Beat Sound Projection Collage

There are many ways that musicians perform or reproduce music. Music is transcribed utilizing staff paper and/or chord charts with standard musical notation while musical performances are recorded on a digital audio workstation or to analog tape. As a drummer, I view a used drum head as a culmination of both recording and transcribing music in an abstract sense. Although there is no playback audible with these drawings or a conventional notation language one could use to reproduce a previous performance, there is a record of sound and motion. The way the stick strikes the head leaves different marks behind. With these random marks on the drumhead, there are millions of musical variations, style, power, and physical variables that will effect the look and wear of the drum head. That wear is the transcription and is completely unique. Each time I begin a new piece I take cues from the unique marks and use it to guide me using ink, gouache, weaving plastic sheets etc., etc..