The Structure of Vibration

In the realm of life

The Structure of Vibration in the Realm of Life was a workshop that took place in Echo Amphitheater in New Mexico, during Palmerie Sound's Drone Club Camping Trip, 2025. An amazingly talented group of experimental musicians and sound artists gathered together for a weekend to explore sonic possibilities in a naturally-formed, geologically-stratified amphitheater. We explored the more than human soundscape within this unique high desert ecosystem, researching the structures behind the sounds. We then made musical instruments that we played back in conversation and offering to the more than human world.

Part I : Listening

We started off the workshop by going on a listening walk to observe the landscape, and the soundscape. This unceded land of the Tewa peoples supports a pinyon-juniper forest, with cholla cacti, sagebrush, chamisa, prickly pear opuntia, and animals and insects adapted to the arid climate. We focused our attention on what we could see or hear - songbirds, crickets, grasshoppers, bees and flies, and the movement of plants.

Part II : Build an Instrument

Returning from our walk we reviewed our research on the structures, mechanisms, and movements employed by the local flora and fauna to make sound. Songbirds modulate their syrinx, or voice box; crickets cross their file and scraper; bees generate high-speed, rapid wing movements; and plants emit ultrasonic popping noises when they are dehydrated or injured. Participants were then asked to pick a specific strategy as inspiration for the design and creation of a musical instrument.

Part III : The Ensemble

In culmination, we performed before an audience using the instruments we created. We scraped ridged chopsticks together to simulate crickets; swung resonating office supplies through the air to create a buzzing effect; rattled leaves together as if they were disturbed by the wind; and lightly clinked rocks, imagining the ultrasonic popping noises of thirsty plants. Drone club participants joined in, creating a chorus of human and more than human sounds. When we finally stopped playing the birds were singing, and we only had to stay quiet to hear them.