After failing to think of a sufficient problem idea for our project, Mr. Johnsen, the Director of Bands at SOCES approached our teacher with a problem with a tool used by his percussionists.
It was initially unclear what the exact problem was, so we concocted a series of questions to interview him. We knew we would only have limited time (Johnsen is a busy man) so we needed to have specific questions:
two types one works on the pole of the music stand and the other clips onto the bottom of the music stand
one is bulky and allows to grasp onto round things and the other attaches to the edge of the drum
improvements first one needs to be easier to slide down make stay on tightly and easy to remove make an attachment that would hang on and not slide off
wind chimes attachments don’t attach very well because it flops around
wind chime clasp that’s bulky and less universal
make something that could combine all these factors
stand extension already comes with all the attachments combines all the factors from pole down
Percussionists use different tools that attach to either a music stand or a bass drum. These could hold a cowbell, wind chimes, or a triangle. However, different versions of the tool are used to hold each of these instruments or attach to each of these locations. Mr. Johnsen would like a universal tool for all of these tasks that also can be removed and reattached relatively quickly (the current design utilizes a screw for clamping, which allows for a tight fit but takes a very long time to tighten).
Such a device would be beneficial to percussionists because;
1. Having multiple products with the same purpose, but only for specific instruments, is redundant, confusing, and a waste of money.
2. Valuable time is spent attaching the current designs (because of the time-consuming screw mechanism), which could instead be spent practicing or performing.