Power Pole Bells

Power Pole Bells

Click HERE for mp3 files of compositions by various composers featuring power pole bells.

Since 1996, Anne Norman has been collecting galvanised iron caps from the top of old electricity poles from various power company depots. These galvanised iron caps were made by the SEC (State Electricity Company of Victoria, Australia) to fit electricity poles made from tree trunks of varying diameters. Their function was to protect the poles from the weather and for mounting insulators above the poles. These iron caps make marvellous microtonal bells and have been performed numerous times by Anne and her colleagues in Victoria and Japan and have been recorded and broadcast by the ABC. In Anne's collection of PP caps, the diameters range from 18cm to 32cm with a pitch range of nearly two octaves from aprox 130 Hz to 440 Hz.
In 2003, Anne received a grant from the Australia Council (the arts funding and advisory body of the Commonwealth Government) towards making two structures: an acoustic performance frame of spring mounted bells (Spring Bells) and an electro-acoustic bell installation known as the Bell Garden.

some painted bells and an original power pole cap with insulator still attached (at the rear)

The plates sit on a rubber mat to prevent rattling. The bells mounted on springs ring for much longer than if they were rigidly attached. Wendy Greenberg rehearsing 'Shadow Dancing ' with Caitlin Williams (flute) - composed by Taran Carter. 'spring plates' produce a deep buzzing sound when hit on the top of the spring. The side of the spring and the plate itself make different pitches and timbres when hit.

for more pictures and info on the spring mounted bells click here

The Bell Garden
Still in development phase. Anne is collaborating with Angelo Fraietta on the electronics and Michael Sanders of IRONIC TWIST on the metal construction.

The multifunction Bell Garden is for use with movement artists and live musicians, and as an interactive public sound art installation for use in public galleries and arts festivals. It can be performed:

with beaters acoustically
with subtle amplification of the acoustic sound
with electronic effect modulation of the acoustic sound
through movement detectors triggering an auto striking mechanism
through movement detectors triggering samples
through strike triggered samples

some of the Bell Garden in Anne's lounge for more photos, schemata and information on the Bell Garden click here

We Lose Things © Anne Norman 2000 Sample 1. Sample 2.
While you are reading this, why not download an excerpt from the work which is housed at the website of Baker st Studios.

Composed by Anne Norman for power pole bells, shakuhachi and bass, We Lose Things draws inspiration from a number of diverse sources: Several months spent with local music groups in Bali in the 1980's surrounded by gongs and numerous metallophones; work with Peter Neville in Nadoya and Jouissance where Peter showed a clear interest in playing found objects; the gestural nature of shakuhachi honkyoku where each breath constitutes a phrase and world unto itself; and for motivation, the life and recent death of dancer Machiko Kaneko, who got me started creating new works for shakuhachi back in the late 80's. This work was performed and recorded before the Spring Bell stand was created. The bells and plates are performed while kneeling on the floor, placed on carpet.
The tonality of this work is dictated to a great extent by the pitches I happened to find when pilfering caps off old power poles from my local power company. The pitches I collected include a whole tone scale which I have touched on momentarily as a reference to the naive hopes we sometimes cling to, but just as the whole tone scale has no root, so too our fleeting retreats into idyllic notions end us up somewhere else. The last movement gives the wholetone scale a foreign 'root' note, which takes the music into an altogether different direction.

We Lose Thingswas premiered in November 2000 in Melbourne and was also performed at the memorial service of Machiko Kaneko in March 2001 in Nishinomiya, Japan. This recording was made at Baker st Studios featuring Peter Neville (power pole caps), Nick Tsiavos (bass) and Anne Norman (shakuhachi) and was commission by Le Tuan Hung of the Australian Asia Foundation, and financed through the generous support of the Music Fund of the Australia Council. Le is on a wonderful quest to commission Australian composers to write works which include Asian instruments. These will eventually be published and released on CD.

we lose things
we lose
our courage
our confidence
our sense of humour
our independence
& our loved ones

some people lose their mobility
others, their job
drivers licence
memory
eyesight
while others are forever losing their glasses

every day, someone loses their battle with illness

sometimes, we lose our sense of time

but, it is through our losses that we discover what it is that we have
and through sharing in another's loss, we avoid losing our sense of perspective

we lose things

some folk lose their home
they lose years running from one cruelty to another
they lose family and community
they lose hope of finding sanctuary
they lose their self worth

let us not lose
our compassion
our empathy
our humanity
let us not lose our grip on reality

rather, let us lose our fear
our ignorance
our self righteousness

and take the time to listen

we lose things

(Anne Norman 2000/2002)

