Wooden cube converts touch into music #beagleboneblack @TXInstruments @beagleboardorg
Gizmag has the details on this musical cube from the Hackable Instruments project.
The aim of the Hackable Instruments project is to create instruments that can be easily tweaked by the player to find interesting new directions for producing flavorsome tones, without any specialist knowledge of electronics or engineering, while also aiding in the development of distinctive playing styles. Project members Andrew McPherson and Victor Zappi have designed and built a deliberately simple instrument that produces sounds when a player’s fingers touch, slide or tap a capacitive sensing strip on one of the wooden cube’s faces.
The battery-powered 8-inch wooden cube comprises a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor strip (actually the front part of a TouchKeys sensor) with a force-sensing resistor (pressure sensor) underneath on one of the cube’s faces and an output speaker on another. Inside, there’s a BeagleBone Black development board with an audio interface that runs Linux and some custom software authored by Zappi.
The team created two versions of the cube. The software of one generated sound based on pressure only, and the other produced small variations in frequency depending on the location of the touch on the sensor strip. Both instruments gave players a blank sonic canvas on which to explore new, and perhaps even very personal, playing styles.
“We tried not to suggest any particular ‘right’ ways of playing, either in the design of the box or in any of our instructions,” said McPherson. “What we found was a startling range of playing styles, including many techniques we hadn’t anticipated, such as playing on the wooden box, filtering the speaker with the hand, even licking the sensor to produce a sustained tone from the residual moisture. This was very interesting because it confirmed one of the principles we set out to test, that performers will discover personal ways of using an instrument that differ from the designer’s intentions.”
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New Python Releases, an ESP32+MicroPython IDE and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
