Technological progress does not stand still. The violin, guitar or piano familiar to us today was also once invented for the first time. Who knows, maybe in many years, some of these futuristic instruments will also become classics?
Seaboard.
A tool developed by London-based ROLI. It is a kind of piano, on whose surface there are no black or white keys. In fact, the entire surface of the instrument is one touch-sensitive key. The Seaboard provides almost unlimited possibilities for live work with sound - with light finger movements you can change the pitch, volume and timbre of the sound directly during performance.
Haken Continuum.
The creator of the instrument is Lippold Haken, professor of electronics and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. As a sensor, the instrument has a neoprene working surface. In addition to the pitch, it transmits two additional parameters that vary depending on the force of pressure and the vertical position of the fingers. These options can be used to control different characteristics sound synthesis - for example, the force of pressure can change the volume of a note, and the position of the fingers vertically - the timbre of the instrument. The instrument supports single-voice mode and 16-voice polyphonic mode.
Reactable.
An amazing brainchild of design engineers from Barcelona. First of all, it must be seen - the spectacle is really impressive. In its work, the reactable implements an interesting principle - the so-called material user interface, which other musical engineers have so far rarely paid attention to. The controls of this tool are quite simple and intuitive. There is a set of different blocks with individual sounds. By installing them on the interactive panel, you can adjust the sound depending on their location.
Eigenharp Alpha.
In fact, it is a hardware-software hybrid of a saxophone, synthesizer, drum pad and harmonica. The instrument was developed by the British company "Eigenlabs" and is a neck length of 132 cm, which is comfortable to hold like a harp. The Eigenharp Alpha has 120 ultra-responsive keys on the top and 12 "percussion" keys on the bottom for a harder sound. Each key responds to the slightest movement of your finger, down to a micron, allowing you to adjust many playing parameters, such as pitch, vibrato or filter cutoff! Also on the fretboard of this unusual musical instrument there is a tube for blowing air, like a bassoon, and two additional controllers made in the form of strips.
Noisy Jelly.
"Just add water" tool. Multi-colored powders in any proportions and proportions are poured into, again, any kind of container, then all this is poured with ordinary water, and after ten minutes it is installed on a special stand connected to a computer. Each powder is responsible for something specific, such as a bass or a melody, and you can “play” the resulting jelly “instruments” with any part of the body - even with your fingers, even with your nose.
Misa Digital Kitara.
Again a hybrid, this time of a synthesizer and a guitar. Playing on Kitara is carried out thanks to a large multi-touch display that displays six digital strings and special buttons on the fingerboard of the device. There is a digital input. The novelty also boasts a built-in synthesizer. In general, a wide scope for experimentation opens up before the musician.
AirPiano.
The musical instrument is a long touch panel with a transparent glass cover. The sound range of the LED panel includes a full octave. The principle of the game is somewhat similar to the theremin. To extract sound, it is enough for a musician to make several virtuoso movements in the air, without touching the instrument itself. A special interactive platform identifies the movements of the musician and plays the corresponding notes. In general, this magic must be seen!
Laser harp.
Futuristic instruments are the avant-garde solutions of musicians, in which they invest both form and content. Musicians do not cancel the violin and piano, after all, on the scale of history, they were also invented not so long ago. But creativity and modern technologies not allowed to sit still. And now, one by one, previously unknown instruments enter our lives. You can already buy them in the online store https://musicbase.ru/.
1. Harpeggi is the embodiment of a long-term dream of thousands of musicians, to connect keyboards and stringed instruments. In 2007, this idea was brought to life. This instrument can be four or five octaves. Playing the harpeggi, the performer has the opportunity to cover two octaves at once, expanding the range of his abilities.
2. Seaboard GRAND - the new kind synthesizer, which appeared in 1912. This is a monolithic structure. In fact, one large key, sensitive not only to touches of various strengths, but also to slip and clamp. Since the playing panel has bulges, the instrument vaguely resembles a piano.
3. Reactable - an instrument that can be played by the whole team, located in a circle above its illuminated panel. Reacting to the slightest touch on the tablet screen, musicians can create real masterpieces.
4. Continuum is not a sound generator. Rather, it is a controller capable of maintaining the polyphony of music. You can change the volume and timbre, thanks to the smooth movement of the fingers on the working surface. You can switch from single-voiced mode to equal and compositional-technical voices.
