, cedar box, orange
plaid curtain material,
almonds and pecans in
the shell. I/8-in patch
cords, chrome hemi-
spheres for body con-
tacts, various switches
and potentiometers, two
3-in speakers, approx.
1 1 x 5 (closed) X 8 in.
ca. 1968. (© Qubais
Reed Cha/ala) Armored
now against attacks, the
instrument settled into
this linal conligiiration,
surviving to the present
dav.
N o o n e h a d s e e n SIK b a i l i i n g b e f o i e
al my bigh scliool. The box now had a
couple dozen controls and a setolcabtes
for tlie patch bay. Tiiere wete chrome fm-
ger ronlac Is, several dials and spcak<'r
grille clolh ctit trom my orange plaid bed-
room ctirlains.
At this poinl the rircuil was housed
wiibin a small cedar box. Inside the
hinged lid 1 bad glued whole nuts, still in
iheir shells. These nuts, hatd-slielleti al-
monds and pecans, were used to hold ihe
|)alcb cords, as it was always easy to wrap
llie cords, in one way or another, around
lhe nuts to keep them al hand bui otil of
llie way (Fig. 2). "y'fJMmade this?"inyelec-
tronit s teacher stamnieied. (At thai
|)oiiu we were making a tahle lamp out
ofa bowling pin in his class.)
The circuit and I were a spectacle.
Media stereotyping al that time denied
members of tbe "tounteicullnre" mere
consciousness, lei alone acuitv. My in-
slrument and I did not til [his popular
mytb. Again 1 was making my teachers
uncomlbriable. In faci, the circuil and I
were often seen in school as a ihieat.
Trtith be told, at home in my basetiient
lab 1 was learning more about electton-
ics, music and synthesis tban my bigh
school could offer at any grade level. I
leai ned cndles.s valuable lessons a.s this
first insirunient was btiilt and re-bnili
over lho.se earlv years and housed and re-
housed into different enclosures. Fur-
Ihermoie, as I began lu chance-inodity
other sound rirciiiis, I became aware nf
wbat seemed to be a new world of music,
iniiigiting ancl endless, jusl a moment
away.
I was exploring chance electronics.
While simple, the process is explosive in
ils startling audio otil])ut. Fantastic
Fig. 3, TTie act of
circuit-bending,
(© Qubais Reed
Ghazala) Here a Texas
Instruments Speak &
Spell is being explored
with a short length of
wire. Any interesting
sounds found in this
way will be charted
directly on the circuit
board hy niarking
where the wire's ends
were when the sound
was produced.
 st au hed in ibis \\;\\ ;uKi ibe .se.trdier is iidore a good.svstem oi module. 1 dol Nor
iioi \el conteni witb lhe lound SOUIKIS, am I uniiispiivd witb ibe resnits of lhe
sl.irl all o\ei again, bul uiih ibe sialion- lheor\-irue syniliesi/ers I design from
M\ end ol ibe wiie on a new s[)(ii. I be scratcb, siicb as my \c)x Insectas and
iraxrliiig end repeals its lour. human voice generaiois. .Vpprecialed as
Wben satislic'd wilh tbe (oUeclion ol well are the complex polyphonic instrti-
discovered (ircuit patiis, finalK- "bard- ments I ha\c buill from kits or schemat-
wirc" tbem into j)lace. Tbis is done by ics adhering sliitih to design land
wiring eacb new {ii( nil liirougb its own music) as we know il. Siill, I ha\c per-
switcb, a toggle switcb ihal is monnled .sonallv lonnd more truly ue\v sounds to
on lhe instrtitneiit's case. lislen to, hi ])onder aiul lo work wiih by
I sing the switches, one can now aclu- week's end. ihrougb cbance (•lc'( ironic s.
ate tbe elfeets discovei^ed witli lhe tra\- "As we know il" . . . changes.
eling wire. CJne (an in addition combine I am surrounded by inslrnnienis—
tbese effects hv lurning several switches e\'er\ catastro|)he in my bouse sounds
on al once. I should al.so nole ibal once musical. My total collection neais ">()(), in-
ibe iniii's oiigiiial liuy speaker is by- cluding man\ unusual insiruments of the
passefl this Tiew "line otilptu" will usually world. ;mii(]iie tbroiigb modern. I am
pioctiice fine fVequency range and fi- (ond of evetythiiig in the planel's in-
(leliiv when ain]}lified. sliument;ii-iuni (1 play Chinese er hit as
We have now eniered a world where of len as electronic instrinnents). It is be-
iiiiisic no longer adheres to luunan pre- cause ol this, perhaps, tbat I recogni/e
Fig, 4, Inverter, circuit-bent toy containing suinption in tbeory, (irtuii design and the difference, (lliance-wired instru-
audio samples of human voice and automo- composition, riius. greal new soimds ments lake us lo a new plate.
