Hi. I'm Linda.
I'm Dan, and this is What Is Music.
It's hard to talk about music without talking about instruments.
Dan, how many instruments do you play?
(CHUCKLES) Well, about 36, actually.
There's families of instruments -
once you know one woodwind, you kind of know them all, and...
Yeah. I feel the same way. Sure.
Wow!
Ooh! (DING!)
But what is an instrument, and can it be anything?
Well, actually, I'm glad you asked. That's a great question.
From a 40,000-year-old bone flute to the Eigenharp released in 2009,
instruments are constantly in development.
They've changed material, changed shape
and go in and out of favour.
When it comes to acoustic instruments,
it's all about them good vibes - vibrations, that is.
Nearly everything vibrates in some way,
and the most common way to group instruments
is by which part of them is actually vibrating.
So, there's chordophones, where the strings vibrate,
membranophones, like when a drum skin vibrates,
aerophones, where the air vibrates,
and idiophones.
And no, that doesn't mean instruments played by idiots.
It's where the instrument itself vibrates.
Different systems around the world
will categorise instruments into different families.
The most common ways are from highest to lowest,
oldest to newest,
or geographically around the world.
The electric guitar landed in the middle of the 20th century with a...
(DISTORTED ROCK CHORD)
As far as instruments go, the guitar is one of the quietest,
so it was most in need of some amplification,
especially for jazz musicians,
who wanted to play with brassy big bands,
which is where early electric guitars found their home.
But it wasn't long until the guitar was the staple instrument
of popular music in the 1950s and '60s.
Amplified instruments changed how music could be performed.
It was no longer about the acoustics of the space.
With enough speakers,
large outdoor areas could be converted into music halls,
and that dramatically changed festival culture too.
When more electronics took hold,
we started to synthesise our well-known acoustic instruments.
Early synthesisers would take pure sine waves like this
and alter the waveform to re-create the approximate texture
of an instrument like the violin or the clarinet.
These sounded very little like the real thing, but it was a start.
Now it's much more common to use sample recordings for instruments
as the basis for synthesis,
and this means that sounds can come very close
to sounding like the acoustic version.
(VIOLIN PLAYS)
So, now that we've got synths, samples and software
that basically emulate all of the real instruments,
do we need real ones anymore?
Well, it's a great question, because I compose a lot using software,
but even I still think
that there's something to be said for a real instrument.
But it is getting harder and harder to tell these days,
so I took that challenge to the public
to see whether they could tell the difference
between a computer instrument and a real person playing.
We've got a piece of music, but it's performed twice.
One of them's played by a computer
and one's made by a human.
OK. They're both clarinets.
What do you reckon? I can't tell the difference.
I'd say the second one was a computer.
Gonna guess two was real.
Pretty similar. I'd say two is a person.
I think the first one was human.
I used to play the clarinet. I don't know. It sounded more familiar.
Number two was the human?
Number two was the real thing. Number two was a computer.
I'm leaning towards number two being a person.
Warmer sound or something, that the digital just can't quite get.
If you guessed the second one was a human, you were right.
LINDA: So, what about the artists who play the instruments?
What do they think?
# Honey, we don't need no fake magic
# I ain't being funny
# You can't buy this with paper or plastic, honey... #
Because you can do so much electronically,
I think there's such a yearning for absolutely organic instruments.
You can't get those really rich feelings
from a lot of the software synths.
# I don't know what to do with you, oh
# And I don't wanna mess... #
People really playing their instruments on stage,
it's always gonna be more interesting to me
than watching some guy, like, press a button
and be...really emotional about that button.
# I believe, I believe, I believe... #
All my instruments are hand-built out of wood.
Wood, you know, expands and shrinks and changes
depending on weather and humidity.
# Whoa... #
I feel like the instruments breathe like us.
(PLAYS SINGLE NOTE)
This violin was made in 1784
by one of history's greatest violin-makers, Guadagnini.
