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Step 4THE BOUNCING BALL
The plastic of the ping-pong ball is relatively hard, compared to a rubber ball. A soft striking material makes a softer sound than a hard one does. The hardness of the ping-pong ball and the short duration of contact with the typewriter parts results in a crisp sound.
The way the ball ricochets off the keys, rapidly striking more than one key, and the slow fade-away of each note allows notes to pile up on one another. The result is a rich complexity of sound.
Since the ball is somewhat out of control, it is virtually impossible to repeat the same music a second time. That makes each time you hear the instrument a unique and special experience.
To strengthen the attachment point of the string to the ping-pong ball, I used a small vinyl patch that the string passes through. It covers a tangle of string glued to the ball and provides more surface area for the glue to adhere to than the string alone provides.
The way the ball ricochets off the keys, rapidly striking more than one key, and the slow fade-away of each note allows notes to pile up on one another. The result is a rich complexity of sound.
Since the ball is somewhat out of control, it is virtually impossible to repeat the same music a second time. That makes each time you hear the instrument a unique and special experience.
To strengthen the attachment point of the string to the ping-pong ball, I used a small vinyl patch that the string passes through. It covers a tangle of string glued to the ball and provides more surface area for the glue to adhere to than the string alone provides.
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