Dance Floor MPC

Adi Dahiya

A playful dance floor experience which allows anyone to make beats with their body.

https://adi.pizza/slices/dance-floor-mpc/

Description

I'm making a matrix of dance floor tiles which act as a controller for a drum rack sampler & step sequencer. The software implements some of the key ideas from an Akai MPC and modern production workstations like Ableton. Users are invited to step up to the device, express themselves with a little dance over a 2- or 4-bar phrase, and hear back the resulting rhythm produced by the “Dance floor MPC”. Successive users can choose to “collaborate” with the previous user's recorded sequence. This is not a precise production tool, but rather a playful experience which enables anyone to enjoy making beats with their body.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, The Code of Music

The Music Box

David Azar

Compose different music arrangements with and old-school computer and punch cards

https://www.davidazar.mx/blog/the-music-box

Description

The Music Box is a project about music and abstract tangible interaction.

Technology has moved into a 2D space filled with screens. Sure, VR and AR are making an effort to make hybrid spaces between the physical and digital world, but screen of some sort is needed.

I am offering an exploration on music arrangement, inspired by old-school computing elements and based heavily on tangible interaction.

There are 15 different punch cards that users can insert in one of 12 slots. Depending on where that card is and its type, a sample of sound is played. Users can stack 3 different samples at a time, and they can be rhythmic, harmonic or melodic. Each section has three different instrument sounds.

This is a tool/exploration for musical composition.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, The Code of Music

Vo-5ynth

Tushar Goyal

Generative music instrument that makes music algorithmically from the users voice

https://wp.nyu.edu/tushargoyal/2018/12/05/vo-5ynth/

Description

Vo-5ynth, pronounced “vo-synth” (short for “voice-synthesizer in p5”) is a music instrument, but, its not a an ordinary one. First it doesn't have a sound of its own. Instead, it uses the users voice to make music. Second, its a generative music instrument so it doesn't give the user complete control over the music making process, instead, it encourages the user to (in a way) collaborate with the instrument (“the machine”) to make music. The user can define the pool of notes from which music can be generated but the actual output (notes for the bass, melody, harmony) is generated algorithmically by the instrument. The user can change the selected notes in real time to change how the music sounds and can thus, play this as an instrument that can be performed live or be used as an ideation tool, or just for fun really!

Classes

Intro to Fabrication, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, The Code of Music