My woodwind quintet, The Monmouth Winds, is preparing for a performance on Sunday.  On the program are two movements from the Aires Tropicales by Paquito D’Rivera.  In the Contradanza, the performers are required to “stomp”, for percussive effect, several times during the piece.  For our performance, we will be located on a small, raised platform which seems to be concrete covered in carpet.  No matter what we wear on our feet, it is not possible to generate much sound.  These stomps are an integral part of the piece.  In the recording by the Imani Winds, highly recommended listening, the stomps are so loud it almost sounds like people are clapping or hitting something with drumsticks (the flexibility of making a recording vs. the limitations of a live performance). 

My scientist husband, John, and I set out on a quest to explore the acoustic properties of shoes and various objects readily on hand.  We tried surfaces of plywood (1/4-inch, 1/2-inch, and 3/4-inch), 12-inch ceramic tiles and elevator paneling mounted on oak planks (leftover from a basement remodel).  Since several members of the quintet own dress shoes with soft rubber soles, we also tried attaching various materials to the bottom of a rubber soled shoe.  Materials included quarters, small ceramic tiles (1-inch and 4-inch), small squares of plywood, and pieces of sheet metal.

The most satisfying sound was a women’s flat shoe with a hard plastic heel on a large (3-foot square) piece of 3/4-inch plywood.  Since we can’t all wear women’s flat shoes (three members of the quintet are men) and it is impractical to bring in such large pieces of plywood, we settled on a 12-inch x 9-inch piece of 3/4-inch plywood.  Then we tried a piece of paneling of the same size.  This yields almost the same, satisfying percussive sound but it is more attractive.  The men in the ensemble have been instructed to find their noisiest shoe, or to figure out a way to “prepare” the heel of their soft-soled dress shoe, to make the loudest sound.

For what amounts to mere seconds of music, this is a lot of work, but I  believe the results will be worth it!  Wish us luck!