tive sounds with piish-hutton switches, glass
fish eye. potentiometer. painLs, approv. and nuisical realities (an occur asoue siis In snuggling wiili tbis difference, 1
3 X 5.5 y 1,5 in, ca. early 1990s. (© Qubais wilb one s out-of'-lbeory insirumeni, a ba\e(le\cloi)ed language to lu'lp peopie
Reed Gha/ala) The Inverter is a "living triih' alien instiumenl, and listens lo its uiiderstanti lhe technical process as well
instrument" whose new wiring creates ther- metaniorpbosed output, .-\iter all, now iii as the leneisof iheail inovemenl that has
mal pressures upon the circuit, changing its band is an insiiniiient ihai exisis i^esulted. I saw the need to invetii a
voice over time.
nowhere else in lhe tmiverse and tliai nonienclainre for my article sei ies intro-
presenis sounds no one else has yei (hicing my original disc^ovt i) process lo
aleaioric nuisic might result, composed heard. the readers ol' Bart Hopkin's t'.xftenmen-
oi eiiher "real" instruments (samples) or Tliis is not to say that I do nol apfiic- tal Musical Instruments (EMI) magazine.
layers of e\()l\iitg iiideftnahle sounds (iale ibe mnsic lah's environs or e\eu In 1992, in KM/. I Hrst puhlished mv leriii
(new synthesis). Through wctrk with
htiman or animal \oic<' syiilhesi/ers, new
nmsicai languages might a|»pe;tr. Pei haps
less dramatic bul no less intriguing are
lhe original lone colnis thai might result, Fig. 5. Species Device,
lurinng thai $2 discarded keyhoard into circuit-bentaiiimals-on-bus
someLliing cme wotild gladly |»lare in a toy with antique back-lit
"sleepy" doll eyes (pilot
sttidio. How? Just do what my desk lights, red for envelope
drawer did: shori ihings out. peak and blue for power:
Ohlain a low-voliage battery-powered diese eyes slowly close their
lids as the instrimient is laid
sound circuit such as a toy mtisical key- down to play in the horizon-
board instrtiment or a talking toy such as tal position), photosensitive
the Speak & Spell game. To make one's glas.s fish eye (for shadow
mosl important < ircuit-bendiiig lool, sini- vibrato), five potentiome-
j)ly cut a 12-iiu h piei e of insulated iiiul- ters with antique black
Bakelite and gold Gibson
tistiand wire, strip a lillle iiisulalion (ill electric guitar knobs, 1 'A
eac h end anti "tin" the ends with soldei bra.ss drawer knobs wired as
10 make ihem solid and linn. With ihe body contacts, purple
ciri uil making a sonnd, touch one end mother-of-pearl Hnger
huttons, antique celluloid
of the wii^e to a circuil point and the finger keys, .switches,
other end of the wire lo another- cirtuil paints, holographic dusts,
[joint. If ihis resulls in an interesting approx. 8 X 12 x 3 in, ca.
sound, mark lhe (iicuit to show where mid-1990s. (© Qubais Reed
the I nds of" the wire were placed lo cre- Chazala) A deep BtL-Vsape
instrument, the .Species
ale ibai new sound (Fig. 3). Device integrates the piayer
While keeping one end of lhe wire sta- seamlessly into the circuit
tioiiiu V on lhe iniiial spot, louch lhe when one touches tbe bra.ss
contacts while the mechani-
otliei end of ihe wire—lei ns tall it lhe cal keys and buttons are
iiaveliiigend—i<i auoiber aibiirary spoi. played.
11 a new sound is (ii-ated, mark the cir-
ctiil board again. II' ibe entire circuil is

\k-i li.iiiii
 tor( e, thai lhe itislrimifnts aie allowed
to behave beyond ibe theoretical inten-
tions {and limitations) ofthe designer.
I.ei Its place this concept oti more la-
mi liar grotind. Karth lings inusirtilize
things. An insiruineni will be made frt)m
a coconut washed np on lhe shore, even-
tually. The coconut could become the
ball ola rattle (idiophone) or, liaKed, lhe
shell ofa drtini (menibrano|>lione). A
hole conld be poked and blown over
(aerophone). The cocontti might he
nsed as a resonator for a sl ringed inslrn-
meni (choidophone). It depends on
bow one .sees ihe coconut {.see Fron-
tispiece).
