Be You Own Rain God
YUNYU ONG, Uni e si y o Technology Sydney, Aus alia
EMMA SMITH, Independen , Aus alia
LEE MCIVER, Taikoz, Aus alia
MADDIE DUNCAN, Aus alian Film Tele ision Radio School, Aus alia
Addi ional Key Wo ds and Ph ases: eal- ime in e ac i e music, eal- ime x, pe o mance cap u e
ACM Re e ence Fo ma :
1 PROGRAM NOTES
In his cap i a ing audio- isual ins alla ion, pa icipan s a e in i ed o s ep in o he ole o Rain Gods, c ea ing and
con olling hei own hunde s o ms h ough wo in e ac i e modes, while sub ly engaging wi h an unde lying
en i onmen al heme. This is a companion piece o he pe o mance "When he Rain God Sings, S o m Lions a e Bo n".
This ins alla ion allows indi iduals o c a hei unique s o ms using an elec ic Taiko (Roland’s Taiko-1). He e, he
o ce and hy hm o hei d umming di ec ly in luence he isual and audi o y in ensi y o ga he ing s o m clouds,
leading o he clima ic elease o ain. This mode no only en e ains bu also sub ly educa es pa icipan s on he delica e
balance o na u al o ces and he impac o human ac ions on wea he phenomena.
The e is an op ion o ’P ecision-Play’, o e s a mo e s uc u ed expe ience. Pa icipan s a emp o eplica e a
speci ic musical ph ase, simula ing he challenge o succeeding an ancien Rain God. This mode highligh s he p ecision
and esponsibili y in ol ed in managing na u al esou ces, d awing pa allels o he ca e ul s ewa dship equi ed in
en i onmen al conse a ion.
This ins alla ion, a companion o he li e pe o mance ’When he Rain God Sings, S o m Lions A e Bo n’, allows
pa icipan s o imme se hemsel es in he a o playing an elec onic Taiko (Taiko-1). A Taiko is a Japanese D um. This
ins alla ion demons a es how a adi ionally non-pi ched ins umen can be ans o med in o a dynamic, mul i-pi ched,
and mul i-laye ed ool. This is also an imme si e expe ience o he added skills needed o deli e his addi ional pi ched
aspec o he Taiko-1.
Bo h modes o he ins alla ion p o ide an in e ac i e pla o m o explo ing he ela ionship be ween pe o mance,
echnology, and he na u al elemen s. Pa icipan s a e no jus engaging in a musical expe ience; hey a e also s epping
in o he shoes o a Rain God, gaining insigh in o he in ica e in e play be ween human ac ions and en i onmen al
esponses. This ins alla ion aims o o e an enligh ening, imme si e expe ience ha blends a is ic exp ession wi h
en i onmen al awa eness.
Keep an eye ou o he accompanying pe o mance "When he Rain God Sings, S o m Lions a e bo n".
Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0). Copy igh emains wi h he au ho (s).
Yunyu Ong, Emma Smi h, Lee McI e , and Maddie Duncan. 2024. Be You Own Rain God. 1, 1 (Sep embe 2024), 4 pages.
Music P oceedings o he In e na ional Con e ence on New In e aces o Musical Exp ession
NIME’24, 4–6 Sep embe , 2024, U ech , The Ne he lands
2 Ong and Smi h
2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2.1 Backg ound
The spi i behind Rain Gods is one o ad en u e and explo a ion o wha a Taiko can be when i becomes an elec onic
ins umen . In Japan, a Taiko is a d um; pe o mances a e o en accompanied by s o ies, mo emen and pe cussi e
hy hms. One o he key challenges o he composi ion was expanding wha was possible om a single solois
pe o mance while add essing he pe o mance adi ion o he Taiko including playing echniques. New d umming
echniques and composi ional possibili ies we e c ea ed o Roland’s Taiko-1 (Elec onic D um). The ins alla ion seeks o
imme se he audience in an in e ac i e apes y, in i ing hem o explo e he nuanced laye s and app ecia e he p ecise
playing echniques needed by he pe o me o pe o m he piece. I is an in i a ion o wi ness he me amo phosis o a
adi ional ins umen in o a dynamic, elec onic en i y, o ging a cap i a ing b idge be ween he i age and inno a ion.
