Pentatonic Songs

"A man who works with his hands is a labourer...

...A man who works with his hands and mind is a craftsman...

...A man who works with his hands, mind and heart is an artist." Anon

www.marshallarts.ie

Hi, I'm Paul Marshall, a Northern Irishman, originally from Belfast and now living

in Bangor in Co Down. Noise is my thing. Thanks for coming to my page. 2 minute video intro

I am an artistic curiosity, a sound artist and multi-percussionist. I started out banging pots and pans as soon as I could hold a wooden spoon.

I play instruments from every corner of the globe in non-traditional styles, I have a containing many unusual instruments and sound artifacts. Having metaphorically and literally travelled around the globe I have found that my soul-drum, the bodhrán lay at my back door all the time - bodhrán site

I am a session musician and play with the band Different Drums of Ireland where I can indulge my passion for percussion and travel around the world. I am an instrument designer and design consultant, I have recently been working with Stomp. I am a sound sculptor I have been very active on internet drumming fora particularly the frame drummer, goblet drumming and bodhran newsgroups. in 2003 I produced a Frame Druim CD for the Yahoo Frame Drum Group. I am the creator and webmaster for Drumdojo for which I also write many of the papers and it's bodhran offshoot bodojo. I invent and create new or adapted designs for all my instruments

I am a member of the British Inventors' Society, Sonic Arts Network (SAN), The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) and the UK & Ireland Soundscape Community (UKISC). Salford University describe me as "Sound artist, instrument designer and percussionist. Designer of sound spaces, explorative sound gardens for children and novel musical instruments. BBC Music Magazine call me a 'rhythm evangelist'

How'd I get here?

Following separation in 1996, I became the sole parent of my 3 children aged under 4 and in 1998 I left full time work in the Civil Service to raise my children. Most of my 9-5 work was dealing with IT, research, data management & data interrogation.

In 1998-99 I began self employment in an ad hoc manner in the field of my long-time

passions; sound and music. This period also marks deepening of research to further understand this specialist field. Sonic research and the space to indulge a creative, enquiring mind led to design ideas & sketches in my ubiquitous 'ideas book', on the backs of envelopes and yes, on napkins, cigarette and cornflake packets. Many of those ideas are now being developed and implemented, some as the Bing Bang Bong installations you see on this site, others are being considered on a grand city-scape scale.

Working with instrument building principles also spawned the idea of the junkdojo forum started in 2002 with Eric Stuer. Globally it is the largest discussion forum dealing with making instruments from unusual & discarded materials. Teachers, educators and those who are interested in DIY sound projects are very welcome.

I have worked closely with DaCapo, specialising in music facilitation for kindergarten, early years & key stage 1, and have always had an excellent working rapport with this age group. Da Capo draws on the best practise in music education; the work of Dalcroze through movement and Kodaly through solfa are clearly evident. I have also been exposed to Reggio Emilia and also the work of Carl Orff. These are all relevant influences into the design and use of a B3 installation. Exploration is a constant theme.

My permanent research and creative skills are very much a defining part of B3, my thoughts and values permeate the ethos of the business and ensure that you receive the sound space or item that is appropriate for you. As the business grows, it will grow with a sound (ouch:) background based on knowledge and more importantly, understanding. There are many weird and wonderful artifacts at various stages of development on those napkins and envelopes.

I have no formal music or design qualifications or training, having grown into music from a perspective of experimentation and investigation. I feel in many ways that this has both disadvantaged and advantaged however I don't feel bound by convention. I have taught myself to read music to a functional level for several instruments, including developing sight reading skills. I have a college certificates in Business & finance, a Post Grad Diploma in management (DMS) and I am a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate. I am a member of Mensa.