Otir society's electronic discards, like
coconnts fallen ro the sea, collect at the
high-tide lines ot gai'age sales and flea
tnarkets, secondhanfl shops and garbage
bins. ( jrcttit-bendetssee these circuits as
Fig. a. Incantor prototype. Speak & Spell circuit, antique elementary school wooden chalk
box (for resonator), cardboard (speaker baffle), approx. 6 X 4 X 4 in. ca. 1978. the island nalive saw the coconut. These
(© Qubais Reed Gha/ala) Tbe lirst Speak & Spell released to the public used a mechanical t irctiils (//(Coconuts ofoiir island. Adapt
pu.sb-bnttun interface arranged in side-by-side panels (foreground). Another unique feature llie coconni, adapt the circtiil.
was tbe three-wire speaker system allowing ibe circuit-bender to split tbe signal into a stereo
Circtiit-bending, seen as art, was in-
pain
evitable. I say inevitable dtie to a princi-
pU' I call ibe threshold of in\ention. This
rirruit-bendingUi describe Lhe prcjeediire The painiing process here. <ircuii- ibresliold comes into lieing as we en-
abtne [1 ]. bending's chance approach, is an acl of counter the leading curt ents of our titne.
Miiny new lerms were lo follow, snth clear illogic. As opposed to fii/zy logic, a Because the modern moment occurs be-
as ii)irnediate ((invd.s. Hear illog-ic. threshold seeking of norm within chaos, cleai- il- fore us as if on a stage, and we, the audi-
of invention, living instrume-nt -AXid HEAs- logic seeks chaos wilhin tlie norm. It is ence, hear witness, ihere will be the
«pf, along with variotis instriimenl names through ihis chaos, a powerful creative possibility ofa common rcaclion. Often
that now mark the mtnemenl's emer-
gence.
The eoncejjl ol';in immedi;iie t;in\a-
isvery importinil. L'lilil now, ihc assumed
hurdles of electronic desifrn have in- Fig. 7, Modern Incantor,
Milled a sen.se oi apprehension in layper- circuit-bent Speak Sc Read,
sons. Even if one does not electroctite electric eye in antique brass
and milk gla.ss lens,
oneself, a slow and tcdions entry is ex- switches, potentiometer,
pected via a Slack of dauntinj^, equation- LEDs, paints, holographic
bottnd texls. Circnit-bendinij;( hanges all dusts, approx. 7 x 10.5 x 2
Ihis, as it translorms lhe circuit inio a in, ca. late 1980s. (© Qubais
friendly and "immediate" canvas like the Reed Ghazala) The looping
system consists of the four
painter's canvas: immediately there tor controls to the upper right;
anyone at all wilh hrush in hand. Jnst the streaming switches are
walk np to il and paint. centrally located; the pitch
dial and body contacts are
Otie of the reasons ihe modern further to the left. Its reset
painter's canvas is iinmediale is ihai button, a simple power-
painters lodav rarely vvildt raft iheir pig- supply interrupter, is to the
nienis. Sli etch a canvas (if ihatl), scjiiec/e lower right.
tube, paint—that is pretty immediate.
Similarly, a parallel can he seen be-
Iwcen circnit-hending's circuit boartt-as-
canvas and ready-made pignienls in llie
form of the traveling wire mentionerl
above. Just as personal understanding of
lhe va>«rc of pigment is not as needed b\
)>ainters today as it once was, upon
ciicuit-hending's iinmediale can\as a sim-
ilar ihing now occiiis: The sciente ol'ilie
electron is no longer needed to a<l\an( e
lhe creative tnonient. Finally, in elec-
iionics, otie can jitsl walk np and paint.

100 /,lia:./ilii. I hi- lulk \luvii .)1 ( h.um- !•

this riMt lion :t|)|}eal^l .is a \va\e ol iiuen-
lion. V\'ilh discaifledt ir< tiiison lliesiage
and artisis as audience, the threshold o(
invention suggests that what 1 disco\ered
back in the I9()0s was dtie.
(loiu epitially. a living insirumeni is
somewhai more difficull. ^'ou and 1 are
living insirtiments. We aeix'jn ihal otu
\()ices will (hange, becoming deeper over
time, qiileier in lhe aui. aiul some day
failing. We accepl thai otir triends and
lo\ei.s wilt change as they age. However,
can we accepl this in our musical instrti-
inent.sr
Tlie uby and win' liol of ibis issue
could lill pages wilh ink and balls with
j)eople in argunicnl. Let me just say ihal
not all ciit iiil-bent inslrnnienis aie living
insirtnnenis—tliai is, instrnmetils ibat
burn tbem.selves out slowly, btit taster
tban ustial due lo llu' heiiding proce.ss.
t be great majorit\ of my own beni iii-
slrumenis are nol li\iug inslrunienls (al
leasl not in this regard; but it can easily
be argtied that all the instruments we
know, acou.stic and electronic, are living
insi rumen Is). None ihat I ix)iitinel\<)fler
to lhe public are.
