LET THE WIND SING FOR YOU
PNEUMAPHONE WIND HARPS
ABOUT MAKER
My passionate relationship with music began in 1989 when I joined a punk rock band IN4S as an enthusiastic teenage drummer. In following years we performed extensively around Europe and republics of ex Yugoslavija and released two albums.
During my studies of philosophy and sociology of culture at Ljubljana University I formed urban tribe The Stroj, collective of 10 percussionists, performing on self made instruments made out of discarded machine parts and other stuff you can find on junk yards. Our passionate, loud and dangerous performances on unusual locations like mines, stone queries and abandoned industrial facilities gained instant succes and international recognition. So I devoted myself completely to composing, sound research and instrument building.
My general interest in art led to many collaborrations with different artists, especialy with painter Aleksij Kobal, film director Jan Cvitkovič and sculptor Boštjan Drinovec, with whom I made many sound sculptures and instalations. In 2012 I was awarded for the best film music on Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorož. Music was performed live on my selfmade instrument Efektor in a Jan Cvitkovič's short movie Hundred Dogs.
More then a decade ago I discovered cymatics and work of Hans Jenny. I started to experiment with different powders and liquids, exposed to sound vibrations, which gave me a deeper insight into nature of sound and its effects on forming of matter.
I built my first wind harp in 2015 when I moved from a city to a quiet and peaceful family property near Laško. I used an old sattelite antenna dish as a resonator and when it started to sing for the first time I was completely enchanted by its mysterious sound. In following years I designed many different prototypes to learn how to achieve most efficient performance of this peculiar and almost forgotten instrument. Through this process I developed sense for the wind and deeper appreciation of nature, as peaceful environment gave me optimal conditions to observe and test my wind harps. In 2019 I established specialized workshop and started to build wind harps as my main occupation.
If you are interested about other areas of my work, please visit: http://metamekanix.blogspot.com/
HISTORY OF WIND HARPS
The invention of wind harp is usually assigned to Ancient Greeks. Thus it is also known as Aeolian harp, named after Aeolus, the divine keeper of the winds. Orpheus, another mythical character is also associated with its sound. When exhausted Orpheus fell asleep after Eurydice's death, his lyre started to wheep tenderly when a gentle breeze blew over its strings.
The first exact description of its design was made by Jesuit polymath and scientist Athanasius Kircher in 17th century. He called it 'machina harmonica automata' and he spent a lot of time listening and optimizing his 'sound machine'.
In 18th and 19th century wind harps become very popular amongst romantics and transcendentalists like William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Henry David Thoreau. In that era wind harps often stood in gardens to relieve stress and boost the relaxing mood. They were even used for psychoteraphy. R.W. Emerson was a proud owner of wind harp and regarded it more than just an instrument. For him it was a symbol of beauty, wisdom and divine harmony. His poem Maiden Song of the Aeolian Harp was written from the point of view of the personified wind harp itself:
Keep your lips or finger-tips
For flute or spinet's dancing chips;
I await a tenderer touch
I ask more or not so much:
Give me to the atmosphere.
The wind harp is situated somewhere between music, physics, philosophy and romantic literature and it is difficult to decide whether it has to be considered as a real musical instrument or just a simple automatic musical machine, for its charming melodies are a random music played by nothing else but the wind.
For past few decades wind harps were rediscovered by rare enthusiasts, mostly sculptors, musicians and other artists like myself, who started to study and build those beautiful but almost forgotten instruments again. All of us are making efforts that wind harps are slowly finding their way back to parks, gardens and other quiet public venues.
TYPES OF HARPS / PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
STANDARD HARPS
You can choose between two types of standard harps: Gamma and Delta. Frames are made of Slovenian oak wood, all metal parts are from stainless steel, bridge is made out of polished aluminum while strings are of UV resistant nylon. Wood on all harps is protected against weathering with natural oils, which have to be applied once or twice a year. You can choose between different wariations of both types regarding colour, wood finish and orientation of the resonator.
All harps are handmade and tuned specifically for every harp according to their individual resonant frequency for optimal functioning.
UNIQUE HARPS
My unique harps are mostly made from old dead trees I find in an area where I live. I'm using parts of high quality wood, usually from oak, apple or pear trees. Wood is very strong and wear resistant, with colourful and highly decorative timber. Their main aesthetic quality lies in structure and imperfections of the wood. Surface of the wood is carefully polished and all imperfections are filled with coloured epoxy resin to protect and emphasize them as a nature's work of art. Wood on all harps is protected against weathering with natural oils and traditional japanesse technique of wood burning Shou Sugi Ban. All metal parts are from stainless steel, bridge is made out of polished aluminum while strings are from UV resistant nylon.
