Leonardo Fuks: "Building Mouthpieces, Bocals and Wind Gadgets for Research, Teaching and Musical Performance"

Leonardo Fuks is Associate professor at Rio de Janeiro Federal University School of Music.

In addition to this seminar, Leonardo Fuks will be participating in a hands-on workshop on March 18th.  For details about the workshop, visit: Workshop on Understanding Mouthpieces through Practice and Science

ABSTRACT:

Mouthpieces, bocals and headjoints are regarded as the key components of wind instruments. They are at the core of sound generation and also serve as a complex interface  between player and instrument. However, most of their development is based on empirical methods, where several impressionistic and even "mythical" assumptions are considered, rather than scientifically-grounded facts.  
How important is the material of a flute headjoint?
Why is it difficult to make a good trombone mouthpiece from resin ?
Will sax mouthpieces be generated on the player´s pc´s?
This hands-on seminar was designed to demonstrate an approach that merges musical experience to scientific information, in the search of new materials and  projects , eventually bringing optimized, costumized and more affordable  products.  
Several gadgets will be shown, such as The Mouth2Piece (a double-reed clarinet mouthpiece) ,Adolphicleid (a brass-like bocal for saxophones), Barrelpiece (a one-piece clarinet barrel-joint/mouthpiece), The Flutenet (a flute headjoint with a reed mouthpiece), and other "conversation-pices" These gadgets are mostly inspired on the work of proeminet acoustician, Arthur Benade
We will build and play several "filmwinds", i.e., wind instruments made of plastic film that resemble oboes, bassoons, saxes and other woodwinds.  
This talk is intended for those interested in musical instruments, acoustics, music performance and experimental music.
No deep knowledge on acoustics or other technical fields is required. 
Musicians are warmly welcome , together with their instruments.

ABOUT LEONARDO FUKS:

Associate professor at Rio de Janeiro Federal University School of Music, Leonardo Fuks combines a background in mechanical and acoustical engineering with a 25 years carrier as orchestra oboist and contemporary music performer. 
He obtained his doctoral degree at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, with prof. Johan Sundberg, studing acoustical, physiological and perceptual aspects in woodwinds and in Tibetan-type bass phonation. 
His main present project deals with the development and production of new instruments for research, education and experimental music. Such instruments and components are usually inexpensive and made of non-conventional materials, such as resins, carbon fiber, pvc and plastic films.  
Fuks´workshop has produced more than two thousant professional clarinet and sax mouthpieces, besides flute bocals and baroque oboes.
His lectures and workshops have been presented in several countries: Japan, USA, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Italy and Sweden.
Dr Fuks is the founder and director of two contemporary ensembles: Cyclophonica Bike Orchestra and Cellphonica,  a group that employs cell phones as conventional solo and chamber instruments.