Art
Parachinkoid
A falling ball bounces among tuned nails and colorful googly eyes, producing a new series of notes and rhythms each time.
Music made by gravity
A ball drops through a board filled with nails, bouncing from one to the next while colorful googly eyes move in response. Every descent produces a short composition of pitches and rhythms: partly designed through the placement of the nails and partly determined by chance.
The randomness makes sound-making inviting even for participants who do not identify as musicians. Each drop is a performance that cannot be repeated exactly.
The science inside the play
The depth of each nail controls the length left free to vibrate. Shorter, lighter vibrating sections move faster and make higher pitches; the spacing between nails helps shape the rhythm. The moving eyes connect the sound to its physical source: vibration.
Parachinkoid draws from Japanese pachinko and from Bill Wesley's nail organs, adding movement, color, chance, and a miniature forest of watchful eyes.