5. Eigenharp Alpha - either a saxophone or a synthesizer, plus a drum machine and harmonica. This whole mix is easily placed on the neck, which is not at all dimensional. It is convenient to hold it like a harp, and blow air into a special tube.
6. Airpiano - an instrument with a non-contact keyboard. The touch panel, under the glass cover, is controlled without any touch. The musician produces sound by moving his hands over the surface. In addition, Airpiano acts as a controller and gives hints to the performer.
7. The laser harp is a modern take on the traditional harp. The strings were replaced with beams, the chips - with an overlap. True, the timbre and sound synthesis have changed.
8. Gamelesta is an acoustic-sounding computer instrument introduced in 2011. It looks like a small probe organ, but sounds like a bell, the sound of which is synthesized.
9. Glucophone - a percussion instrument, far from the classic drum. A little more than ten years have passed since his appearance, but he was very fond of the audience, because of his unusual, bewitching sound, conducive to relaxation. Its sound is similar to a mix of the sound of a bell and a harp.
10. Alpha Sphere - an instrument that won the hearts of musicians not with the novelty of sound generation, but with a youthful design solution. I really liked the synthesizer, in the form of a sphere, as an element of the show. Originality in the interface and sound made this instrument quite popular.
"Modern inventions": behind these words, as it seems to us, there are always high technologies. Robotics, neural interfaces, neural networks. In the twentieth century, music came to power tools and a computer - and the latter, it would seem, should have extinguished the ardor of all inventors. Composers were doomed to just sit down at the monitor. But this did not happen - even for the creators of acoustic instruments, a renaissance has come today, because they have at their disposal the materials and technologies of all past eras. Not to mention electrical. Below are seven amazing musical instruments new time.
Hang
Let's start with the most popular instrument, which can be found even among street musicians. Not in its original form, though: the authentic hang, developed at the very edge of the new century, in 2000, by Swiss inventors Felix Rohner and Sabina Scherer, was finished in 2014. And although the inventors now offer an analogue called Gubal, most musicians turn to competing companies.
What is hang? This is a percussion instrument in the form of two metal hemispheres connected into a disk. Along the perimeter of the top there are recesses - a tonal circle.
The hanga family are instruments similar to it, they are also handpans. Today you can find a school where they teach how to play handpans, you can also contact the Russian masters who make them. There is a patented Russian brand - SpB Pantam.
The closest and most famous colleague of the hang is HANT (have a nice trip) or, in Russian, a glucophone. The sound of both instruments is called cosmic - and visually this is confirmed by the resemblance to a flying saucer.
Harpeji
Another young but promising instrument is the harpeggi, a hybrid of piano and guitar, which looks like a zither. Released in 2007, it has already managed to sound to the whole world: for example, in the film "127 hours", which was nominated for an Oscar, including for the soundtrack.
This is less like sounds from outer space - but one can hardly believe that the music is produced not by a synthesizer, but by an electric instrument, on which the string is simply clamped by tapping.
wheel harp
This name is no longer well known, and the instrument itself is only three years old: it was presented to the public in 2013. If the inventors of the hanga and its ideologues are inspired by ancient percussion instruments, then the wheel harp was developed according to the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci - it is best to say “based on”, because full-fledged drawings have not survived to this day.
The sound of the wheel harp is usually described as "thick polyphony", similar to the sound of a "full string orchestra". And that's how she works. The wheel is rotated by a motorized pedal, and the key activates the corresponding string, which approaches the wheel. It is covered with rosin, which imitates the movement of the bow.
Wintergatan Marble Machine
If the sound of the wheel harp seemed too heavy for you, we can offer an instrument that is much more sentimental and easy to perceive. It is essentially a machine for rolling balls that fall on xylophone keys and produce fabulously optimistic music.
Wintergatan is the name of the group in which Martin Mulin, the inventor of this miracle machine, plays. And if it seemed to you that the music sounding on the video seemed to be borrowed from "Amelie" - do not be surprised: Mulin's music is most often compared with the work of Jan Tiersen. Ever since the life of such a band as Detektivbyrån, in which he used to play.
Unlike previous tools, Marble Machine was originally conceived as a piece of equipment. The inventor did not intend to put the machine into mass production: too costly.
