IMAGINE
MEDIUMTANGIBLE INTERACTIVE SOUND DESIGN
HARDWAREmICROBIT
SOFTWAREPYTHON, MAXMSP, JAVASCRIPT
SOUND DESIGN, LIGHTING, SCULPTURE, MUSIC VISUALIZATION, GEOMETRY
CITRUS SYNTHESIZER
APRIL 2023
MOTIVATION
DIGITAL MUSIC IS USUALLY CREATED SITTING AT A LAPTOP.
TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS IMMERSE US IN SOUND, SIGHT, AND FEELING. DIGITAL SOUND REDUCES THE SENSORY EXPERIENCES OF MAKING MUSIC TO TAPPING A BUTTON ON A COMPUTER.
I WAS CURIOUS TO EXPLORE DIGITAL MUSIC AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTEGRATE NEW SENSES, RATHER THAN A CONSTRAINT THAT REDUCES THEM.
PHASE 1: TANGIBLE INTERACTION DESIGN
CITRUS SYNTHESIZER USES CAPACITIVE TOUCH TO SEND SIGNALS TO A MICROBIT. THE USER PLACES ONE HAND ON THE HOME BUTTON, AN ORANGE, CONNECTED TO A GROUND PIN, THEN TAPS A FINGER ON THE LEMON TO PLAY A SOUND. THIS COMPLETES THE CIRCUIT, ALLOWING ELECTRONS TO FLOW FROM THE GROUND, THROUGH THE PERSON, INTO THE LEMON.
I CODED THE MICROBIT TO PLAY A NOTE ON EACH TAP. TAPPING ALL THREE BUTTONS SIMULTANEOUSLY PLAYS A LITTLE JINGLE.
PHASE 2: DIGITAL VISUALIZATION AND INTERFACE
Initially, I had wanted to create an add-on to the citrus synth that sounded better than the microbit’s speaker, but I quickly discovered a host of new opportunities when I connected the instrument to the computer.
A song can be reduced to a pattern of taps, and shapes can be reduced to simple equations - but the output is something more than that. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
I created a max patch in Max MSP, a digital audio software, to create a spirograph visualization of the sounds from the synth.
Math is a connector between music and art
PHASE 2: DIGITAL VISUALIZATION AND INTERFACE
I connected the max patch to the microbit from the citrus synthesizer, so each fruit tap played a different sound.
I then took snapshots from each sound sample, and fed those into a javascript spirograph visualization.
The spirograph traces the path of a small circle moving through a larger circle - using the frequencies and amplitudes of the sounds to modify the shape to the sound of the music
digital sound design in max msp
THE PATCH DRAWS A MOVING IMAGE OF A SPIROGRAPH - WHICH TRACES THE PATH OF A SMALL CIRCLE MOVING THROUGH A LARGER CIRCLE - USING THE FREQUENCIES AND AMPLITUDES OF THE SOUNDS.
GROWING UP I LOVED TO PLAY WITH A SPIROGRAPH SET. I WAS AMAZED WATCHING MY PEN CREATE A PERFECT REPEATING SHAPE THAT SEEMED TO HAVE A LIFE OF ITS OWN.
THIS IS CREATED BY TWO PARAMETRIC EQUATIONS THAT CALCULATE THE X AND Y COORDINATES OF THE PEN.
I CODED THIS USING JAVASCRIPT.
I ADDED IN SOME ‘BRIGHT’ SOUND SAMPLES, AND HOOKED THE PATCH UP TO THE CITRUS SYNTHESIZER. EACH INITIAL TAP OF THE FRUIT ADDED IN A NEW SOUND, AND EACH REPEATED TAP CHANGED THE SPEED, ADJUSTING THE SHAPE OF THE SPIROGRAPH TO THE MUSIC.
A SONG CAN BE REDUCED TO A PATTERN OF TAPS, AND SHAPES CAN BE REDUCED TO SIMPLE EQUATIONS - BUT THE OUTPUT IS SOMETHING MORE THAN THAT. FOR BOTH MATH AND MUSIC, THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS.
THEY ARE EXPLAINABLE, YET CAN’T FULLY BE EXPLAINED.
THE PATCH DRAWS A MOVING IMAGE OF A SPIROGRAPH - WHICH TRACES THE PATH OF A SMALL CIRCLE MOVING THROUGH A LARGER CIRCLE - USING THE FREQUENCIES AND AMPLITUDES OF THE SOUNDS.