G31 – To hear

The sound of objects plays a significant role in our lives. For this issue, we welcome stories including:

  • Musical instruments
  • Music to accompany objects
  • The swish of textiles, the tinkle of jewellery, the clack of wood, etc.

This issue will be published 1 June 2023. You can find guidelines for submitting a story here. The deadline for stories is 1 May 2023. Please let us know in advance of your idea here. If you’d like to be a pathfinder and share the development of this issue, please send an email

Stories from other issues about music:

Dancing with stars: From light to dark from dark to light  - Sebastian Blackie reflects on the celestial ceramics of Jane Perryman and Tom Hall writes about the accompanying soundtrack by Kevin Flanagan.
Waking up in Tuva - Michael Cline's quest for Tuvan throat-singing led him to a culture that is finely tuned to its mountain landscape.
Tamihana Katene ✿ taonga puoro - Keri-Mei Zagrobelna shares several powerful taonga puoro, traditional Māori instruments, made by Tamihana Katene.
The Afro-Peruvian cajón: Reclaiming a humble percussion crate as one’s own - Aromica Bhattacharya tracks a percussion crate from its invention by African slaves to its eventual acknowledgment as intrinsic to Peruvian cultural heritage.
Shake it up! - In the sixth and final instalment of #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner reveals the ubiquitous source of rhythm that animates African music and bodies.
Maryann Sebasio ✿ Warup drum from Erub island - Our September laurel goes to Torres Strait islander, Maryann Sabiso, who has produced a handsome warup wooden drum that accompanies ceremony and song in her island of Erub.
Gnawa Guembri: Resonance of a lost past - In the fifth instalment of #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner writes how Western ears are deaf to the essence of this West African instrument. 
Balafon: wood-tongue-talk - In the fourth instalment of #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner writes about an enchanting West African instrument that gives voice to trees.
Mbira and kalimba ✿ Anatomy of the “thumb piano” - In the third instalment of #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner reveals the inner life of this captivating instrument from southern Africa.
Ogene & Oja ✿ Talking instruments of a playful Igbo crew - For the second instalment in #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner is inspired by the flirtatious whistling and clanging of the Igbo crew, Ejyk Nwamba.
uhadi & umruhbe ✿ a resonant Xhosa tradition - Gary Warner begins a series #africamade_n_played with a Xhosa stringed instrument that resonates through the body and is played today by a new generation of performers.
Fulu Muziki ✿ Kinshasa noisicians + eco-culturists - Gary Warner begins his series #AfricaMade_n_played with a Congolese ensemble featuring the exuberant instrumentarium of Pisko Crane.
Lessons learned from a duck herder’s gamelan 🎵 - Rosie Cook goes in search of the rare Bundengan musical instrument from Indonesia and discovers a melodious revival.
A considered and cordial welcome: Michael Parekowhai’s Ten Guitars and The Lighthouse - Warren Feeney traces Michael Parekowhai's work from Ten Guitars to Lighthouse as a worldly expression of welcome.
Tuhirangi writes on the sky 🎧 - Making the pūtōrino Māori flute channels the wairua and the tapū, the sacred and the forbidden.
The social lamellophone - Gary Warner guides us through the journey of a lamellaphone, from its history in Africa to its urban reconstruction in Sydney as a social object. This article betrays a unique interplay between art, craft, music and community.