Just for one such giant music box in 2015, it took two thousand balls.
If you are so inspired by it and want to recreate it with your own hands, of course you can do it. The engineering basis can be implemented according to ready-made drawings, modifying them taking into account the xylophone keys. But this work is clearly for those who have plenty of enthusiasm and time.
By the way, Mulin is not only the inventor of this instrument. Speaking with Wintergatan, he has already tried other, more compact machines.
Gamelesta and Sharpsicord
So, sometimes instruments are born out of the needs of musicians who find themselves cramped in traditional forms. Therefore, it is impossible not to say about Björk, the famous Icelandic experimenter in the field of sound.
In 2011, her compatriot, organ master Björgvin Tomasson, invented a special instrument specifically for the singer - the gamelesta. The name comes from the Indonesian gamelan (an orchestra of strings and percussion instruments) and the French celesta - and is a kind of synthesis. Although controlled by a computer, the gamelesta has an exclusively acoustic sound, reminiscent of a bell in the first place.
But gamelesta is not the only one unusual instrument, which sounded in the music of Björk and received relative fame thanks to it.
There is also the sharppsicord, created by Henry Dagg, which is a huge music box with a drum that rotates thanks to solar energy. 11,520 holes are made in it - by plugging them, the musician programs the melody, which is very time consuming: to provide a few minutes of music, you have to spend the whole day behind the instrument.
hydrolophone
This "water flute" seems to be an ordinary fountain and begins to sound when the musician pinches the holes in the pipe with his fingers - just like when playing a regular flute. Although experts note the affinity of the hydrolophone rather with the piano and the organ, because we are talking about the sound that the pipes associated with this cavity emit.
The instrument was invented recently - in 2006, but it has already won the hearts of a completely different audience: they perform with it accompanied by an orchestra, and anyone who wants to have fun with it in large parks of the world.
Its creator, Steve Mann, a professor at the University of Toronto, has designed many options - up to installed in a hot tub. But hydrolophones in park fountains and other public places have become the most "popular" - and this does not exclude their originality. For example, at the Legoland water park in Carlsbad, California, the body of the hydrolophone is made from huge Lego blocks, and some specimens are braille-marked so that blind and visually impaired people can also play.
The largest hydrolophone is located in front of the building of the scientific center in the Canadian province of Ontario. It also has its own name - Telusscape, and it is available to everyone around the clock. True, only in the warm season.
Ringing tree, singing sea
And, finally, a special category of instruments: not for professional musicians, not for ordinary people relaxing in the park, but ... for nature. Such installations use the elements - and spontaneously produce music. Since the avant-garde of the twentieth century has significantly expanded the meaning of the word "art", including when it comes to music - we can say that this is it.
A striking example is the Singing Ringing Tree, a "tree" of steel pipes built in East Lancashire (England). The wind has been playing on it since 2006.
There is also an instrument similar to it, playing already from the strength of the surf - a marine organ. As many as three such copies are located in Blackpool, San Francisco and Croatia. The most famous can be considered the third, built in 2005 in the city of Zadar.
The harmony of the world knows no boundaries - neither does musical harmony. Art will take on more and more new forms, and the beauty of music will never cease to excite the soul. But there is beauty in the change of forms as such - in the very striving of man for the new.
Technological progress does not stand still. The violin, guitar or piano familiar to us today was also once invented for the first time. Who knows, maybe in many years, some of these futuristic instruments will also become classics?
Seaboard.
A tool developed by London-based ROLI. It is a kind of piano, on whose surface there are no black or white keys. In fact, the entire surface of the instrument is one touch-sensitive key. The Seaboard provides almost unlimited possibilities for live work with sound - with light finger movements you can change the pitch, volume and timbre of the sound directly during performance.
Haken Continuum.
The creator of the instrument is Lippold Haken, professor of electronics and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. As a sensor, the instrument has a neoprene working surface. In addition to the pitch, it transmits two additional parameters that vary depending on the force of pressure and the vertical position of the fingers. These parameters can be used to control various characteristics of sound synthesis - for example, pressure can change the volume of a note, and vertical position of the fingers can change the timbre of an instrument. The instrument supports single-voice mode and 16-voice polyphonic mode.
Reactable.