I like to explore furher possibilities and I'm opened for new ideas and suggestions. If you have any special wishes regarding your own wind harp, please contact me.
PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
Following our motto " Let the wind sing for you" were making special efforts to install Pneumaphone Windharps on different public spaces to enrich them with new aesthetic and sound qualities. Concept of every harp is carefully prepared according to clients wishes, architectural features of the space and historical context of the venue. Our harps are made from high quality stainless steel, constructions are designed according to rigorous static calculations regarding extreme weather conditions and their surface is carefully polished with glass blasting. Sailboat, first public wind harp in Slovenija, was instaled in Koper in November 2020.
FAQ
HOW IT WORKS
Mysterious, richly harmonic and often strangely dissonant sounds of wind harps were unsolved problems for many generations of acousticians. Mysterious relationship between speed of wind and frequency of the string was explained about a century ago with discovery of Kármán vortex street.
Kármán vortex street is a repeating pattern of swirling vortices,, which causes the unsteady and alternating separation of air around the string. At proper velocity of the wind string achieves oscilation similar to the resonant frequency of the metalic resonator which starts to act like a soundspeaker. When it happens, we hear the sound of the wind.
Optimal results are usually achived when wind velocity is between 5 and 10 m/s.
Important:
Strings and resonator are coming into resonance only in so called laminar air flow, which is caused with steady wind only. So it is not possible to get a sound from harp with ventilators. Sorounding bushes, walls or higher grass can also affect the laminar air flow so it is recommended to mount the harp in an open space about 1 meter from the ground.
HOW IT SOUNDS
When the wind blows across the strings you will never hear their fundamental tones but one of the harmonics. Which harmonic is heard depends on wind velocity on one side and tension, density, lenght and pitch of string on the other.
Ethereal, harmonic and unpredictable changes in pitch present the main quality of wind harp sound. Relaxing and meditative effects of wind harp on our consciousness were appreciated at least for two millenia. Fairy-like sounds of wind harp were especially admired amongst romantic poets like William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Henry David Thoreau.
Listening to wind harp is like looking into the fire: always different and always the same. Sound appears unexpectedly as a new idea. You never know when it gonna happens. It always appears as a surprise and as a gift. You can listen to different models of my harps by clicking Sound Samples in main menu.
WHERE THE HARP SHOULD BE PLACED
For optimal performance of the harp, it should be placed in an open, breezy area where wind can blows straight through the strings. To find an optimal position with constant and steady wind, you can use about 2 metres long pole, stick it to the ground and attach a light piece of ribbon or chord on the top as a marker of wind direction and speed. Observe it attentively before choosing the right location. As wind blows more steady higher from the ground it is recommended to mount the harp at least 1 metre above the ground.
In addition I also recommend to try different orientations of the harp regarding to the main direction of the wind before fixing it permanently. In theory harp should be oriented perpendicular toward wind direction, but testing each of my harps I usually achieve better results if harps are orientated parallel with wind direction.
HOW TO TUNE MY HARP
Each harp I made is tested for at least one month before it is delivered to the customer. The frequency of the resonator is carefully measured as a basis for optimal tuning of the strings, so each harp is individualy tuned. Most of the wind harps have all strings tuned at the same pitch (or octave higher), but have different diameters and tension. Thus the wind will play different harmonics, depending on its velocity.
As nylon is stretching according to the temperature, it is recommended to tune the harp in every season of the year. Recommended frequencies may serve as starting point and I encourage you to experiment also with different tunings to find your own favourite one.
HOW TO MAINTAIN A WIND HARP?
As all the metal parts of the harps are non corosive, care and maintainence are needed for the wooden frame and nylon strings. Wooden parts has to be protected with natural oils (teak, tung oil or similar) once or twice a year, regarding to the weather and climate conditions. Nylon strings usually last at least two years and could be replaced with any type of UV resistant fishing cord.
If properly tuned, harp should function normally even if half of the strings are missing.
As the materials are non expensive, maintaining costs for the harp are minimal.
WARRANTY
Warranty for all models of Pneumaphone Wind Harps is 3 years.
Warranty does not cover small cracks in the wood and stains of metall oxydation. They are natural part of weathering and does not affect the functioning of the harp.
