Music from Things a short history

Back in 2021 I was inspired to explore the building of simple musical instruments by watching a TED talk featuring Nicolas Bras. Nicolas made good use of everyday objects to make very playable instruments.  This got me thinking could we do a similar thing in my hometown of Maidstone?

During 2022 I started exploring ideas to create a project that could  make instruments with the community, for example  schools, community projects and general workshops. This took some time to research and sound out interest. I came up with a plan and got some support to build prototype playable wind instruments.

I discovered that some funding  was available from Maidstone Borough Council called the  “Creative Communities Grant”, so I made an application.

In January 2023 I was successful with my application and awarded £2,000

“Music from Things” was now a real project.

Here is the link to the Nicolas Bras TED X talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DBG9aU_7Ws) the talk is in French with English subtitles.

As 2023 unfolded I had many meetings with schools and other groups, trying to arrange the involvement of others in taking up the project.

I set the objective to build instruments from recycled or very low-cost materials.

The project got off the ground, and I built some simple wind instruments, for example end blown modular flutes and simple percussion instruments, from recycled objects.  The best engagement happened in the community with Cub and Beaver groups and at events during the school holidays, as well as in the venues such as The Eco Hub and workshops at the Maidstone Repair Cafe in the climate action zone. I also ran some workshops of one afternoon per week, for eight weeks at the Blackthorn Trust.

The project came to an end in November 2024 when the last of the funding was used up. Many of the interactive instruments used for display and interactive performance were donated to Five Acre Wood School.

Before the instruments were donated, I recorded each instrument and created a virtual instrument from the recordings. These virtual instruments are available to download for free in the Decent Sampler format from Piano Book. (https://www.pianobook.co.uk/profile/lescook1/)

My passion for creating instruments still exists, but now I do so for my own pleasure  and the joy of  performing with other musicians.  Music from Things lives on but in a different dimension now.