However, some bent instrumenis do
age and sonnd ditferent as time [masses,
as ibey consume their acceleialed lite-
spans. The insirtinient grows a little
older, moves a little closer to early de-
mise, every time it is tm ned on {Fig. 4).
tlon't |jlay it to saw it? Play it to let it .sit
Not vom iather s Farlisa, tor sttie.
Fig, 8. Trigon Incantor, circuit-hent Touch & Tell. 2-in diameter .steel baits, switches, I.F.Ds,
potentiometer, painLs, holographic dust.s, t3 x 10 x 3.5 in, ca. 1996, (© Qubais Reed Ghaz-
ala) Along the left-hand edge are the series of streaming switches that, if actuated white the
machine is spenkiug, transform the output into various couipositions of chance music. The
switches are divided into two response sets: language, wherein the new audio consisLs mainly
of unusually arranged allophones, and instrumental, bringing ahoui phases of aleatoric pitch
and timbre sequences.
Fig. 9. Morpheuni, circnit-
hent iinimals-on-a-train toy,
hack-lit antique sleepy doll
eye (hlue pilot light),
chrome drawer knohs (hody
contacts), computer keys,
antique celluloid keys,
s^witches, potentiometers,
antique Bakelite knohs,
paints, approx. 7 x 1 0
X 2..S in, ca. late 1980s.
(© Qubais Reed Chazala)
A simpler instrument than
the related Species Device,
the Morpheum is the more
standard BKA.sape inNtrii-
ment.
Body-contacling was one of the very
lirst things I ibttnd jiossible within the
bending process. From the start I bad lhe
lecliiig thai I was nansfornied in some
way when l>ody-coti tat ting an instru-
meni, inyseir becoming a part ot the cir-
cuitry as stirelv as any capaciloi^ soldered
iit place.
I f<'ll ihat a new, alheil letn|)orar\. ciea-
uire was created when a nmsit ian played
a body-c'onlacl inslrument—in lliis ino-
men; wben lhe electricity of hoth bodies
imerlwines, lhe same essential eleclricily
lliai if inieriupied would cause each
bod\' to die. I was changed and lhe cir-
( nil was changed, and I had Irouble de-
ciding where each {)f ns began and
ended. I simply conchided ihat we were
something new, and we were one.
Tlieiefbre, with the rttsh to discover
and natne tiew species so pressing iti the
circles of biolog\', catilionsly I introduce
the BF.AsajK' (pionountcd be a," as in
"be a sport"; "sape," thymes with grape).
BEAsape Is an acronym for BioKlectron-
icAttdiosapian. Insirumeiii/animal, nut-
tan t or hybrid, both musically and
zoologically the BEAsape pushes hotmd-
aries (Fig. ">).
the human body, able tocondticl elec-
tri( il\, becomes a jiartolllie circuit when
the cii{ nit is touched. Any nttmber of
tonnections and new sounds are possi-
ble here as ihe player's flesh becomes the
etniivalent ofa polentiometcr, atljtisiing
eleciiieal Mow between (irctiil poinis.
t be eleclro-binnan BF.Asape, eqttally of
circtiil boaid and blood, is literalh a liv-
ing inslrument, one whose voices are as
\-\.\\. \lu^i< 1.1 101
\ai ied as lhe endless circuits available lo
this lechniqiie.
During tny 35 years of experiment and
design, I have created countless circuit-
bent Insirtiments. A few of these instrii-
nieiits are now well known wiibin the
(irctiit-bending niovement. Besi known
is the circuit-hent Speak Sc Spell. (Origi-
nally a spelling game, this series of
human voice syntbesi/ers was tnamifac-
iLii ed hy Texas Instruments decades ago.
Wbile I immedialely circtiit-bent the fust
model released lo the public, I did not
publish my work uniil [inun years later.
In I'.l'.Ci, in EMI, I inlroduced the Incan-
tor (Incantor as in incanlalion—odd
chants and streams of myslic-sounding
vocali/alions it-siilt from (irctiil-bend-
ing's rearrangement of the Speak &: Spell
progranis meant toconstrtict speech) [2]
(Fig. (i).
