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Contribute

I am hoping to collect sounds from anyone who would like to participate, anywhere, and at any time. I will constantly extend the #otherbeats project with the sounds that are sent to me – also after the project's first public presentation in September 2020. Contributors will be credited unless they wish not to be.

All you will need to contribute is a device to record audio. Any device from a phone with a voice memo app to a laptop with a mic will do; whatever you have at your disposal. The prompts have been adapted to the COVID-19 lockdown and can be performed in any room as small as a bedroom. If you feel that the visual component of your performance is as important as is the auditory, then you may decide to record video. Otherwise, an audio recording is just fine. If you feel inclined (and if it is safe for you) then it may be fascinating and inspiring to perform some of these tasks outdoors – in the street, on the balcony, in the backyard, or in front of an opened window. Otherwise, an indoor performance will perfectly do.

The #otherbeats Prompts

Prompt #1

Imagine you’re dancing. What tempo would be just right? Use your fingers/hands or any objects that you might have at hand to clap the tempo for ~3 minutes and record your performance, but don’t use any technological aid for keeping the tempo.

Prompt #2

Create a beat with any means that you might have at hand, or with no means at all. Make a recording of it that lasts for ~3 minutes.

Prompt #3

What would you imagine is an alternative metronome? Invent one, or find one, or perform one, and record it for ~3 minutes.

Prompt #4

In whatever space you’re in right now, record its “silence,” that is, its ambient noise for another ~3 minutes.

Optional

If you feel like improvising along with your freshly created beat or alternative metronome, I would love to hear what you come up with!

Once You Are Done

send the recordings to me using some file transfer service and my contact form. Include, as precisely as possible (for archival purposes), the recording date/time and the place of recording. The latter could be indicated as a postal address or as map coordinates from Google or similar. If you feel like it (but definitely not required!) post some of your recordings publicly on any of your own channels, using the hashtag #otherbeats. Thank you for contributing!