About Bellyhorn
Bellyhorn is an instrument to sing through. It is a big, organic-shaped, tangible and almost beastly instrument. It consists of a horn, a trunk and a ‘belly’. If you sing into the horn, sub-bass tones will sound from the instrument. The further you put your head into the horn, the louder you’ll play its tone. If you lift the horn, you also lift the pitch of the tone. When you sit or lie down on the Belllyhorn (as a listener or as a player), you can feel these deep bass tones through all of your body.
Dianne created the Bellyhorn during her residency at Gaudeamus Muziekweek at Vechtclub XL, a creative breeding ground in Utrecht, in cooperation with four designers (David Menting, Daniëlle van Lunteren, Toon Welling en Quinten Swagerman).
This page contains a glimpse of the creative process.
First design drafts:
Wollen koker/Woolen Funnel/Bellyhorn
How it works:
- Within the belly there’s a tone/drone
- You can influence the tone by singing through it
- You can influence pitch by lifting the horn
- Loudness of singing and how far your head is positioned in the horn defines final volume
More design sketches:
See also website Vechtclub XL
Bellyhorn prototype:
Photo by Marjolein Sponselee @ Rood Noot. With Peter Kolpa and Leela May Stockholm
Dianne Verdonk 