An amazing brainchild of design engineers from Barcelona. First of all, you need to see it - the spectacle is really impressive. In its work, the reactable implements an interesting principle - the so-called material user interface, which other musical engineers have so far rarely paid attention to. The controls of this tool are quite simple and intuitive. There is a set of different blocks with individual sounds. By installing them on the interactive panel, you can adjust the sound depending on their location.
Eigenharp Alpha.
In fact, it is a hardware-software hybrid of a saxophone, synthesizer, drum pad and harmonica. The instrument was developed by the British company "Eigenlabs" and is a neck length of 132 cm, which is comfortable to hold like a harp. The Eigenharp Alpha has 120 ultra-responsive keys on the top and 12 "percussion" keys on the bottom for a harder sound. Each key responds to the slightest movement of your finger, down to a micron, allowing you to adjust many playing parameters, such as pitch, vibrato or filter cutoff! Also on the fretboard of this unusual musical instrument there is a tube for blowing air, like a bassoon, and two additional controllers made in the form of strips.
Noisy Jelly.
"Just add water" tool. Multi-colored powders in any proportions and proportions are poured into, again, any kind of container, then all this is poured with ordinary water, and after ten minutes it is installed on a special stand connected to a computer. Each powder is responsible for something specific, such as a bass or a melody, and you can “play” the resulting jelly “instruments” with any part of the body - even with your fingers, even with your nose.
Misa Digital Kitara.
Again a hybrid, this time of a synthesizer and a guitar. Playing on Kitara is carried out thanks to a large multi-touch display that displays six digital strings and special buttons on the fingerboard of the device. There is a digital input. The novelty also boasts a built-in synthesizer. In general, a wide scope for experimentation opens up before the musician.
AirPiano.
The musical instrument is a long touch panel with a transparent glass cover. The sound range of the LED panel includes a full octave. The principle of the game is somewhat similar to the theremin. To extract sound, it is enough for a musician to make several virtuoso movements in the air, without touching the instrument itself. A special interactive platform identifies the movements of the musician and plays the corresponding notes. In general, this magic must be seen!
Laser harp.
This unusual musical instrument is a modern incarnation of the classic harp. It consists of laser beams, the principle of operation of which is similar to conventional strings, only they sound not from plucks, but from overlapping. The laser harp can also work as an independent MIDI controller, connecting it to synthesizers and MIDI interfaces, you can get an unusual sound synthesis and timbres.
Harpejji.
The tool is made in the form of a horizontal board with stretched strings and a matrix of frets. It is a kind of hybrid of a guitar and a keyboard instrument.
AlphaSphere.
The controller, which was invented in 2007 by a student from England. In principle, there is no technical know-how in the instrument, rather, it is a stylish design solution - a spherical sampler with a program that allows you to “hang out” sounds on numerous pads. And the convenience of such an approach is up to the musicians to judge.
What can be surprising and unusual in your guitar, drums or synthesizer? Is it possible to somehow radically improve such familiar musical instruments? Our answer is as much as possible!
Even today you can see these most unusual musical instruments of the future. And just such musical instruments will be discussed in our article today.
Our modern world uncontrollably gaining momentum in the field of new technologies! They change our views, our thinking - they change us! Today, an “advanced” person must quickly “catch the wave” of iPads, TouchPads, Tablets, Androids and similar cyber novelties, otherwise he will be left behind. And I had a question, how are new technologies being introduced and synthesized with such musical instruments that are familiar to us? What will we be playing in a couple of decades? What will the guitar of the future look like?
Hyper Touch: Stringless Touch Guitar
The first exhibit in a series of unusual musical instruments of the future is an original concept by music lover Max Battaglia, which showed a new approach to the traditional electric guitar. Instead of strings on the fretboard of this amazing musical instrument, a touch panel is used, which has various settings and modes (for example, 6-string and 12-string modes). string guitar), which, according to the innovator, will provide new opportunities in the extraction of sound. Well, thanks to him that at least the shape of the body of this guitar of the future remained familiar (and, by the way, quite a natural bridge lever J), unlike the next instrument.