I will des< libe lhe primary circuit-bent
lu net ions o! an Incaiuoi to sel an exam-
].>le of resulls tbund nol only In Incanlors
but in manv oilier beiidabh' ciicuils as
well,
t hrougb lhe slaiidaid lechiii(]iies of
circuit-bending I di.sto\ered six systems
that I now i outinely build into tncaiUors:
looping, streaming, master pilch, body-
(ontact vibrato, resel and pilot lights lor
power and audio peak. Matiy nioi e mod-
ifications are possible {Fig. 7).
Looping: Musically, the most laniiliai"
teriitory on an Incantor is atcessed
ihrough the looping sysiem. I lere also is
where a bottotiiless pit is found, filled
Fig. 10. Ptioton Clarinet, antique ice crustier case, antique pilot lens, turned wooden ellipses,
turned bases, glass domes, photo celts, switches, potentiometer, antique Batielite knob,
paints, tiolographic dusts, original circuit, approx, 9 X 12 x: 7 in, ta. 1996. (© Qubais Reed
Gtiazata) In this configuration witti remote sensors (as opposed to smaller models witb sen-
sors built-in) tbe Pboton Clarinet is the most versatile and easiest to ptay, Tbe speaker is
bebind tbe square aperture toward tbe top, tbe opening that ice bad been fed tbrougb for
years prior.
102 a. T h e Kiilk M i i s i i o l ( I h . i n i c
witb tnore sound-forms ihau ibere will
ever be time to bear. An Incaiuor loop-
ing system acttiaily presents itself as two
system interfaces. Tlie first initiates a
sound loop when a ptisli-button switch is
pressed; each lime ihe buMori is pressed,
a new loop is set. In this wa\'one can tesi
loops to find one to woik wilb. Throwing
a nearby toggle switch then locks this
loop into |)lay. The .second par! of ibe .sys-
tem is optical: By nieans of shadows
falling across a photo cell, loops ate in-
cremented forward into new forms as a
hand Is waved o\er the instrtiment.
In practice, the player slarts ilie In-
cantor, whicli, ihrough ihe voice synthe-
sis metbod of liiieai' predictive coding,
ties allophoues together and begins lo
speak, somewbai tluenlly, in a human
langttage (depending on the cotmtry il
was designed to be sold in), tf the lo(>p-
ing function is atlualcd mid-word, one
suddenly finds oneself listening to a se-
quence of vai ied sotinds instead of the
stistained noise of vowel or consonant
one mighl expect. These might be seg-
nieiusot .speech, absiraci itnre<-ogni/able
sounds or boih. Tbe\' might he ovei ily
musical, almosi intisical or nol miisi* al at
all—perhaps jtist faint hissing that rises
in volume ouce in a wbile.
A tull range of dynamics—liny sonnds,
greal sounds—might evolve within a sin-
gle loop: stirprising st)tinds of nameless
insli^ninents. Pushing the biitlon again
creates a new loop, a completely new-
loop perba]js, and so OTI, foiever.
.Slieaming: 1 he slteamiug svslem con-
sists of three switdies, each capable of re-
arranging the digital speech programs in
various ways. Itistead of looping, these
switches transform the audio into end-
less sti^cams of aleatoiic music.
Pitch: Any otitpiit can be ttmed with
the piub dial o\rr a \ery wide range, all
the way down to deep snbliarmonics.
Body Cx)niact.s: Similarly, ibe bo(h con-
tacts affect pirch, although not to so great
a degree. Ttttictiing the et>ntacts de-
creases pilch only a little, hut just the
righl amount for real-time xihraio.
After ha\ing worked wilb ntinieious
random and pseudo-random machines,
wriiieii code and bent code and htiilt
complex, processor-controlled synthesiz-
ers to explore chance in mtisic, I catitiot
deny ttie Incantor its simple elegance of
interface and certainly not its stupen-
dotts, in fact fathomless, otiCptit. As a
chance nuisic box the Incantor is a trtily
retnarkabie machine.
Briefly, 1 will touch on a lew more key
ciicttil-beuding instrtiments.
The Ti^igon Incantoi" (Fig. H), anolher
human voice s\ntbesi/er, enlarges the
( hauce interlace via ttiree large steet batis
ibal roll around on tbe pressuie-sensilive
stage to acliiate the aleaioric responses.
This Incantor originated from a device
marketed as the Touch J4: Tell. Ouce it is
hent, the .synthetic luunan \()ices are
transposed into streams of chance music
taking tbe form ol either musical vocal-
like languages or more ahsliacl tonal .se-
qtieuces.
