Drum Modal Feedback: Concept Design of an Augmented Percussion Instrument

We here outline the concept design of an augmented percussion instrument, conceived for and used as part of a variety of distinct performances and compositions. Throughout the curation of this project, each creative act has enabled us to contextualise, examine and reflect upon the design of this augmented instrument. In accordance with Stolterman and Wiberg’s concept driven design methodology, we do not present a singular instrument design, but instead an overarching design concept alongside its developmental and evaluative narrative. This augmentation centres upon the use of a drum trigger and a tactile transducer, which when coupled together can be used to feedback or resonate a drum. The resultant soundworld develops upon the idiomatic sonority of a drum, and allows for the duration and timbre of a drum strike to be continuously manipulated and shaped throughout a performance. In exploring the soundworld which results from this approach, we have experimented with numerous configurations of these pieces of hardware, and have also employed various pieces of software to parametrise the sonic subtleties that this approach engenders. Most prominently, we have developed a bespoke piece of software which analyses the modes of a drum prior to performance, and uses this modal analysis to shape the overall feedback and resonance. Throughout this design process, we have consistently been met with new creative criteria that challenge our approach and ideas, in response to the particularities of the musicians we are working alongside, as well as the performative and aesthetic environments we are working within.