2.2 O e all Expe ience Desc ip ion
In he NIME ins alla ion, pa icipan s in e ac simul aneously wi h bo h d um su aces, ac i a ing sounds and isuals
h ough a ious modes. The audi o y ou pu can be expe ienced h ough speake s and/o headphones. Two p ima y
modes a e ea u ed in his in e ac i e expe ience, easily swi chable by pa icipan s: Mode 1: Use s engage wi h he
pe o mance pla o m, c ea ing a dynamic musical s o m. The playe ’s inpu in luences a mix o s o m sound e ec s
and musical ins umen s, o e ing a isually and musically sa is ying expe ience. This mode is designed o simplici y,
accommoda ing playe s o a ying d umming skill le els. Mode 2: Pa icipan s eplica e a musical ph ase on a p e-
p epa ed sco e, playing a de ined melody on he d um. This mode also p oduces music isual e ec s; howe e , i equi es
a bi mo e p ecision in bo h musical and hy hmic aspec s, o e ing a sligh ly less o gi ing challenge o pa icipan s.
2.3 Rele ance o NIME
The p ojec was de eloped in esponse o he diminishing oppo uni ies o a elling pe o mance g oups as enues
hemsel es became ulne able du ing pandemic ela ed economic challenges. We eel ha he u u e de elopmen s
o Taiko-1 a e impo an as his was a democ a isa ion o skills. Taiko playe s a e no longe limi ed o pe o ming
non-pi ched ins umen s and ensemble s yle playing oppo uni ies a e possible o solois s wi h ca e ul in e ac i e
composi ional echniques. This ins alla ion was de eloped as an ex ension o he pe o mance o po en ial d umme s
and playe s o expe ience his expansion o composi ional and pe o mance possibili ies – musically d i en by a c ea i e
e-con ex ualisa ion o adi ionally linea Digi al Audio Wo ks a ion (Logic P o X)
3 PERFORMANCE NOTES
Equipmen
•Lap op: powe ou le 1x Mac; 1x PC
•Taiko-1 – 10 x AA echa geable ba e ies
Audio speake s
•P ojec o Sc eens/ LED sc eens P ojec o (i using p ojec o sc eens)
•Rela ed Connec o s
See Fig 1 o se up.
Be You Own Rain God 3
Fig. 1. P oposed Ins all Se up
3.1 Technical Requi emen s
The ins alla ion is p oposed o a mo e in ima e se ing, po en ially o he pe o mance dinne . Below is a guide o
wha is needed, howe e , we an icipa e u he communica ion and ine- uning once he pe o mance is p og ammed.
Audio Se up:
•
S e eo DI ou o MacBook P o o audio desk o audio igge ed by he Taiko 1 3 x moni o s o s age old-back
Video Se up:
•Connec ed Mac o PC ia e he ne cable o sending MIDI signals
Spa ial conside a ions:
•Minimum 3m wide x 4m deep
•Ideally ea p ojec ed on a la ge sc een (6m wide) ha add esses he loo
- Howe e , we can wo k wi h a on p ojec ed lown sc een o sc eens i equi ed. LED sys em also possible. Hi es
p ojec o s equi ed. To be con i med close o da e.
4 DURATION
Es ima ed engagemen ime 3-4 minu es o a comple e expe ience.
4 Ong and Smi h
5 MEDIA LINKS
•Video: h ps:// imeo.com/942206916/761cb98da1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The au ho s would like o hank Pe cussion Aus alia, Uni e si y o Technology Sydney, Dolby Aus alia and Roland
Aus alia o hei ongoing suppo o he wo k.
ETHICAL STANDARDS
The e hics app o al p ocess has been conduc ed and app o ed wi h e hics boa d wi hin he Uni e si y o Technology
Sydney.