.Morphetims {Fig. 9) are mnllichannel
BEA.sape insti timeuls combining animal
cries witb luecbanifal sounds, drastically
pitch-shifted by means f)f the hody con-
tacLs. New voices restili,
Aleatrons are (Ircuit-bent keyboards (I
conld write an entit e book on the fantas-
tic otttput of circuit-bent digital keytxiards;
the tange of new responses, tonal as well
as aleaioric, can be mind-boggling).
(Ireal examples of the Aleatron are tbe
circtiit-bent (.asio SK-1 sampler and the
Casio SA2 niini-keyboatd. While tbe SKt
Aleatron self-composes outrageous tonal
sweeps atid perctissive t)ddilies as liie key-
board is played, the SA2 Alealron, tipon
the tapping ofthe added "chance" btit-
tou, responds with realislic insii-umeiits
(i.e. piano, hass and snare flruni) bn! in
meter and composition far iemo\ed
fi om anyihing fatniliar.
Examples of insirtimeius I design my-
self cnlireh from scrauh (and then cir-
cuit-bend) are uiy PluKon Clarinets (Kig.
10), the Vox Insecta and Video Octavox.
Hands are waved in s|jace over the
Photon (.larinet's dual sensors, as with a
 sical composition become a thorny stil>
jecl. I am satisfied with llie tealization that
Fig. 11. Vox Insecta, every sound, like every color, elicits an
antique Stenograpti cmolion. That is enough for me even
mactiine (with retittcd when composing wiih aleatoric eletnenis
mechanics), antique
glass telcptione pole (althotigh tliis sutijecl is both fascinating
jewels (refleclors retro- and endless, ha\ing beeti debated wilh me
titted witti orange peak by designers, mn.sic ians and the general
envelope I.KDs). mer- puhlic since I bttilt rny firsl instrument).
cury switch., toggle
switches, potentiome- I suppose lhe greatest value I see in
ters, antique Bakelite circuit-bending, heyond the new palette,
linohs, exposed photo is how tbe art encotiragcs fresh intisica!
tmtisistor. paints, tiolo-
graphic dusts, original tbotight. ll is ihese two aspects, tbe art's
circuit, approx. 7 X 5 ,sound and its ideas, ihat have kept me at
X 9iii, ca. niid-1980s. tbe bench and in the sttidio for decades.
(©Qtihais Reed Ghaz- Some artists gravitate lo tbis ari due to
ala) Instead of stritcing
an ink ribbon, the keys itsanti-estal)lisliTiu'nl aspects, lakinga po-
now actuate a series of litical stance selting tbenisehcs against
hand-made miniature the coiuentional nuisic industry (iiistr ii-
switches closing various nient manufacturers as well as nuisic pur-
insect-.sound circtiiLs. veyors). While consciotis of the poliii( al
stibterliige that tliis art might engender,
I do nol see this as eiiher tinnstial or par-
ticularly imporiant—it is how onr ma-
chine works; part again of tbe tbresliuld
of invetilion, an unstoppable IOKC.
I should mention thai in this explo-
ration ot anti-theory 1 do not abatidon
theory, as many people presnme. I only
(juestion il in the way ihat scienlists al-
uavs (juestion prevailing concepts. I can-
no! tbink theory withotit anti-theory, a
tlieremin. However, as opposed to ihe phonics mac hine); lhe Audiowa\'e Deio- devil's advocate, alongside, Tlieory has
iheremin's, the t'hoion Clarinet's sensors nalor (a sample smashei); and many. been my friend foi a \fi y long lime. I
are lif^lil-sensitivc. While one sensor many more ciicttit-benl desifrns. have tbund, however, that it is not the
snioolhly sweeps lhe pitch, as wiili a Despite the heterodoxyoflhe.se insirti- only way lo think, and clearly not the oniy
iheieniin, lhe olher sleps ilie jiilc li nients, I prefer to not let bent-circuit mu- way to create. Rather than parallel and
ihrough arbitrary scales, presenling a
\ei y iiniistial voice system.
I he Vox Insecta (Fig. 11) is a complex
insect voice synthesizer capable of le- Fig. 12. Video Octavox, an-
tique telephone amplifier
ptodticing, as well, choirs and orchesti al case, glass tish eye, coil cords
texltires. The \'ox tnsecta was used in its with photo-sensors, painted
main' inotleson my threnods CD [?>} to ex-wooden model of the sun,
press tnnsically the tt agedy of Hiroshima. miniature footlights for the
sun, antique faceted glass
Wilh the Video Octavox (Fig. 1^) aiu lenses, LEDs, nine poten-
video lecording heconies the experi- tiometers, eight antique brown
nienlal nuisic connterpart or lhe player Bakelite knobs (on back),
piano Toll: a program meditim. Here the eight line outputs (on bark),
in.sii iimeni's light .sensors attach lo lhe original circuit, approx.
