Composing with piezoelectric microphones

Daniela Fantechi

Daniela Fantechi project image

2017 - ongoing

My research concerns the composition of instrumental music implemented with specific use of piezoelectric microphones - low cost and low fidelity contact microphones. A peculiar use of this technology is explored not only to disclose and amplify the instrumental sound but also to produce new sounds, through a reinterpretation of some instrumental gestures, such as glissando, tapping, scraping, etc, produced by playing with the microphone directly on the instrument. In the context of instrumental composition with electronics, the technology used to explore and enlarge the instrumental sound world is significant also for the definition of different musical ideas. In this sense, indeed, the introduction of piezoelectric microphones in my work has changed the relationships with the instrumental sound matter, even if the instrumental gesture remains a central aspect of my compositional approach. Moreover, the low-fidelity quality of these microphones present limits and different degrees of controllability and predictability, which lead to a reflection on the nature of the sound matter and on the different possibilities of controlling it within the compositional process.


This research is conducted in the context of the docARTES PhD programme.