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| Sector |
Education |
| Project type |
New build |
| Services provided |
Product / system manufacture Product / system supply |
| Year completed |
2021 |
| Project location |
South West England |
| Client |
Devon Music Hub |
| Products used |
The Music Station |
In the spring of 2021 Acoustic Arts were commissioned by Devon Music Hub to create a portable percussion installation that could be shared between several hundred schools, libraries and other institutions within the county.
Following a brief period of consultation and prototyping, Acoustic Arts developed The Music Station – a free-standing, modular, collapsible percussion playground that can be transported in a small van and set up in different configurations in any indoor or outdoor location.
The Music Station consists of 8 interlocking panels that form a complete ring. Each panel contains a tuned percussion instrument: these include drums, chimes, xylophones, tone chimes and metallophones. The instruments are all precisely tuned to the same pentatonic scale which means they can be played at the same time without producing any clashing notes. This makes the Music Station accessible to people with a wide range of ages and abilities.
Wherever possible, recycled or repurposed components were used to build The Music Station. This
avoided the need to set up new production processes and demonstrates the creative and musical
potential of many everyday materials.
The frame is constructed from handrail tubing and fixings combined with modified steel cycle stands. The drums are made from PE water pipe, the xylophones are made from repurposed FSC certified hardwood decking and the metallophones use aluminium scaffold tubing.
Devon Music Hub were delighted with the design and have a long list of schools waiting to use The Music Station. Over the summer break, they are planning to set it up at Killerton House, a large National Trust property in mid-Devon.