9 X 5 X 4in, ca. tate 1980s.
\'ideo screen, acti\atinga "siring" sec lion (® Quhais Reed Gbazala)
of violins, violas and cellos (liltered \oli- This instrument is designed to
age conliolled oscillatois) as well as a use a videotape or a DVD as a
built-in Phoion Clarinet. score; it can also use random
events (e.g. via video camera)
A visit to my web site <liltp://www. to produce an aleatoric "string
anli-tbeory.coin> will reveal do/ens ensemble" response.
inoie instrnmenls, as well as .sound files
and much descripti\e lext. There can be
ibnnd the Feylith and four-channel
t)workian Regisler, insirnnientsineaiil to
cieate a sttrronnd-sonnd eii\ironment
for olher inslrumenis to perform within.
There is the Panicle Bay, another chance
steel biill instrtmieni, ihis one tiased on
atidio sanipk s; lhe Sound Poem Tank (a

fhi- l'i)lk \ln.sii DI ( i l i . i m c Klcctriiitic 103

 e ihis an aiul i[st)iU|jul lo known
models,!, in leaching il as \\\v cntiiy ihat
impressed me as a young artist, have cho-
sen to focus on the history oiiny original
discovery process, which was original in
that, as noted, I was uninfluenced by out-
side leaching or example. ! was too
young, too isolated perhaps.
My aim. therefore, has been to wel-
come everyone by removing let hnical as
well as academic hin"dles as ihey wcre re-
moved for me (14-ycar-olds rarely have
college music labs to work in, classically
the alternate and more usual birthplace
ofexpcrimental music and instruments).
However, for more specifics I will refer
the reader to my 2()-arucle series in l-.Mf
[4], where I more closely detail the evo-
lution of circuit-bending as well as its
placement within the context and history
ot electronic and experimental music.
As to this odd aii's inflncnce, circuit-
bending's instrtiinentiirinm is exploding
worldwide. The Internet is active nonstop,
with various gallei'ies and artists present-
ing iheir discoveries (when I latmrhed my
weh site, it was the only place on-line to
see circuit-bent in.struments; it was also the
first instritctional site}. Now hundreds of
new instruments are being built every day,
as an Internet keyword search on "circuit-
bending" will reveal.
There are innumerable students of
circuit-bending—millions, I am told. Tbe
truth, however, is diat they are not my stu-
dents. They and I, in fact, have the same
teacher—a mind-altering addictive art
that reveals it.setf in exaitiples of compo-
sititMi that, while too alien to recogni/e.
are too mu.ncal lo ignore.
StiU, my course has not been smooth
[5]. Atone low point in the late 1960s an
104 C.hiizcda. The Folk Mti.sic ot Cbanre F.lectronics
audience tried its best to hos|jitali/c me
and my bimd and doslroy my first instru-
meiit. L'ndaunted. I <<)ntinued to ex-
plore the art. I never feared for its place
in the world. 1 was sure a space would
evolve.
Transistors, now iribal, are clumting
rhymes. A tempest of new song is .swirling
within tbese hidden camps. Circuit-hen-
ders are, in a sense, cthnomusicologists
exploring villages ringing with electronic
folk music, indigenous in this case to cir-
cuit and time rather than people and
time. They feel as I have always felt (and
continue for the same reason): that there
is a rich new world of music at hand.
References and Notes
1. Q i i h a w R e e d G h a z a l a . -Circiiit-Bending ^irid l.lv-
iiijT liisinmietiis." Experimental Musical ln<.liiimnil<. 8, <lmp;//www,ivindw(irid.<<mi/eini/>.
No. 1 (September 1992).
2. Qubais Reed Glia/ala. "Incanlins." Exjirr'nneiilal gi ottnd and events th;u led to his work wilh circnit-
Mii.\iail lirsliutrwrihS. No. 4 (jiuie 1993).
3. Qiibais Rrcd Ghazala. Tfirtiiiiily fnr theNnv Virtims texts/lmj>.
i,/Hiroshima. Rt'alizatioci CD RZI>-()22 (19^)5).
4. See (ihazala [I] and 12] .-Additional articles in the
series im lnded Qitbais Reed tlha/ala. "CiTruit-Bend-
ing and Liviiijr Instrtinient.s: The Odor Box," Experi-
mfiitalMiisicaHtiflninifritsS. No. 2 (De<cinl>ei I'.J92):
"Cirniit-Bending and l,i\ing IiistriiiiifrUs; The Pho-
iiin Ckiriiifi."ExpmmrnitiliMuiiriiUiisliiiiiii'iil\8. No.
