Classification of Balloon Bass
by Jonathan Ritter, assistant professor of ethnomusicology, UC Riverside
As an ethnomusicologist, I can tell you that the balloon bass defies the usual categories of instrument classification, falling somewhere between those called chordophones (string instruments) and membranophones (basically, drums). But such technical analysis is rather beside the point. It’s what you can do musically with an instrument that matters.
Addi Somekh’s “balloon bass” is one of those perfect marriages of the silly and sublime. Combining the humblest of materials with pure human ingenuity, the balloon bass’s surprisingly adaptable “voice” and musical potential reminds us all of the reasons we play and listen to music in the first place: for the sheer joy of making sounds and playing together.
> Get on down to Balloon Bass - listen to the recordings
