Client: New Bremen Parks

Overview

Large interactive chimes can be played by hand. A few years ago, I was contacted about creating a chime instrument by the New Bremen Park Dept. We reviewed several options concerning placement, colors and tuning. The park didn’t wish to provide mallets to ring the chimes, so we decided on an internally struck system I had developed years earlier.

Goals

A park featuring outdoor musical instruments was being designed and the design team wished to see something with visual presence and excellent sound quality.

Process

The park director and sponsor were intrigued by a similar instrument I had designed for the Perot Nature and Science Museum. It was safe, durable and would generate clean tones and good resonance when the chimes were pushed by hand.

Additional Information

These chimes are mounted at their upper node to an internal support pipe that is hidden from view. The striker and damping at the lower node is also attached to this pipe inside the chime, out of reach and out of sight. It is fixed to the powder coated lower base and bolted through a flange to the concrete surface. They are played by hand by striking the lower ends. They can be tuned to a major or pentatonic scale.