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Circuit bending is the modification of circuits in electronic devices such as children'stoys anddigital synthesizers to change or control their sound output, usually by dismantling the machine and adding components such asswitches andpotentiometers.
Circuit bending has commonly been associated withnoise music, though many other contemporary musicians have experimented with it.
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The process of circuit bending involves experimenting with inexpensive second-hand electronics that produce sounds, such as toys, keyboards,drum machines, and electronic learning products.[1]
Serge Tcherepnin, designer of theSerge modular synthesizers, discussed his early experiments in the 1950s with thetransistor radio, in which he found circuit points that responded sonically to touch, and wired them to "body contacts" on the plastic chassis.[2]
In the late 1960s, musician and technologistReed Ghazala happened upon a similar phenomenon when, according to his recollection, a metal object fell onto the exposed circuit of hisRadioShack amplifier, shorting it out and resulting in unexpected sounds.[3] This experience inspired him to begin building circuit bent instruments intentionally. Ghazala coined the term "circuit bending" for the practice in 1992.[4][3][5] He was described byMotherboard as the "father of circuit bending."[6]
Prior to these experiments, other pioneers also explored the body contact idea, one of the earliest beingThaddeus Cahill (1897) whosetelharmonium, it is reported, was also touch-sensitive.
Starting in 1984, Swiss duoVoice Crack began creating music by manipulating common electronic devices in a practice they termed "cracked everyday electronics."[7]
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