I feel like I’m more of an exploratory tinkerer with music and sounds. I like to experiment with different types of instruments and software. I take joy in learning new things, and I find some of the instruments more meditative. I’m also a clown, so I’m often on the lookout for small instruments that I can carry with me in my pocket. Most are fairly inexpensive, but occasionally I’ll treat myself to something a bit harder to afford.
Musical Instruments
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Noise Box (Chaos Beans)
Built from a baked beans can, springs, and found hardware, Chaos Beans is a handmade noise box exploring unpredictable sound through touch and vibration. This electroacoustic experiment blends playful construction with experimental performance, turning everyday objects into a portable instrument of joyful chaos. Read more (context & memoir)
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Hopwell Steel Tongue Drum (15 note, Key of D)
A deep dive into a 15-note D-major steel tongue drum used as a rain-activated idiophone. Measured tuning accuracy, harmonic behavior, sustain, lacquer acoustics, and psychoacoustics reveal a thoughtfully engineered instrument that bridges ambient sound sculpture, melodic percussion, and experimental recording. Read more (context & memoir)
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Randon Piezo Contact Pickup (MP20)
A quick experiment with piezo pickups turns a Pringles can into a resonant microphone, exploring how vibration becomes sound. From pre-wired transducers to permanent installs, I test portable electrification for kalimba, ukulele, and rain drum—then look ahead to noise boxes. Read more (context & memoir)
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Dumroo
A pocket-sized Dumroo becomes both experiment and meditation as I explore its play techniques, molding defects, and cultural roots. From plastic bead flash to Shiva’s cosmic rhythm, this tiny pellet drum reveals how craftsmanship, curiosity, and sound collide. Read more (context & memoir)
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American Song Whistle
A nickel-plated American Song Whistle is tested after my dog destroyed several toy slide whistles. With spectrogram analysis and musical trials, this curious aerophone proves itself a true melodic instrument, hidden within a famously comic sound. Read more (context & memoir)
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Boao Tingsha
A pair of Tibetan tingsha cymbals acquired for playful curiosity and pocket-sized performance, explored through ritual meaning, acoustic analysis, and clown mischief. This entry blends meditation bells, spectral frequencies, knot-tying mishaps, and everyday experimentation into a living sound artifact. Read more (context & memoir)
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Blue Kazoo
An anodized aluminum tubular mirliton with replaceable membranes, acquired in 2026 for durable pocket-sized music making. Used for playful experimentation, nose-based resonance, and novelty performance, demonstrating how voice-activated membrane instruments transform human vibration into comic, buzzy sound. Read more (context & memoir)
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Remo Thunder Tube
A compact spring drum used to create rolling thunder and lightning-like effects through a vibrating metal spring attached to a membrane. This thunder tube is explored as a tactile sound-design tool, blending physical motion, rumble, and playful experimental percussion. Read more (context & memoir)
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Jingle Bell Stick
Purchased a jingle bell stick as a low-cost percussion experiment. Evaluated unpitched rhythm, shaken-idiophone behavior, and durability. Observed animal responses to sound. Assessed suitability for early childhood use, noting safety considerations related to attached bells and small components during testing. Read more (context & memoir)
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Double-Ended Rattle
Purchased a double-ended rattle as a low-cost musical experiment. Evaluated sound amplification, grip techniques, and rhythmic use. Observed animal responses and considered suitability as an introductory percussion instrument for toddlers, offering controlled noise and tactile engagement compared to household objects. Read more (context & memoir)
Songs
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How Did We Miss This?
After the Cher Effect made Auto-Tune mainstream, viral news remixes and the Songify app turned speech into music. Using it, I transformed workplace frustration into a satirical resignation anthem, capturing how technology reframed voice, authorship, and humor. Read more (context & memoir)
Growing up, I learned how to play the Piano and Trumpet. I didn’t go too far with either.
Here are some of the instruments that I have (or had)
- Slide Whistles
- Plastic short/long
- Wooden Train Whistle (or was it slide whistle?) WHS
- Bamboo Flute
- Peruvian Face Flute
- Carry-on 88 Key Folding Piano (donated to Friends of Samuels Library)
- Electric Piano Soldering Kit
- Plans for a Senior Organ Grinder
- Lyre Harp
- Baoding balls
- Theremin
- Cow Bell
- Dog/Counter Bell
- Dog Clickers
- Nautical Command Whistle / Boatswain’s Call / Bosun’s pipe
- Tibetan Singing Bowl
- Signal Generator
- Noise Machine
Loops
In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, looping became pretty popular where you could use looping sounds to create songs. I used Sonic Foundry ACID Loops along with many loops that I purchased to make a few songs. Eventually Sony purchased the software. Back then, people didn’t believe it was “real” music to take recordings and put them together. However, you often heard loops at raves and other events as DJ’s added in sounds on the fly.
Songsmith
Another auto-tune app was Microsoft Songsmith. It plays a metronome sound as you sing. Afterwards, it added background music and removed the metronome ticks. I didn’t experiment much with it. I just sang about the software itself. Afterwards, I created a video with many screenshots from Second Life where I was known as “Dedric Mauriac”.
AI Music
Eventually AI music was all the craze, and I decided to experiment with it. Eventually I learned how to publish the music via a distributor and released a concept album “re: Cubicle 13” under the artist name of The Bard of Bizarre. I made a music video for the first song on the album as well.
Clown Relation: Tools of Wonder