The Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote an article about us! Click on the pic to go to the online version.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Even though a lot of students couldn't make it, the performance at WFMU radio went great! Vishal and Alberto did a great job. Thanks, Woody, for having us on the show!
The F.K. Lane kids will be performing live on WFMU radio (91.1) on Monday, May 12! The show is from 12 noon to 3pm. Thanks to dj Woody for inviting us!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Here are a couple of "butter tub" amplifiers, by Vishal and Nick.
Here are a couple more clips of the FK Lane kids improvising on their microtonal guitars, plus the electric saron and a square wave oscillator. The saron is tuned to the same 7 tone equal temperament scale as the guitars. Note the butter tub amplifier the oscillator is being played through.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Hey! We got mentioned on another blog! Scroll down to the Friday, 28 March 2008 entry.
Here are a couple more pieces from our microtonal guitar jam session:
Here are some videos of our second microtonal improvisation session:
Monday, March 17, 2008
Here is a video of some of the FK Lane luthiers (guitar makers) in their first attempt at improvising together on guitar and percussion:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Shakia plays her cartoon tiger guitar through her headphone amplifier. The amp is so small, it's hard to see in the picture.
Nick soldering up a headphone amplifier.
Seon's guitar, with the names and symbols of electronic components... in preparation for building amplifiers.
Top to bottom: Nadeesha's polka dot guitar she's making for her sister. Anisha's New York guitar, Taylor's boot guitar, Jose's red guitar-- we take the strings off so we can cut the slots for the frets. Once the strings are back on, it's done! The last picture is of Francisco's rocketship flying v and Natalie's colorful figure 8 guitar.
Top to bottom: Tyrone, Vishal, Nick, Hector and Rashid of F.K.Lane HS show off their guitars. We had an unusually high number of leftys this year.
Anisha with her New York flower guitar. Anisha spent a lot of time painting her guitar, and it shows! In case you're wondering, yes, the schools do have heat in the buildings. The kids just like wearing their coats inside. I have no idea why.
Shante's Teddy bear rock! guitar, and Tameeka's pink skull guitar. The output jack to plug in the skull guitar is in an eye socket!
Ayonde calculates where his frets will go, using a chromatic tuner. This year, we used real fret wire instead of umbrella spokes, and the frets were set to seven-tone equal temperament, a scale that is used in parts of Africa and Indonesia.
Taylor drills holes in the headstock of her guitar neck, with some help from Anisha.
The kids have been working hard, making their guitars, and some of them are finished and are making amplifiers now. To the left is a picture of Anisha drawing designs to paint on the guitar body she designed then cut out with a jig saw. The pictures are not in chronological order.
This blog is a part of an afterschool music/instrument building/electronics My New York program at Franklin K. Lane High School and Wingate High School.
Foundation Statement:
The electric guitar has had a profound effect on the music and culture of New York. From the early, pioneering days of the instrument (Les Paul) to 60s folk (Bob Dylan, et al) to the beginnings of punk in NY's Lower East Side to guitar-based hiphop (Beastie Boys, Run DMC, et al) to reggaeton and other musical styles and forms today. The guitar, in both its electric and acoustic forms, continues to shape the sound of NY, with new forms emerging and evolving as new groups of people come to the city and contribute from their own cultural heritage and their individual innovations.
Through listening to examples, viewing photographs, reading texts and viewing video about guitar-based music in NY, students will explore the role guitar has played in NY life. Students will explore and discuss influences that inspire their own music. Finally, students will design, build, and play their own New York guitars and create recordings and performances of their original work.