.'1 (March UliKl); "(ilrcLiit-Bendinfr and l,ivln)j In-
struments: Vo\ liisecta," Experimfttlnl Mu.siml !n\lni-
rn^nts9. Ni). I (September 1993); "(lirenil-Bending
and Living lnstmments; The Simnd Dnngeon." Ex-
petimrntnl Mu.sii/d Int.lruvii'nI'i 9, No. 'i {Deceniher
1993]; "'CircuiT-IVnding and Liviiijr Insnuinenis; In-
verters," Experimental Musical Instriimenl', 9. No. ?•
(March 1994); '"Cirinii-Beiidiiig and Living IIIMIIL-
meni.s: The \'idc<> Oriavox," Experimniliil Muskal hi-
ilnunrnls9, ^iih i (|nne 199-1): "The Mmplicviin and
Strange Em th Wjiccs," Expnimeidid MusKdl Imlrii-
mf'th 10. No, 2 (Dftemher 1994); "I'hc Flame Coni-
poiiinin and Kcflt'ctions on the P\Tc)phone,"
Expfrimeiilal Mitaiciil liiUnimriit.\ 10, Nii. 3 (Maich
1995): T.imiil-Bcndiiigand l.ivnns InstrimienLs: The
Tripoli Incunwir." ExperinwiUiilMusicalhislnimi^ih 10.
No. 4 (|nne 1995); "Peneptiial Instrnmeiit.s and Rc-
(|i[iein lui a Ritciio." ExjininwiiUil Miisi'iit lii\liumfiits
11, No. I (September 1995); "From [he Mnsic \Vin(T
ot die Dieaen Mtisenm; Sky Harps." ExperimentalMu-
Mcidhislitam-rilsW. Nfi. 2 {December H)<i5); "(]ircnil-
Bi'iidiiig and Living liisirwments; The Harmonic
WiLLdow." i-'.xpi'rnninilnt MIIMCIII Iiishiiiiii'iil<. 12. N o . 4
IJuLie I'.I91>); "Circuit-Betidinj" and Living Instrti-
[iiciits; The Casio SK-1 F.stapisi Sample Shntile."/!,'x-
jinimndcit Mnsiml InstrHviml\ 12. No. 2 (December
I99(i); "(^ircuit-BendinjTand l.ivinglnstrtLmenLsiThe
(.^a.sio SA-2 .'Meat II m," Exlir-nmndnl Musical Instruments
12, No. 4 (|niie 1997j; "(!ircuil-B<'ndiiig and Living
Instruments; Thf Solar Biig Box." Expiiiiiifiilrd Mii-
.\ii-id hisliii'ri''iiis 13. Nl). 2 (Decemlier 1997); "The
Dworkiiin Rfghiei.' Expi-rinienttil Musical hntrumfnls
13, No. 4 (Jnne 1998); "The Siib-<::iiaiii Generator,"
Expriimeidiil Musical Inslnimeiih 14, No. 2 (!>ecem-
IxT 1998); "(;irciiil-Beiidiiigaiid Lii ing Instrtimcnls
of a VyilyiTV.' Experinwntul Musical I nstrunwn Is \A. No.
4 (Jniie 1999),
A book with atidio Cl) cont.iininfr an article about
an(i A musical track hy tlhazala was pnbli.shed by EMI.
See Bart Hiipkin. ed,, ('•mvikiirih, Wlitrhn and I'ym-
phoiii's (Roslyn, NV; Ellipsis Aits. lWIti). Expeiimenlal
MfisindImlrumi'iils. edited by Hart Hopkin, was pub-
li.shed Irom I9K5-1999; bAck i.ssttes are available at
5. Additional det;iils abont die audior's early back-
bending is included in ati earlier vetsiun of thi.s
article, available at <hltp;, www.anti-theory.com/
Manuscript received 6 December 2003.
(hihais Rppd Ghnznln is setf-tau^ht in elec-
tronics, photogiapliy find Dthn media. He has
innovated the art of circuit-bending, .special
techniques in 35mm photography and dye-
migration itnagery. His iimting and artwork
have been published internationally and he
has ximllen and illustrated dozens oJ artirU-s
on experimental mustc. His work appears in
the peimaneni collections of the Museum of
Modern Art. (he Ciiggeiihfim and tlie Wiiit-
ney in Neiv York City, and other museums and
privaie collections worldwide. He designs in-
slninients for entertainment industry artists
and experimental music composers.