They have the most incredible ability to sing
and to project in a large space,
such as a concert hall, where we mostly perform.
(ORCHESTRA PLAYS DRAMATIC PIECE)
These instruments all have their own unique personalities,
and in the hands of different musicians,
they can sound very different too.
I feel like I'm a very lucky custodian of the instrument.
It's been in many, many hands over the centuries,
and now I get to bring it to life, and it really is...my voice.
DAN: Alright, well, I'm inspired.
Do you think that you and I have got what it takes to make an instrument
with sounds that we've never heard before?
I think if anyone should do it, we should do it.
Alright. Alright, well, here's the challenge.
One week, $20, you and I compete to see who can make the best instrument.
OK, deal. Alright.
I'll shake. Mm-hm.
So, we each have one week to make our instruments.
As for me, I'm off to the Grainger Museum in Melbourne
for a little bit of inspiration.
(WAILING SYNTHESISED SOUNDS)
The museum is filled with weird and wacky instruments...
(HARMONICA-LIKE TONES)
..some made and inspired by Australian composer Percy Grainger.
(WARBLING TONES)
This is actually, sort of, early programming.
Air pressure tells the piano what to play
and the holes are kind of like programming, like code.
(PIANO PLAYS DISCORDANTLY)
Beautiful.
LINDA: I've approached the challenge a little differently.
Dan didn't say I couldn't hire anyone,
so meet Dorothy, What Is Music's art director.
Hey, Dorothy? Hey, Linda. How's it going?
Good. How are you? That's good. How can I help?
I have to put together a musical instrument.
Is this for that musical instrument challenge?
It is. (LAUGHS)
But I have $20. Ah.
And I was thinking you could take $5 for yourself...
That could be something.
Well...it's due in a week. Thank you. Bye!
So I sent Dorothy off to Reverse Garbage to gather recycled supplies.
May the best instrument win!
I can't wait to see your instrument, Dan.
To spice things up, I've invited in a guest judge.
Hi. I'm Peter Vogel.
In the 1970s, together with my schoolmate Kim Ryrie,
we cooked up the idea of the Fairlight CMI,
which was the first sampling music keyboard.
The Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument.
The Fairlight's unique sound didn't go unnoticed.
Greats like Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Herbie Hancock
and even Michael Jackson
made the Fairlight a distinctive sound of the '80s
and this man a creator of one of the great modern instruments.
Let's hear what he thinks of ours.
OK, so, Peter Vogel, welcome to the What Is Music set.
Did you ever think you'd be in here judging...
..some instruments made by a mere $20?
Well, that looks like that'd just about buy the whole set here.
(LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) Oh, my God!
Oh, it's brutal. He is sharp. Get ready to be judged.
Yep. I'm ready.
Alright, over the last week,
I've been shacked up in my parents' garage -
because what millennial can afford a garage? -
building my magnum opus.
The first thing I've got is, um, some clear tubing.
That seems about right.
I also bought a saxophone mouthpiece for three bucks on eBay -
cheap, but it works.
(LOW THRUMMING NOISE)
Some adjustments needed.
My design is inspired by instrument-maker Lindsay Pollack.
(DIDGERIDOO-LIKE SOUND)
But to make it fresh, I'm gonna try and add some electronics
using these old computer mouse parts.
(ELECTRONIC DRUM BEATS)
That worked! (LAUGHS)
A little nervous, actually.
OK, so, Dan, your instrument?
So, it's essentially a contrabass clarinet.
This is a soprano saxophone mouthpiece.
I cut some holes in here for changing the note.
(LOW, ENGINE-LIKE VIBRATIONS PLAY TUNEFULLY)
And then the second part is this is the insides of a computer mouse.
I will plug this into my computer, so it's kind of a MIDI input.
This is too much! (LAUGHS)
(COMPUTER PLAYS DRUM BEATS)
Oh, my God!
(PLAYS MELODY AND ROCK BEAT)
It's quite hard to get the coordination right
between the two fingers, but...