We Lose Things is dedicated to

the memory of Machiko Kaneko

Power Pole Bells
Click HERE for mp3 files of compositions by various composers featuring power pole bells.
Since 1996, Anne Norman has been collecting galvanised iron caps from the top of old electricity poles from various power company depots. These galvanised iron caps were made by the SEC (State Electricity Company of Victoria, Australia) to fit electricity poles made from tree trunks of varying diameters. Their function was to protect the poles from the weather and for mounting insulators above the poles. These iron caps make marvellous microtonal bells and have been performed numerous times by Anne and her colleagues in Victoria and Japan and have been recorded and broadcast by the ABC. In Anne's collection of PP caps, the diameters range from 18cm to 32cm with a pitch range of nearly two octaves from aprox 130 Hz to 440 Hz. In 2003, Anne received a grant from the Australia Council (the arts funding and advisory body of the Commonwealth Government) towards making two structures: an acoustic performance frame of spring mounted bells (Spring Bells) and an electro-acoustic bell installation known as the Bell Garden.
		some painted bells and an original power pole cap with insulator still attached (at the rear)


The plates sit on a rubber mat to prevent rattling. The bells mounted on springs ring for much longer than if they were rigidly attached.	Wendy Greenberg rehearsing 'Shadow Dancing ' with Caitlin Williams (flute) - composed by Taran Carter.	'spring plates' produce a deep buzzing sound when hit on the top of the spring. The side of the spring and the plate itself make different pitches and timbres when hit.

for more pictures and info on the spring mounted bells click here

	The Bell Garden Still in development phase. Anne is collaborating with Angelo Fraietta on the electronics and Michael Sanders of IRONIC TWIST on the metal construction. The multifunction Bell Garden is for use with movement artists and live musicians, and as an interactive public sound art installation for use in public galleries and arts festivals. It can be performed: with beaters acoustically with subtle amplification of the acoustic sound with electronic effect modulation of the acoustic sound through movement detectors triggering an auto striking mechanism through movement detectors triggering samples through strike triggered samples
some of the Bell Garden in Anne's lounge	for more photos, schemata and information on the Bell Garden click here

We Lose Things © Anne Norman 2000 Sample 1. Sample 2. While you are reading this, why not download an excerpt from the work which is housed at the website of Baker st Studios.
Composed by Anne Norman for power pole bells, shakuhachi and bass, We Lose Things draws inspiration from a number of diverse sources: Several months spent with local music groups in Bali in the 1980's surrounded by gongs and numerous metallophones; work with Peter Neville in Nadoya and Jouissance where Peter showed a clear interest in playing found objects; the gestural nature of shakuhachi honkyoku where each breath constitutes a phrase and world unto itself; and for motivation, the life and recent death of dancer Machiko Kaneko, who got me started creating new works for shakuhachi back in the late 80's. This work was performed and recorded before the Spring Bell stand was created. The bells and plates are performed while kneeling on the floor, placed on carpet. The tonality of this work is dictated to a great extent by the pitches I happened to find when pilfering caps off old power poles from my local power company. The pitches I collected include a whole tone scale which I have touched on momentarily as a reference to the naive hopes we sometimes cling to, but just as the whole tone scale has no root, so too our fleeting retreats into idyllic notions end us up somewhere else. The last movement gives the wholetone scale a foreign 'root' note, which takes the music into an altogether different direction. We Lose Thingswas premiered in November 2000 in Melbourne and was also performed at the memorial service of Machiko Kaneko in March 2001 in Nishinomiya, Japan. This recording was made at Baker st Studios featuring Peter Neville (power pole caps), Nick Tsiavos (bass) and Anne Norman (shakuhachi) and was commission by Le Tuan Hung of the Australian Asia Foundation, and financed through the generous support of the Music Fund of the Australia Council. Le is on a wonderful quest to commission Australian composers to write works which include Asian instruments. These will eventually be published and released on CD.
	we lose things we lose our courage our confidence our sense of humour our independence & our loved ones some people lose their mobility others, their job drivers licence memory eyesight while others are forever losing their glasses every day, someone loses their battle with illness sometimes, we lose our sense of time but, it is through our losses that we discover what it is that we have and through sharing in another's loss, we avoid losing our sense of perspective we lose things some folk lose their home they lose years running from one cruelty to another they lose family and community they lose hope of finding sanctuary they lose their self worth let us not lose our compassion our empathy our humanity let us not lose our grip on reality rather, let us lose our fear our ignorance our self righteousness and take the time to listen we lose things (Anne Norman 2000/2002)



We Lose Things is dedicated to
the memory of Machiko Kaneko