Robotic Music Glockenspiel
FEATURE
One musician who is particularly known for his homemade
instruments is Thomas Truax. His surreal songs take place
in the fictional setting of Wowtown, and are soundtracked
by his ‘Hornicator’ (an unholy union of a gramophone horn,
several microphones, and numerous acoustic instruments)
and a variety of mechanical drum machines. He shows that
DIY instruments can become a signature part of a musician’s
sound and aesthetic – his creations have a steampunk style,
which elevates his stage show to another level.Lia Mice is another maker who likes to modify existing
instruments, and puts them to use both in her live shows
and in the studio. Her ‘Instrument Sematary’ project involves
taking old, broken acoustic instruments and combining them
into new, Frankensteinian creations. The project was inspired
by the zombie animals in Stephen King’s story Pet Sematary,
and its message is that musicians and instrument designers
should be aware of the environmental impact of their choices- recycling (or ‘upcycling’) is a common theme for a lot of
the makers mentioned here. The double-headed harp-guitar,
pictured, will be exhibited in London at the V&A’s Digital
Design Weekend, 21–22 September.
Helen Leigh is another maker who uses
microcontrollers to make original instruments.
She has created a musical glove called the
MINI.MU, which uses a micro:bit. It was inspired
by the much more complex MI.MU glove, a
gestural MIDI controller which was designed for
the musician Imogen Heap. Helen took that idea
and created a low-cost wearable instrument with
a built-in speaker. The micro:bit’s accelerometer can
be used to trigger chiptune sounds, and the whole thing
is available as a kit which can be sewed and coded by
kids. The MINI.MU, along with Helen’s other projects
such as the beautiful ’sonic circuit sculpture creatures’,
can be found on her website.thomastruax.comliamice.comdoitkits.comHornicator
Instrument
Sematary
MINI.MU Glove
Helen Leigh is another maker who uses
microcontrollers to make original instruments.
She has created a musical glove called the
MINI.MU, which uses a micro:bit. It was inspired
by the much more complex MI.MU glove, a
gestural MIDI controller which was designed for
the musician Imogen Heap. Helen took that idea
and created a low-cost wearable instrument with
a built-in speaker. The micro:bit’s accelerometer can
be used to trigger chiptune sounds, and the whole thing
is available as a kit which can be sewed and coded by
kids. The MINI.MU, along with Helen’s other projects
such as the beautiful ’sonic circuit sculpture creatures’,
can be found on her website.thomastruax.comthomastruax.comdoitkits.comdoitkits.comMINI.MU Glove
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