MUSICAL SCULPTURE -- "The Secretary's Nightmare"

"The Secretary's Nightmare" is a musical sculpture, a sculpture that makes interesting sounds when struck. It evolved out of a mirror-like hollow steel ball I found washed up on a beach and some antique typewriter parts.

Trying to type anything on it would be a nightmare.

Although you can play The Secretary's Nightmare in different ways, such as by dragging pieces of mattress foam over it, my favorite way is to strike it with a ping pong ball on a string. The old "Follow the bouncing ball" song cartoons come to mind as the ball ricochets off the typewriter parts.

The music it makes is always somewhat out of control and random. Because the sounds it makes are low-volume, I use a stethoscope as a means of amplification. Playing it is a very personal experience. People without the stethoscope only hear a weak suggestion of what goes on inside it.

Be sure to listen to the audio file in the last step of this instructable to here what The Secretary's Nightmare sounds like.

Step 1 THE HOLLOW STEEL BALL

When I first found the hollow steel ball, it was washed up on a beach. The ball was chrome plated, like a mirror and very light weight. It was perfectly made. I couldn't find any seam on it where two halves had been joined. I have no idea where the mystery ball came from; perhaps a scientific instrument.

Unfortunately, during the process of welding on the typewriter parts, the mirror plating was damaged. The surface now is painted.

For some reason, the notes made by The Secretary's Nightmare linger a long time. I don't know if the sphere shape has anything to do with that, but it might.

Comments

[Ninzerbean]

This is so cool and such a great metaphor for all the sounds we make (or actions we take) that don't matter until someone hears them or sees them. The stethoscope is the vehicle that in this case lets us into an otherwise unappreciated world - sort of like Instructables lets us all into the wonderful minds and generosity of the world. I am very sentimental in the mornings.

[Twizzler]

In ninzers defense, it was 420 am...

[Thinkenstein]

I like the way you appreciate it. There is a lot that goes on under our radar, beyond our senses. We have one of an infinite number of points of view and tend to think of it as being the way things are. There is so much more that we are not thinking about most of the time, if ever. Good morning.

[Ninzerbean]

This goes with my thinking that Halloween should be a mandatory holiday where you must dress up as someone else and BE that person for the day. We could have another mandatory day called Gray Day where only a few things were black and white and absolute and could be taken for granted. The whole day you would have to have an open mind about the possibilities of what was known or on the surface of things. I think this would be mind expanding for the rest of the year. Just think that only less than 200 years ago dinosaurs were unknown to the world - what else is out there to be discovered below the surface of our senses? These "holidays" would be so much more beneficial than celebrating dead politicians. This is a long morning.

[Thinkenstein]

Long mornings have their place. I agree about Halloween. Except for Halloween, which is somewhat creative, holidays all seem like repeat TV programs to me. (I don't watch TV.) They are too predictable and not much fun because of it. Also, not being especially political or religious, they mostly celebrate things I don't want to celebrate. Workers are more productive if they have a few holidays, though. If we can't just spontaneously celebrate occasionally, I was always attracted to using a couple of roulette wheels. Spin one to select days of the year to celebrate. Spin the other to select among optional ways of celebrating, and make a new list every year. Personally, I would leave killing turkeys or other animals off the option list. Yodeling from rooftops might be nice!

[Ninzerbean]

Brilliant! I had not even thought of the turkeys. I don't watch TV either.

[bwoodfield]

By your description sounds like a chrome 'gazing ball'. Here is a site for some of them.:

http://www.ponddoc.com/HG/Gardens/Globes/StainlessSteel/SSteelGlobes.htm

More than likely got blow out of someone's yard/garden near the water's edge.

[Thinkenstein]

That sounds like a reasonable solution to the mystery. It was an amazingly good sphere, too. No visible seam from joining halves.

[richie_114]

Neat! Like a wind chime on steroids!

[FrozenFlameInstructables]

Dude, love it. But about the ball, i'm pretty sure it's not a gazing ball. It Could be something really amazing or special, but for the sake of being called paranoid, I won't tell my ideas.




Big Fan,
Adam Grimm

[becca-boo]

 Oh my gosh it sounds just like a steel tongue drum! that is so cool. I totally was not expecting that kind of sound from that! Wicked awesome!

[StevenMcFlyJr]

perhaps its the scifi orb from Brisco County? ;-)

[Thinkenstein]

I'm not familiar with the scifi orb. It does look kind of like a bizarre satellite to me from underneath.

[gramynini]

That is so cool, Reminds me of an out of tune calypso drum.

[Thinkenstein]

That's a pretty good way to describe the sound. I wonder what a calypso drum would sound like with the parts welded to it and played the same way. Would the underlying sound areas add a secondary tone over the typewriter key sound? I wouldn't want to sacrifice an in-tune drum to find out.

[imrobot]

I beleve I know what your mystery ball is although I get this feeling you enjoy the mystery of it. So I won't tell you unless you absolutely want to know. Imrobot

[Thinkenstein]

I absolutely want to know. A garden sphere?

[imrobot]

absolutely, also known as a gazing ball, I believe this is what it looked like when you found it:

[Thinkenstein]

Since I can't imagine any better explanation, I'll accept yours. I always imagined them being glass. I'm still impressed by how what must have been two half-spheres were joined so seamlessly. Your photo is neat. I wonder how the picture was taken without showing the camera or photographer in the picture? Photoshopped? One mystery down and another to take its place!

[scoochmaroo]

This is beautiful and makes a lovely, haunting sound. I'd love to see some short video of it being played!

[Thinkenstein]

Maybe I can add a photo of it being played sometime soon. No video equipment.

[bowmaster]

Hey!! You found my metal ball!! JK. Cool instructable!

[Thinkenstein]

Finders keepers! Thanks.

[OverSaltedFry]

That sounds really cool and creepy at the same time. Maybe you could magnetize the ball and put a coil of wire around it, when you strike it the coil might be able to pick up the signal and then you could amplify it.

[Thinkenstein]

That sounds like an interesting idea. They make contact mikes, too. I made my recording by putting a dictation recorder inside the base. The quality wasn't bad, but it sounds cleaner through the stethoscope.

[thecheatscalc]

oh wow... the sound from that is... amazing! I actually can think of quite a few uses for something like this right now... VERY cool noises!

[Thinkenstein]

Thanks. Glad you like it.