Kitar Guitar
And here again, no usual strings, just some relative of the controller for Guitar Hero! But in fact, according to Misa Digital, this is a full-fledged musical instrument - an unusual hybrid of a synthesizer and a guitar of the future. The Kitara Touchscreen is equipped with an 8-inch touchscreen display and neck buttons. By analogy with a synthesizer, hundreds of different sounds are recorded in the instrument's memory. It appeared on sale at the end of 2011 and its price ranges from $850 to $2500. Well, it would be interesting to try, the design of this next unusual musical instrument is captivating.
iTar - the guitar of the future
ITar - this unusual musical instrument of the future is the development of Starr Labs, it is a synthesis of a push-button neck and the popular iPad tablet. This unusual guitar of the future (although it is very doubtful to apply the word "guitar" to this device) can safely perform the functions of various other musical instruments - drums, bass, or keyboards, for which special applications are launched. It's pretty easy to use: the strings appear on the display, and the futuristic fretboard acts as a regular guitar neck. But, in my opinion, this is, of course, a toy, and not a musical instrument for a real musician.
hang drum
Today you will not surprise anyone with electronic drum kits, Drum Pads and various controllers, but one very interesting development of the Swiss company «PANART» does not cease to amaze people, although it was created back in 2000.
Hang Drum is a completely unusual musical instrument, it is also a “hand drum”, it looks like an alien flying saucer, you can extract sound from this wonderful device different ways. For example, play with your fingertips, palm or its edge. This unique musical percussion instrument consists of two connected metal hemispheres. The upper (sounding) hemisphere has 8 tonal zones, which form a circle of sounds of different tonality. This sound wave diverges from the upper dome from a lower note to a higher one.
The principle of operation of this unique musical instrument is the result of many years of research into various metal and other percussion materials. different countries world: gongs, bells, singing bowls, Indian drums caribbean, udu drums, etc. And most importantly, there are no rules for playing it, all you need is hands and love for music. =)
AIRPIANO
AirPiano, which means “air piano” in translation, is truly the most unusual musical instrument of the future. The game on it is so amazing that it seems - it was created by some other mind not from here ... or the famous engineer Omer Yosha (Omer Yosha).
The musical instrument is a long touch panel with a transparent glass cover. The sound range of the LED panel includes a full octave. To extract sound, it is enough for a musician to make several virtuoso movements in the air, without touching the instrument itself. A special interactive platform identifies the movements of the musician and plays the corresponding notes. In general, this magic must be seen!
TENORI-ON
The Yamaha TENORI-ON is an extraordinary innovative digital musical instrument of the future. Its creators: Yamaha and Japanese artists Toshio Iwai and Y. Nisibori. It is a square display consisting of 256 touch buttons with LEDs inside. By pressing the buttons, you kind of create an "audio picture" of your music.
Basically, he gained popularity among DJs and experimental performers (for example, Bjork actively uses the device at his concerts).
EIGENHARP ALPHA
What happens if you combine such musical instruments as a saxophone, a synthesizer, a drum pad and a harmonica in one instrument? Eigenharp Alpha! This hybrid musical instrument, designed by the British company Eigenlabs, features a 132 cm neck (which is comfortable to hold like a harp - hence the name of the instrument “self-harp”), with 120 ultra-sensitive keys at the top and 12 keys at the bottom. "percussion" keys, for a harder sound. Each key responds to the slightest movement of your finger, down to a micron, allowing you to adjust many playing parameters such as pitch, vibrato or filter cutoff! Also on the fretboard of this unusual musical instrument there is a tube for blowing air, like a bassoon, and two additional controllers made in the form of strips.
The harp can be controlled via a MIDI interface connected to a computer. The Eigenharp Alpha comes with 8 GB of various sampled instruments, drums and loops. The cost of this musical instrument of the future is also super sensitive - about $5800!
LASER HARP
This unusual musical instrument is a modern incarnation of the classic harp! It should not only be heard, but also seen! A truly impressive sight! It consists of laser beams, the principle of operation of which is similar to conventional strings, only they sound not from plucks, but from overlapping. The laser harp can also work as an independent MIDI controller, connecting it to synthesizers and MIDI interfaces, you can get an unusual sound synthesis and timbres. In general, with such a musical instrument of the future, at least a spectacular “live performance” is guaranteed!
New technologies are rapidly conquering the world of music, developing, making it, of course, richer and more diverse, and this is wonderful! But personally, it seems to me that no gadget, even the most unusual musical instrument of the future, can replace the feeling when you pick up a “live” instrument and create a “live sound”!