″''Music on a Long Thin Wire'' is a

musical piece Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1977. AlvinLucier-MusicOnALongThinWire-CoverDetail-1980

In his own words (1992): "''Music on a Long Thin Wire'' is constructed as follows: the

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

s of a

power amplifier An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspea ...

placed under one of the tables. A

sine wave A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a curve, mathematical curve defined in terms of the ''sine'' trigonometric function, of which it is the graph of a function, graph. It is a type of continuous wave and also a Smoothness, smooth p ...

oscillator Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

is connected to the amplifier. A

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

straddles the wire at one end. Wooden

bridges A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...

are inserted under the wire at both ends to which contact

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s are embedded, routed to a

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

sound system. The microphones pick up the

vibration Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic function, periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum ...

s that the wire imparts to the bridges and are sent through the playback system. By varying the

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

and

loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...

of the oscillator, a rich variety of slides, frequency shifts, audible

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

s and other sonic phenomena may be produced."(1992)
Album Notes for ''Music on a Long Thin Wire''
at Lovely.com However, Lucier admits a ''long'' thin wire was at first only used to avoid the look of a laboratory experiment in favour of a more sculptural appearance; a short thin wire would have worked as well.Alvin Lucier (2005). ''Reflexionen. Interviews, Notationen, Texte / Reflections. Interviews. Scores. Writings.'' 2nd edition, MusikTexte, Cologne, p. 186 (Dual-language English / German) He discovered that the best way to produce variation in the sonic phenomena was to pick a setting and leave the setup alone. He praised

David Rosenboom David Rosenboom (born 1947 in Fairfield, Iowa) is a composer-performer, interdisciplinary artist, author, and educator known for his work in American experimental music. Rosenboom has explored various forms of music, languages for improvisation, ...

for his ability to pick interesting settings.Dorothea E. Hast, James R. Cowdery, Stanley Arnold Scott (1999). ''Exploring the World of Music: An Introduction to Music from a World Music Perspective'', p.284. It has been exhibited: *1979,

Winrock Shopping Center Winrock Town Center is an open-air mixed-use development under construction in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The center is anchored by two Dillard's locations and a Regal 16-screen IMAX and RPX Theatre. The town center is located on the ...

, Albuquerque, and broadcast uninterrupted on

KUNM KUNM is a public radio station broadcasting on FM 89.9 MHz from high atop Sandia Crest, with broadcasts originating from the third floor of Oñate Hall, on the campus of the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As of ...

(FM) for five days and nights *1980, Landmark Center, Saint Paul *1988, Gallery of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan, Middletown, CT *2011,

Tom Duff Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

was duplicating the 1979 performance from Albuquerque on sfSoundRadio, an internet radio station from the San Francisco bay area, again broadcasting uninterrupted for five days (April 8–12). *2013, Brno, Czech Republic, The Exposition of New Music Festival *2015, Dartmouth College, DAX: Dartmouth's Digital Arts Exhibition

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* {{Strings (music) Process music pieces

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