Project 4: How To Play the Spoons: Creating My Own Musical Instrument

I steered away a little from the “useless” artifice theme with this project. I was thinking about how I have absolutely no musical talent. When I was in elementary school in Belarus, teachers in my music classes always made me play the triangle or wooden spoons (a traditional Russian folk instrument). The idea of a xylophone made out of spoons sprung on me very randomly and when I search for a similar item on line and couldn’t find anything remotely close, I knew I had my next project for 7×7.

Result: YouTube video below + screen shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjhEKyPVSqQ

Materials used and their limitations:

Spoons, beads, wire, aluminum foil, cardboard box, Atto I: Dell’invito trascorsa è gia l’orà? from Verdi’s La Traviata. It was extremely hard to keep the spoons on top of each other. I had to do some complicated twisting with wires to keep them in place. Spoons without curved handles didn’t produce as much sound as I had hoped. I wish there was a bigger range on sounds, but overall, this was fun to make and this could possibly be a more extensive project in the future once I learn how to use Arduino.

The 3 interesting ‘interface’ I found in Maker Faire are as belows.

The first is a software that could capture and process video streams from Kinect, Webcams, Firewire, IP Cams, and even mobile phones.

This software has many kinds of effect to choose, when click different icons on the bottom of the screen, it will show different effects.

it’s funny, people are encouraged to play  with it because they could see different effect created by their motions and the color they have(their clothe’s color or their phone’s color). It can identify and capture the color pixel in the camera, so it could create some effect rely on the color people have and people’s motion. It could filter and sort features by location, color, quality, and size.

The second interface is ‘Eddie’.

Eddie is a new type of robot from Parallax inc. designed to foster creativity, innovation and experimentation. Compatible with Microsoft’s Robotics Developer Studio, Eddie can roam autonomously, see in 3D using the power of the Microsoft Kinect, and be driven remotely using a wireless controller.

The included control board uses the 8-core Propeller microcontroller to directly control two 12V motors and collect data from several sensors around the robot.

People could control the motion of the Eddie by doing some body gestures through the Kinect. So it will attract people to interact, to play with Eddie.

The 3rd ‘interface’ I saw was a ‘band’. Yes, it’s a band, it’s a band formed by toys. Please see this video.

Toys Band

People could control this whole band by a drum/sample machine ‘Roland R70’.  When you click on different buttons on the ‘Roland R70’, different toys will play drum. This project includes a lot of circuits. Each buttons on Roland R70 outputs to some circuits to control toys.

It’s pretty fun that we can control this whole toy band to play drums, only by using a Roland R70, it’s so cute and funny, sweet, so it attracted a lot of people to watch and play with it.

BTW, i saw this car in Maker Faire too !! It’s really soooooooooooo cute !!!

It’s a whole band too, these fishes on this car could sing different songs and move(it really attracted lots of people to watch, especially kids).

In sum, Maker Faire is really awesome, it really inspired me a lot, i’m so interested in robot, and I want to learn more knowledge about Arduino, to create something interesting. and that toys band really gave me some brainstorm , I’m thinking about to control something by MIDI signals(Brainstorm ing…).

Goal: Turning an ordinary paintball gun into an artistic brush rather than just something you use to impale people with balls of paint.  This gun would now have a dual purpose, one artistic and one recreational sport.  This would have to be sponsored by or partnered up with Pantone and Kuller, in order to paint a Seurat on a wall using a paintball gun.  It could also be a fun target practice.

Inspiration: George Seurat. Paintball.  Paint by numbers.  Artists. Geeks.

Approach: Would need to find a wall large enough to complete a whole George Seurat composition.  A copy of a Seurat painting that has been outlined with numbers indicating a Pantone color that matches original painting, this bw version will then be projected against the wall.  To match the paint accurately, perhaps the Kuller system should be used.  Pantone would then have to make these specific colored paintballs for this project.  Would also need two sturdy ladders and sturdy planks to make a scaffold at the opposite side of the desired wall.  Shooters can stand across and start filling the gun with the specific Patone colored paint balls, then start shooting.  They would have to shoot at the exact areas where the Pantone color numbers should be.

Anticipated Constraints & Issues: Would need an artist with a fine eye who can copy a Seurat painting in order to project it on a wall.  Would have to configure the distance between the wall and the shooter, because depending on how the paint ball splatters, it might be too severe that it could ruin the desired Seurat dot-type technique.  Also suggest to reconfigure the air pressure of the paintball gun and also its barrel might have to be longer/thicker sturdier as well as its muzzle and choke tube, just for speed and accuracy for this purpose.

Reading “Why We Need Things” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was fascinating.  Though this was something I’ve already known in my own subconscious and observations, it was nice to read through something that was well articulated.

I’ve always wondered about the evolution of things and products that surrounded our lives.  Especially living in Los Angeles, where there was always an excess of materialism to a point where it’s nauseating.  I often asked, how did we as humans ever get here?

Of course I’ve known about the evolution of tools from Cro-magnon era up to now.  We’ve always— as humans— been innovative creatures who invent things for the sake of efficiency.  And with Mihaly’s observation— agree that there’s been a huge evolution of these objects and things.

They have enhanced our lives in more ways than one.  I agree that a lot of these objects and artifacts, we’ve been able to have a reciprocated relationship (i.e. house provides shelter).  Also in agreement with what he’s written about a lot of these objects also provided symbols and as extensions of our individuality.  Meaning, things have symbolized our worth through out the years, and the more expensive or exclusive things are, the more costly, whether monetary or endangering the natural environment.

Here is something though Mihaly didn’t really touch up on, unless I skipped it somehow.

That while these things can be used as symbols or our identity or that it can stabilize our consciousness, it can also be used to mislead people.  I only say this because as I mentioned, I’ve lived in Los Angeles, where it’s the capital of excess.  People like to show off their expensive cars, clothes, and other materialistic things, mainly to project and image of prestige and wealth.  In the meantime it’s all bought on credit, the cars are leased and they’re in 100K debt.  Things and objects can also be used as an illusion that can distort a person’s view and consciousness.  Perhaps these are a special case of people who need things because they really want that vision of themselves.

Overall, I enjoy reading this piece very much.  I particularly liked reading the part about that objects can reciprocate emotions and symbolize important memories (and not just shelter or some sort of survival tool).  Like the trombone, how that thing has alleviated stress and worry whenever the wealthy lawyer played it.  And with that I’ve always had my mother keep every trophy and medals that I’ve won when I was younger… These objects were cheaply made but it symbolized all my hard work and a time of greatness for me, I was a champion once, it’s nice to know or be reminded of that sometimes when spirits get low.

Goal: Turning an ordinary isolation tank into more of a meditation chamber where you (can sit or lay down) listen to music and film installation is used to relax the mind.

Inspiration: Isolation tanks for sensory deprivation and Flat-e productions.

Approach: Build a custom tent where one can walk inside without feeling claustrophobic.  A film of fractal images will be project and animated by relaxing music.

Anticipated Constraints & Issues: Hardly any really.  Just a lot of configuring the tent size, figuring where and how to project the fractals.  There will be a lot of kinks to work out to make it work properly.

Preliminary Prototype:

 Inspiration:

My Secret Heart from Flat E Films

From Flat-e music and film installation.

Originally isolation tank.