A waterphone (also ocean harp) is a type of inharmonic acoustic tuned

idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings ( chordophones), membranes ( membranophones) or electricity ( electroph ...

consisting of a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...

resonator ''bowl'' or ''pan'' with a cylindrical ''neck'' and bronze rods of different lengths and diameters around the rim of the bowl. The

resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...

may contain a small amount of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

giving the waterphone a vibrant ethereal sound that has appeared in movie soundtracks, record albums, and live performances. The instrument was invented, developed and manufactured by American

Richard Waters Richard Waters (September 19, 1935 – July 4, 2013) was an American painter and sculptor most notable for inventing the waterphone. Waters grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1961. I ...

(1935-2013). The waterphone was available in four sizes: the Standard (7" diameter), the Whaler (12" diameter), the Bass (14" diameter) and the MegaBass (16" diameter). It is generally played in a seated position by a soloist and either bowed or drummed, played as a

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...

struck idiophone Struck idiophones is one of the categories of idiophones (that is, any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the instrument as a whole vibrating—without the use of strings or membranes) that are found in the Hornbostel-Sachs syste ...

, with movements to affect the water inside. This combines the resonant characteristics of the bowl and rods in combination with the movement of the water. The sound of the waterphone is often used to evoke mystery and suspense. A

superball A Super Ball or Superball is a toy bouncy ball based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as hyd ...

mallet has become the prime way of drumming the waterphone. The waterphone is a modern invention influenced by a Tibetan drum—encountered by the inventor in the early sixties—containing a small amount of water affecting its timbre. It is also related to the nail violin, which also used a resonator and rods (nails), and is struck or bowed.

Use

The waterphone has been exhibited in museums and galleries and is the subject of several short documentaries including "Art Notes," aired on public television in San Francisco, and "Celestial Wave," a movie short. Over recent decades the waterphone has become popular with symphonies, touring bands, and recording studios. Contemporary classical composers who have written parts for waterphone in compositions include

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...

, John Mackey, Christopher Rouse,

Colin Matthews Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...

, John Woolrich,

Carson Cooman Carson P. Cooman (born June 12, 1982, Rochester, New York) is an American composer and organist. Cooman was first given piano lessons as a three-year-old and began studying organ under Bruce Klanderman at age ten. He graduated from Allendale Colum ...

Andi Spicer Andrew John Preston "Andi" Spicer (1959 – 30 April 2020) was an English electroacoustic classical music composer who used electronics (see Electronic Music) in his compositions. The composer was also a writer and journalist. He has contribu ...

, Ludovico Einaudi, Andrew Carter, Bernie Krause of

Beaver & Krause Beaver & Krause were an American musical duo comprising Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. Their 1967 album ''The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music'' was a pioneering work in the electronic music genre. The pair were Robert Moog's sales represent ...

, and

Todd Barton Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

. The instrument has also been used prominently by rock musicians.

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

is a waterphone collector and player as is

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

. Other users include

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...

(both solo and with The Bongos) and Alex Wong (when playing with

Vienna Teng Cynthia Yih Shih (born October 3, 1978, Saratoga, California), better known by her stage name Vienna Teng, is an American pianist and singer-songwriter who was based in Detroit, Michigan and now lives in Washington, DC. Teng has released five ...

), and it can be heard in music by The Harmonica Pocket. Classical/rock crossover percussionist Tristan Fry of the fusion band Sky used a waterphone on the band's composition 'Meeheeco' (the original version is on 1981's '' Sky 3'', although the instrument can be heard much more prominently on the live version from '' Sky Five Live''). Canadian musician and composer, Robert Minden, has been composing for his collection of five vintage waterphones on many recordings since the mid-1980s. His ensemble, The Robert Minden Ensemble, formed with daughters Andrea and Dewi Minden and colleagues Carla Hallett and Nancy Walker in 1986, features the waterphone as a central instrument within their 'found object' orchestra. The waterphone is used to great effect in Howard Goodall's ''The Dreaming'', a musical commissioned by The National Youth Music Theatre of Great Britain, based on Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Goodall uses its ethereal sounds to evoke the mystery of the woods. In Derek Bourgeois' Symphony No 59 - Percussion symphony, which requires 16 percussion players there is a very prominent part for Waterphone. The waterphone has been featured in the soundtracks to many movies, including ''

Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional desc ...

'', '' Let the Right One In'' (2008), ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture,'' '' Dark Water'', ''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese ethnicity, including Chow Yun-fat, ...

'', ''

ALIENS Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'', ''The Spirit'', ''Female Perversion'', as well as TV production ''24''.

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

's opera '' The First Emperor'' (2006) & "Water Music" feature the waterphone. A sound sample can be found at

The FreeSound Project Freesound is a collaborative repository of Creative Commons licensed audio samples, and non-profit organisation, with more than 500,000 sounds and effects (as of May 2021), and 8 million registered users (as of March 2019). Sounds are uploade ...

. There is a yearly "Waterphone Music Competition" sponsored by Richard Waters. It has also been featured heavily as a sound effect in shows such as

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...

's ''

Kitchen Nightmares ''Kitchen Nightmares'' is an American reality television series formerly broadcast on the Fox network, in which chef Gordon Ramsay is invited by the owners to spend a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business. Produced ...

'' (though only in the US version). As the waterphone may be taken into the water, on several occasions the waterphone has been used successfully to call whales and other cetaceans, especially by Jim Nollman of Interspecies Communication. The true story of such interspecies communication was the basis of the stage show and album '' The Boy Who Wanted To Talk To Whales'' by The Robert Minden Ensemble in 1989.

Recordings (partial list)

* Richard Waters & Friends - ''Water Dreams'' (The Orchard Records, 2000) * Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band - ''One'' (Nocturne Records, 1973) * Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band - ''Hole In The Sky'' (Nocturne Records, 1981) * John Carter Octet - ''Dauwhe'' (Black Saint, 1982) * Jim Nollman - ''Playing Music With Animals'' (Folkways Records, 1982) * Robert Minden Ensemble - ''The Boy Who Wanted To Talk To Whales'' (Otter Bay Recordings, 1989) * Robert Minden Ensemble - ''Long Journey Home'' (Otter Bay Recordings, 1993) * Robert Minden Ensemble - ''Whisper In My Ear'' (Otter Bay Recordings, 1994) * Robert Minden & Carla Hallett - ''Are You Now'' (Otter Bay Recordings, 1999) *

- ''Water Passion (after Saint Matthew)'' (Sony Classical, 2002) * Toshiyuki Hiraoka - ''Waterfone'' (Hard Disc Intl, 2015) * Toshiyuki Hiraoka - ''Waterphone II'' (Edgestone Records, 2021) *

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

& Brasil '77 - ''Primal Roots'' (A&M Records, 1972) *Cheri Adams - ''Sweet & Sour Songs'' (Watermelon Records, 1977)

Use

Recordings (partial list)

See also

References

External links