I’ve always liked musical activities that can be as inclusive as possible without that horrible sense of vulnerability that “audience participation” immediately engenders in people. Its probably why people enjoy being part of a community choir, or participating in a samba school; all those small contributions adding up to something fulfilling and much larger. In the more exploratory world, composers such as John White and Cornelius Cardew produced works which were accessible to a wide range of skills and I’ve seen some joy in the community by staging some of them. Coming out of lock-down this was particularly evident as, in Wales, bands were limited to duos without wind instruments so I devised a few pieces for audience (“For audience and 4 keyboards”, “Sonic Fruit and Veg Machine”, etc)
Taking part empowers people but it poses the immediate question of “how do you do it, so that most people want to actively contribute and hence, benefit”. My personal view is that it needs to be:
- Fun
- Original
- Simple to teach, learn, and to execute
- Be independent of individual skills
- Free of the bounds of a musical education
- No exposing of the individual – a group activity
- Fun (again)
Opportunity
Some dear friends of mine, after a hilarious weekend together, bought me a retail pack of “Melody Pops” by Chupa Chups. These are essentially strawberry flavoured boiled sweets, cast in the shape of a swannee whistle which actually functions. Apparently they are quite popular and if you buy a child one it it has the benefit of only lasting a while before the thing disintegrates. (NOTE: Alternatively if you want to be a bad uncle/aunt, buy them a tin drum). So the opportunity of using 50 “Melody pops” gave the impetus to this new piece.
Implementation
What was needed is a simple graphical score that everyone could follow. As the “world premier” was part of a “NAWR Aberystwyth” event at the Bank Vault, Aberystwyth, a video could be used as the screen could be seen by everyone in the venue.
A swannee whistle needs two things to work: someone to blow it; someone to move the slide up and down. The corresponding “graphical score” needs to convey this in a simple way. The first ever video game from 1972, “PONG”, fills this remit beautifully. It has a paddle which goes up and down and a puck or ball indicating whose in play. Almost everyone, young or old knows what PONG is so its not a strange image to deal with.
Instructions
- 1) Split the room into two halves. One side follows/becomes Player 1, the other, Player 2
- 2) Only blow your whistle when the puck or ball is approaching you
- 3) Move the slide up or down corresponding to the position of your player’s paddle
- and lastly …
- 4) If you fail to return the puck, blow a long high to low slide.
The premier
This bit of communal stupidity was first aired during a “NAWR Aberystwyth” experimental music evening on the 4th November 2025 at the Bank Vault, Aberystwyth. About 35 people took part. Did it work? Yes it did. It required a few practice runs and was absolute mayhem but a lot of people had a lot of fun and it still crops up in conversation. Why not put it on yourself?