Making Trios Together Over Time

This is from the note that went out to members of the Disquiet Junto music community early on Thursday, May 8, 2025:

There are a few projects we do each year in the Disquiet Junto. We start the year with the “ice” project (record the sound of ice in a glass and make something with it), and we end with the “diary” project. And somewhere during the year, we do the “trios” project. That’s about to happen, starting today. 

A longtime Junto participant and observer, music educator Ethan Hein has described this particular sequence — it’s actually three projects over three weeks, though to be clear, you don’t have to do all of them — as “a horizon-broadening creative experience.” 

Here’s how I’ve summarized the trio projects in the past:

[T]he first week, participants upload a solo piece, one that is intended to, over time, with the contributions of other musicians, become a trio. Thus, for the first week, it’s helpful for participants to leave room for who and what will follow. 

The second week, musicians each select solo pieces from week one, pan them to the left, and add a second channel on the right, creating not just duets, but incomplete ones. Then the final week, new participants add a third track in the center, thus completing the trios. 

It’s a pretty incredible project to listen to as it unfolds, especially when, come week two, you can sometimes hear multiple duets built from one initial solo track — and the same, when the trios are complete, come week three.

To receive the weekly Junto project announcements, sign up, for free, at juntoletter.disquiet.com.