Ellen Fullman and her Long String Instrument: An impossible reflection

Justin Ziegelmueller | Contributing Writer

Ellen Fullman’s performance of her “Long String Instrument,” took place last Friday at the Washington University 560 Music Center. Experimental music performances are one of those things that are incredibly hard to discuss not because of the event itself (I can readily describe what happened and who performed) but because of the phenomenological aspects of them. I haven’t been to that many, but every time I find myself sitting in a room with some strange looking instrument or a band that is decidedly pushing the limits of musical space, I am blown away by the sounds they create.

Ellen Fullman’s show was no exception. The instrument itself is an achievement; many strands of somewhere around 100 feet of music wire strung between two weighted stands, with resonators (essentially just wooden boxes) attached to one end. Littered about the many strings are little metal clips weighted with rocks, which Fullaman uses as capos, and numerical markers taped down to the floor, some at regular intervals and others seemingly at random. It filled the hall we were seated in and was lit with some simple stage lighting. The whole thing looked awesomely incomprehensible.

While we were sitting down, I commented to a friend that it must sound like a giant harp, but as soon as Fullman started playing I had my sonic expectations blown to bits. The instrument is played compressively; Fullman runs her fingers up and down the strings, contrary to how almost every other modern—and most traditional—instruments work (a guitar is played transversely, with the fingers running across the strings). The sound it creates is like a cello squeak but several octaves lower, enabling Fullman to create powerful swells of really delicate, highly harmonic sounds that sound like they’re coming from everywhere.

The performance itself was very physical, as Fullman walked up and down the strings, moderating volume and pitch by walking at different speeds and carefully manipulating the strings between her fingers. The sonic elements were reflected in the visual ones, and it made the experience all the more powerful—to such an extent that I nearly nodded off during a melodic lull.

Fullman played one droning, wandering piece over the course of about 50 minutes, with a short rhythmic interlude during which she used a special tram block to play the strings. The time flew by, despite the peacefulness of the sound, and before we knew it Fullman took an exceedingly modest bow and the show was over.

During a Q&A after the show, she addressed a variety of technical questions about the instrument from the audience, including about her tuning process—it turns out that the instrument has been set up at the 560 for a week, as Fullman worked on tuning the instrument and rehearsing for this show and her next one at Princeton University on Nov. 20. Fullman has been working on the “LSI” for over 30 years, and has released several records with the instrument. The object is very much an extension of the artist, and the chills-inducing performance emphasized that more than I can readily describe.

Experimental music has a unique power to push the bounds of how we think about sound, and, in a world inundated by artificial noise—music, urban sounds, conversation, etc.—something that transcends that artificality is truly mind-blowing. The crowd, mostly 30-somethings and surprisingly few college kids, was decidedly buzzing afterwards, admiring the seemingly dormant structure that had, just minutes before, produced impossible noise. It was awesome.

The Long String Instrument show was organized by St. Louis’ New Music Circle, a local organization that produces monthly concerts featuring a wide range of innovative and experimental musicians. Their next show in December will feature improvisationalist Lonnie Hollie at Off Broadway.

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