So you've got melody and some percussion happening.
As an instrument without the electronic bit,
it sounded pretty good.
It was sort of like a PVC-sounding...digeridooish...
(ALL LAUGH) What do you think?
Yeah. It's definitely got its own sound.
I thought what you were gonna do there
is actually use the optical sensor on the mouse
and then program that to control, say,
the resonance of a filter or something like that,
and then you'd have another, sort of, degree of control.
Uh, Linda, I am SO keen to see what you've come up with!
OK! (LAUGHS) Here we go!
You're on Triple J. Hi. Good morning.
I'm Linda Marigliano, and...
Listen, I'm a busy woman. I work full-time.
And Dorothy - well, Dot's just made for a challenge like this.
So I've provided the inspiration,
I've spent my funds on constructing my instrument -
end of story!
And now to bring it to life.
Alright, Linda, you ready?
Here I come!
What?! (LAUGHS) This is in the budget, guys.
OK. (INSTRUMENT RATTLES)
Here I am!
Um... What have you done?
Back-to-basics percussion. Yeah.
So, it's basically like wearing a tambourine...
Yep. (INSTRUMENT RATTLES)
..but it can also just... Yeah, yeah.
..just create atmos, like a ride cymbal.
Uh-huh. You know?
So, it's a ride cymbal meets a tambourine.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then there's this.
(STRINGS PLAY OFF-KEY MELODY)
So, it's weird notes, but I...I chose them for a reason.
And then this is...well... (CLEARS THROAT)
(INSTRUMENT HONKS IN RISING AND FALLING PITCH)
Wow.
It's fluid. It's loose. There's no real...
And does it also do music, or...?
(LAUGHS)
Dan! Come on!
So, how much of the $20 went into
getting our set designer to help you make this?
(LAUGHS) How did you know that?
I have spies everywhere.
IS it cheating?
You said there were no rules. No, that's true.
I really like it. You know, there's lots of things I recognise.
There's a lot going on. Uh, let's just give it one last blow...
Yeah, great. (CHUCKLES)
..and, uh, that will herald the end of the challenge.
(HONK!)
Now it's judgement time.
Peter will assess each instrument using three criteria:
Assigning a score out of 10
to each category.
Dan's up first.
The sound was a little bit on the...feeble side.
(LAUGHS) So I'd give it only a 5 out of 10.
The design element I like is the compactness of it.
Yeah, we'll go... I'd say an 8 for design.
Wow. OK. I'll take that.
And now ergonomics.
You can hold the mouthpiece in your mouth,
one hand free for the fingering of the notes, and the other hand...
Yeah, 7.
Wow. I'll take that as well.
You have got 20 out of 30.
That's pretty good.
OK, Linda. Your turn.
I really like the sound of this one, and there's also a wider variety.
The sound of the bagpipe is very pleasing.
Give that a 9 out of 10 for sound.
Wow. Wow. OK.
The design, um...
It would be better if the mouthpiece were self-supporting,
so that you could do percussion and strings and blow into it
all at the same time.
Visually, it's...it's hard to criticise. It's very eye-catching.
I'd say an 8.
Ergonomics. The final criterion.
I think you're going to have some OH&S issues with this thing.
6 for ergonomics. Ooh.
Alright, so, adding all that up,
I mean, I think that's 23,
which means you're the winner.
# Ha! # (LAUGHS)
Yes!
Thank you so much, Peter, for coming in and helping us out with this.
It's been great fun. Thank you.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you. High five for the winner!
Not for you! For me!
To the question - do we need real instruments anymore?
I think everybody still gets something, you know, incredible
out of actually just making noise...
Yeah. It was fun. ..making music themselves. Yeah.
I don't think people are ever going to want
to stop playing real instruments.
Totally. Even though, ultimately, I was robbed.
# Sore loser in the house! Yeah! #
That was a Daft Punk melody, actually.
Oh, really? THEY don't use real instruments.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation