Often times there is the opportunity and inspiration to make music where you would least expect it, from the shock waves of a Tesla coil to an empty black hole billions of miles away.
Meanwhile, Benn Jordan went to see if ducks could make music. On the surface it seems like a poultry proposal, but with an Arduino that had up to three aluminum containers filled to the brim with duck feed, Jordan was ready to test his hypothesis.
Despite the strange feeding arrangement, this herd did not try to evade the opportunity to get their bread. About a dozen ducks gathered around the meal, burrowed feverishly and triggered various drum and percussion loops as they ate.
Initially, the result of the ducks feeding process was cacophonic, unconventional, and certainly some feathers for the average listener. Jordan set the tone a bit, however, and refined his approach by introducing automatic quantization. As if by magic, the ducks' music was apparently ready for release.
Jordan's MPC, connected to the Arduino, produced a sample sound by detecting changes in the input-output voltage threshold while the ducks were eating. The renowned electronics artist, who MusicTech notes has produced under various pseudonyms, including The Flashbulb, Human Action Network and 66x, will share his blueprint on Twitter with the Internet in the near future.
