Bridge Music is the Weird Instrument of the Week!

The sound company Behringer has a blog and a weekly series called “Weird Instrument of the Week.” This week’s “Weird Instrument” is the Mid-Hudson Bridge as played by our very own Joseph Bertolozzi on the album “Bridge Music.”

From the Behringer Blog:

OK, this one stretches the definition of “Weird Instrument,” as the Mid-Hudson Bridge was not conceived as an instrument. It’s more of a bridge. But bear with me, I thought this was cool enough that I had to share it ASAP.

In 2006, American composer Joseph Bertolozzi set out on an ambitious recording project. Working with the New York State Bridge Authority and audio engineer Ron Kuhnke, Joseph recorded some 300 sounds of the Mid-Hudson being struck by rubber mallets, hammers, and a myriad of other percussion tools. Most of the resulting sounds were recorded via contact microphones. This is partially due to wind, traffic, and seagull interference that would have been recorded had traditional mics been used; also because the vibrations of the incredibly heavy metal bridge components aren’t necessarily audible at a distance. Some sounds recorded inside the wind-sheltered confines of the bridge used traditional mics.