Of the musical instruments most likely to be seen, wood and brass might be the most known materials, but if we look closely we can find creative uses of other metals, including gold, silver, platinum – and even steel.

Because steel is heavier than other metals it is typically not found in many musical instruments. However, today we will explore how steel and metal have helped to revolutionize sound and music.

Wintergatan’s 2,000 steel ball bearings

Swedish band Wintergatan debuted their self-titled album in the Spring of 2013. After 18 months of touring, founding member Martin Molin decided that he wanted to go in a different direction with a visionary project to build a musical marble machine. His contraption feeds 2,000 steel marbles through multiple tubes at varying heights to create a variety of rich, layered sounds.

Martin Molin plays Wintergatan’s Marble Machine. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Wintergatan’s programmable marble machine powers a kick drum, snare drum, hi-hat, sizzle cymbal, electric bass, and a vibraphone. The marble machine consists of around 3,000 parts, 3,000 screws, 500 LEGO Bricks, and 2,000 steel marbles. Originally scheduled to be built in two months, it took Molin more than 14; however, success came as their first YouTube video garnered more than 10 million views after just three days (it now has over 1 billion).

A close-up view of a few of the 2,000 steel marbles used to create the sounds in the Marble Machine. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Steel marbles are fed through these funnels to create its unique sound. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Molin built the marble machine in the style of older music that used loops. Telling WIRED, “…everyone makes music on a grid nowadays, on computers. Even before digital they made fantastic, programmable music instruments. In bell towers and church towers that play a melody they always have a programming wheel exactly like the one that is on the marble machine.”

Wintergatan’s Marble Machine must be seen (and heard) to be believed. The complexity of the simultaneously moving parts is mind-boggling to watch. Even more surprising – that such sound could come from steel marbles moving rolling through funnels.

To learn about Wintergatan and their other interesting projects, visit them on their social network channels (YouTube, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

The Theremin Revolutionizes Electronic Sound

If we rewind almost 100 years, we can find the introduction of one of the first electronic instruments. The theremin is an electronic music device that was patented in 1928 by Russian inventor, Léon Theremin (1896-1993). It is unique among instruments because it is played without any contact by the musician. Instead, the thereminist must move their hands in proximity to the two metal antennas that control the pitch and volume of sound. When building his first instruments,  Léon Theremin used a steel chassis to hold his new instrument.

The distinctive sound that comes from the theremin is due to the movements of the player’s hands. These movements give the sound a vibrating depth similar to vocal chords and violins. The theremin was particularly popular in America following WWII, but as more and more electronic instruments came onto the market, it fell out of favor among serious musicians.

Over time, many musicians became taken to the theremin – including Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones – however, probably none were more popular than the 1966 Beach Boys hit, Good Vibrations that used a theremin-like instrument on the opening chords of its smash song.

Barbara Buchholz playing the model TVox by George Pavlov. Photo by Gregor Hohenberg (Courtesy of Barbara Buchholz).

Before the theremin got in the hands of the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones, the most popular player was Léon Theremin’s protégé, Clara Rockmore (1911-1998). Watch her video below to see the exquisite expertise and talent required to play one of the first electronic instruments.

The music industry is always working to reinvent itself and find new and creative sounds. In the early 20th century, the theremin arrived to give audiences something breathtakingly new. Fast forward to the 21st century and we find steel helping artists create monumentally complex machines to create new music.

* Cover photo of Wintergatan’s Marble Machine, courtesy of Samuel Westergren & Wintergatan.

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Apart from music’s biggest night, the Staples Center hosts more than 250 events throughout the year including the games of the NBA’s Lakers & Clippers, the NHL’s Kings, the WNBA’s Sparks, and countless other events. It can host an LA Lakers game one night and in less than 24 hours, it will have transformed into an ice skating rink for the LA Kings (watch the video below to see how it is done). Rolling Stone magazine named it among the top 8 arenas in the US, and it remains one of the top grossing venues as well.

Watch the Staples Center transform itself through 6 events in 4 days.

Obviously a building of this magnitude requires steel in its construction. But a closer look at the Staples Center reveals some unique characteristics that make it stand out among some of the best venues in America.

The Supertruss Supporting the Roof

Most circular arenas and stadiums are built using a ring beam design; however, the Staples Center engineers decided to go with an exposed supertruss in which the structure’s framework is supported by one central truss that supports the building like a spine. At the time of its construction, no other circular sports facility in the nation had used such a design due to the high cost of the steel that had be used for the supertruss.

This supertruss, measuring 64m wide and almost 14m deep and spans the 132m roof with secondary trusses reaching out to connect to the walls. It was assembled in 5 separate sections more than 30 meters in the air, and after each section was complete, the mechanical and roofing systems were installed.

In this short timelapse video, the supertruss can be seen as its spans the diameter of the Staples Center

The Staples Center has hosted the awards show for 17 out of the last 18 years in part due to this roof and its ability to withstand excessive weight demands of up to 175 tons. Staples Center GM Lee Zeidman told Billboard.com that for the first show, he  hired a surveying company to make sure the roof didn’t warp and that the steel didn’t drop. He said, “Nobody had ever done that big of a Grammy show in a building before.”

Strengthening with Shear Walls

To support the Staples Center against the earthquakes that regularly hit the Los Angeles area, contractors needed to increase the structural integrity of the building. PCA, the contractor that made much of the cement foundation, explained that in order to strengthen the perimeter of the main bowl area, they included 4 curved shear walls up to 53m long and almost 49m tall that were used to counter the effects of the lateral load. Also, along the radial lines are 10 more cast-in-place shear walls up to 15m long and 76cm thick. The walls are all supported by large mat style grade beams with cast-in-place ring beams tying the walls together with the precast columns between them. The shear walls and structural reinforcements provide support to the Staples Center and the visitors in the building.

Connecting everything together with steel

In addition to supporting the roof and walls, steel runs throughout the rest of the Staples Center as well.  The concession stands and restaurants are all connected by seemingly endless steel pipes that deliver the beverage of choice to millions of fans, and the ice hockey rink could never be made without the help of pumps and stainless steel piping. Murray Company was contracted for the installation of the sump pump system (for the ice floor), water systems, fuel oil systems, and concession stand piping. They reported using “in excess of 68,000 man hours with a peak crew size of 40 tradesmen” to install the maze of pipes for the Staples Center.

Steel piping runs throughout the Staples Center helping to make sure everything gets where it needs to be. (Photo courtesy of Murray Company)

*Cover photo courtesy of mark6mauno

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