Found objects are sometimes used in music, often to add unusual percussive elements to a work. Their use in such contexts is as old as music itself, as the original invention of musical instruments almost certainly developed from the sounds of natural objects rather than from any specifically designed instruments.
Use in classical and experimental music
The use of found objects in
modern classical music is often connected to experiments in
indeterminacy and
aleatoric music by such composers as
John Cage and
Karlheinz Stockhausen. However, it has reached its ascendancy in those areas of popular music as well, such as the
ambient works of
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
. In Eno's influential work, found objects are credited on many tracks. The ambient music movement which followed Eno's lead has also made use of such sounds, with notable exponents being performers such as
Future Sound of London and
Autechre, and natural sounds have also been incorporated into many pieces of
new-age music. Also other builders like
Yuri Landman,
Harry Partch (for example his famous cloud chamber bowl instrument),
Pierre Bastien,
Iner Souster often incorporate found material in their works.
Erik Satie's ''
Parade'' is also an example of this unconventional type of compositional practice.
Use in popular music
Einstürzende Neubauten became known for incorporating a wide range of found objects in their percussion gear. A more recent example of found objects being used as percussion instruments is
Shawn "Clown" Crahan from the
nu metal band
Slipknot, who beats a beer keg with a baseball bat to the beat of the song.
The Dodos also played a garbage bin as a part of their percussion gear.
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California who were active from 1977 until disbanding in 1989. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single " ...
drummer
Joe Nanini would commonly use pots and pans instead of conventional drums. Many
street drummers perform with empty plastic baskets.
The band
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
uses VCR-casings, scrap metal and all kinds of other found objects to create
experimental musical instruments.
Found objects have occasionally been featured in very well-known pop songs: "You Still Believe In Me" from the
Beach Boys' ''
Pet Sounds'' features bicycle bells and horns as part of the orchestral arrangements.
Found sounds
The use of found objects in music takes one of two general forms: either objects are deliberately recorded, with their sound used directly or in processed form, or previous recordings are
sampled for use as part of a work (the latter often being referred to simply as "found sound" or "sampling"). With the improvement and easy accessibility of sampling technology since the 1980s, this second method has flourished and is a major component of much modern popular music, particularly in such genres as
hip hop. Found sounds are also used significantly in certain areas of
Industrial music, especially metallic sounds that are the result of hitting or belabouring solid metal objects and surfaces.
Examples
*
Great Stalacpipe Organ
The Great Stalacpipe Organ is an electrically actuated lithophone located in Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA. Covering 3.5 acres of the cavern, it is considered the world's largest instrument by Guinness World Records.
It is operated by a custom or ...
See also
*
Experimental musical instrument
*
Found object
*
Sampling (music)
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a l ...
*
Sound collage
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Martin J. Junker: Buchhaltung – Percussion octet with books.
Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo 2011
* Martin J. Junker: Pop up! – Percussion octet (quartet) for pop-up garden waste bags.
Gretel-Verlag, Dinklage 2021 http://www.gretel-verlag.de/de/index.htm
Musical techniques
Found object
Experimental music
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