Build and Design by Daniella Gramani
The creation of these two instruments began with a single intention: to explore the sonic possibilities of materials, allowing the same substance to express itself in multiple voices.
The first instrument, Pipebau, draws inspiration from the berimbau, the iconic Brazilian capoeira instrument. Its arch is constructed from a pipe, with a single string attached. Inside the pipe, elements like beads or water transform the sound: tapping the pipe by hand evokes the resonance of ceramic moringas, the beads turn it into a shaker, and the string allows subtle melodies to emerge. Aluminum foil accessories further modify the string’s timbre, expanding its expressive range.
The second instrument, String’s Web, uses a drum shell as a resonant vessel, threaded with 11 salvaged strings from guitars and violins. The interplay of the strings with the drum creates a dense, layered soundscape, best captured through a contact microphone, revealing textures otherwise hidden.
Both instruments are living experiments—still evolving, still inviting exploration of sound, texture, and resonance.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Daniella Gramani is a Brazilian multidisciplinary artist, lesbian, fat, mother, and immigrant. She is a researcher of voice and rhythm with more than 30 years of professional practice. Her work centers on vocal and percussive music, grounded in Brazilian traditional culture and informed by contemporary music practices. She moves between performance, teaching, composing, and research, exploring voice, rhythm, and musical communities.
Currently based in Vancouver, she is pursuing a PhD at Simon Fraser University, developing arts-based research focused on the voice through autoethnovoicegraphy. Her research and artistic practice are closely connected, examining how vocal practice carries memory, identity, and approaches to decolonizing vocal pedagogy.
She is also a very proud music teacher and the leader of Batucada Abrace, a percussion collective dedicated to Brazilian rhythmic traditions and community music-making.
www.daniellagramani.com
@daniellagramani
