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~Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. 17 edo 5 string 12 edo bass Aeolian Harp ambient DIY Harmonic Series - un-octave-reduced

Aeolian Harp Demonstration Using a 17 edo Electric Guitar (video) and 12 edo 5 String Bass

The aeolian activation of a 17 edo guitar uses a furnace blower (same as in the Squirrel Cage video) as a wind source. I did not get much response from the high strings and my impression is that the low action interfered with the production of sound. That is, I would hazard a guess, due to a buffer zone of air close to the body of the guitar.

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Aeolian 5 string 12 edo bass

This was an amazing experience since leaving all of the string open a burst of harmonics approximating white noise is created despite the fact that the bass is tuned to stacked perfect fourths. I have included a frequency spectrum analysis that clear shows the bursts and also the notes I played. There is a lot going on here that I need to explore more fully. – The bass was played in the same pseudo-tapping hand position as the 17 edo guitar was when I was playing the higher strings. The strings on this on the bass have a lot higher action at the point the wind was blowing on the strings (at the pickups) which I think helped to create a stringer signal.

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click to see full size

The biggest take away for me from this is questioning the information on Aeolian Harps that only harmonics are present. My impression after this exercise is that in these examples that may not be true.

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