Workshop in contact microphones

May 28 and 29, 2026, Notam invites you to a new workshop in contact microphones.

If you are curious about alternative microphone techniques, Notam's workshop on contact microphones may be something for you. Contact microphones, or piezo microphones as they are also called, are an exciting tool with many possibilities for creative work with sound. Contact microphones can be difficult to use for beginners, and the idea behind this workshop is to give participants a simple but thorough introduction to contact microphones.

In this workshop, we will review different types of contact microphones, preamplifiers and microphone placements. We will also look at how we can expand this work with software, acoustic measurements and impulse responses. During this workshop, you will have created a working contact microphone and preamplifier, ready to use for your projects.

Individual guidance will be provided along the way, and if the participants have questions and ideas of their own, we can solve these together. The workshop will give you a good foundation for further work with contact microphones after the course.

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The goal of the workshop
The goal of the workshop is to provide a simple and basic overview of contact microphones, so that participants can produce their own contact microphone solutions after the workshop. The course does not require any prior knowledge.

The course provides basic training in both the practical use of contact microphones and work with electronics, acoustics and digital sound processing. The participants will gain an understanding of working with contact microphones, and this will be useful for people who work with, for example, audio engineering, visual arts, music, composition, installations and interaction design.

After the course, you will have a good foundation for further work and your own studies of contact microphones. If it turns out that there is a need for it, Notam will launch a follow-up course in extension of this course.

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About contact microphones
A contact microphone is a type of microphone that records sound vibrations through direct contact with the sound source. Unlike regular microphones, contact microphones are relatively insensitive to air vibrations, and mainly record structure-borne sound. Contact microphones can be used to amplify sound from acoustic musical instruments, they can be used as sensors, and they can be used to record sound in challenging environments, such as underwater.

The most common contact microphones use a piezoelectric sensor. It is made of a thin piezoelectric ceramic disc glued to a metal disc. Such contact microphones sound thin without a suitable preamplifier and therefore must have a preamplifier specially adapted for contact microphones.

Contact microphones are widely used in experimental music and art. These microphones give you the opportunity to capture sounds that you otherwise cannot hear. They can be used in concert settings where feedback can be a problem. They are also well suited as sensors for various types of software. Contact microphones are often used in connection with art installations, when you need to capture soft vibrations.

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About the teachers
Niklas Adam (b.1986) is a Danish sound artist and visual artist based in Oslo. He works with performance and installation art in addition to music. Adam enjoys using both programming and electronics in his works, and has performed in Europe, Russia, the USA, South Korea and Japan, at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Super Deluxe in Tokyo and the Henie Onstad Art Center outside Oslo, to name a few. He is particularly interested in electronic sound, algorithmic systems, cybernetics, psychoacoustics, time and perception. Niklas Adam is also an experienced sound engineer with extensive knowledge of microphone techniques for installation art and performing arts.

Asbjørn Blokkum Flø (b. 1973) graduated in composition from the Norwegian Academy of Music. Since 1999 he has worked as a freelance composer and sound artist with a focus on instrumental music, electronic music and sound art for radio and installations. He has worked with audio engineering since the mid-1990s and has extensive experience with sound installations.

Thom Johansen (b. 1981) graduated in electronics and programming from Sør-Trøndelag University College (HiST) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Since 2011 he has worked at Notam with a focus on electronics, programming and sound engineering for art and music. He has worked with electronics and programming since the early 2000s and has extensive experience with contact microphones and audio engineering.

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Course schedule

Evening 1:
Different types of contact microphones
Preamplifiers for contact microphones
Microphone locations
The contact microphone as a speaker
Build a contact microphone

Evening 2:
Acoustic measurements, impulse responses
Software
Creative work with contact microphones
Underwater recording
The way forward, self-study

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Practical information
When: 28 and 29 May, 2026, 18:00 - 21:00
Deadline for enrolment: 14 May 2026
Price: 1325,- kroner. This includes a contact microphone you can take home.
Language: Norwegian or English as required
Location: Notam, Oslo. This is a physical course, and will not be posted online.
Teachers: Niklas Adam, Asbjørn Blokkum Flø, Thom Johansen

11 available seats