DESIGN100 - Crafting with Waste
BRIEF: create a musical instrument using discarded materials.
research sonic, ergonomic, aesthetic potentials of waste materials.
document ideation/iteration process.
make a promotional video of the instrument, and a 1-2 page musical score with a visual + sonic relationship to the instrument.
1. FIRST ITERATION
this instrument functions like a maraca - shaking/percussion. Basically i just put woodchips into a box-like thing, and held everything together with knitting needles and a piece of styrofoam. The sound it produces is very gentle and cute.
I also included a little fork - you can stab the styrofoam and whack it against things to create different sounds. Its use is not super intuitive lol
WHAT MAKES AN INSTRUMENT?
BRAINSTORMINGGGG - different kinds, wearable exploration
2. SECOND ITERATION - WEARABLE 1
continuing theme of rattling/shaking - exploring wearable design
I used found materials of can tabs, a pair of headphones, and one of my hairties. This project is testing the limits of my shame and sneakiness. I've picked up so much trash, out in the open, and been yelled at for littering at least twice.
This is a wearable instrument. It's a bracelet with metal tabs tied to it, and makes a glittery jingle noise when the wearer shakes their arm. Different actions, speeds, and force changes the profile (?) of the noise produced. This idea came from thinking about sequins/coins on belly dancing costumes, as well as people who wear tons of jewellery (memories of the goth who'd walk past me in high school).
THINGS TO DEVELOP
I think using headphone wire as a tie didn't work. It muffled the sound and limited the fling-around-ness of the metal - using string or a dangly metal would be better. I could also change the body of the bracelet - or explore attaching to things like glasses, headbands, or belts.
ELECTRONIC EXPLORATION
Exploring electronic concepts - buttons, light, soundbytes/synths
Using a speaker, button and JQ6500 mp3 sound module to play sound bites uploaded from a computer.
Can incorporate trash as dials, levers, or body of the instrument. Could record trash sound bites and upload these to the mp3.
CONTINUED EXPLORATION - arduino / photoresistor
The arduino takes input from the photoresistor and converts it into a numerical value, displayed onscreen. I could figure out a way to connect sound to this input, and introduce discarded materials as the body of the project (light funnels, ways to cover the sensor)
Videos show the communication between the LDR/arduino below - when the numbers the numbers dip from 900, I'm moving my hand over the resistor as shown.
I might add 2 more photoresistors to make the instrument more fun.
Also, at this point I'm still figuring out how to connect the sensor to output. I'm thinking about using an MP3 to run soundbites when the light dips below a number (e.g. 600). I kind of understand how to use the mp3, so this might be safest? I have a few options, though. Using a buzzer would also be easy, OR I could use software called CHUCK to program sound waves (I'm probably too dumb and short on time to do this though hahaha).
And as for using trash (thus meeting the brief) - using it for the body of the device would be easiest. I have discarded cardboard-ish material lying around so could use that!
Other things to consider were recording my own waste-material soundbites. Using can tabs, pieces of glass, rapping on sticks, or friends' instruments might be cool.
3. THIRD ITERATION - WEARABLE 2
While looking into using electronic parts, I continued to develop my wearable design. I wanted to make sure I'd have something to fall back on if I couldn't figure out the arduino stuff.
CHANGES
Instead of using headphone wires, I cut thin strips of an instant coffee refill packet and tied these to the band. I also added more tabs to the design. The sound this produces is stronger than the last iteration's - it's very glittery and light.
THINGS TO DEVELOP
Changing the body - when the user put the band on their wrist, it rolls and the wires get kind of tangled. The twisting could be avoided by making the bracelet clip-on instead of roll-on.
Another thing to change - adding more tabs, or introducing different bead-materials.
4. FOURTH ITERATION - ARDUINO, ELECTRONICS
TOP LEFT: arduino connected to 1x LDR + speaker. MP3 connected on other end of board. TOP CENTER: 3X LDR connections, 1x speaker (3 sensors detecting light + communicating with speaker). TOP RIGHT: instrument body concept diagram. BOTTOM LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT: 1x head key.
3 light sensors are set up to the arduino, receiving light input and converting it to a tone which is played by the speaker (this doesn't sound very nice - I'll work on a way to change it). The arduino is connected to my laptop, and will be hosted in a body made from recycled/waste materials.
I'm using a discarded football team poster as the top of my instrument. By cutting around players' heads, I'm making face-keys to control the amount of light entering the device, and thus the sound produced. The box containing the device will be separated into 3 segments to further control the amount of light entering and help differentiate sensors.
When building the box, I'll have to create support platforms and slots so the sensors are close to the keyholes, as well as to ensure the device stays in place. If wires are being squashed, I'll have to make sure no pieces intersect with each other.
more photos / videos of development. The sound wasn't like this previously - I've added a delay which gives it a bricky/arcade quality. I'm trying to add 3 light sensors but am having trouble making all three connect. Currently, the only sensor producing noise is on the A2 connector. An idea suggested to me was to use 3 arduinos - and i might end up doing this out of laziness and lack of skill (im SORRY im sorry im sorry!!!)
Also, i've secured the breadboard setup to the box by adding a rectangular slot thing. I'm working on giving each light sensor its own little room, to isolate inputs and produce cooler sound (??).
I've also added the football player keys on top, and am using a lamp to get a stronger sound (it's night as I'm working on this).
The waste materials I'm using are a leftover paper recycling carton from my floor at halls, and weird discarded football team photos (????). I might also make upcycled tabs to make playing keys easier.
LEFT: Code used, CENTER: values without changing light, RIGHT: values while covering pin A0 and A2. (speaker is producing sound, pitch changes when cast shadow)
I fixed some bugs in my code, and it isn't crapping out anymore (did i mention it was crapping out???). BUT, only one speaker is producing sound at the moment. I'm going to look into fixing this issue tomorrow, and aim to have a completed instrument by the end of the day (producing sound x3 + body constructed, so that I can create the video + musical score)
MORE CHANGES - 5/04
Changed the arduino sketch so that each sensor slightly changes the pitch of a single speaker. This was the easiest solution I found. I added a delay to each tone, and changed the pitch very slightly.
I also taped the wires down so everything was cleaner, and started to finish creating the body of the instrument from waste cardboard. I'm going to make a little wand to play it with AS SOON AS I get access to hot glue >:(
side note - i'd love to mess around with chuck + wekinator - so many blog posts mentioned these software as ways to produce a smoother, more musical sound (synth-like!). I'm pretty dumb and low on time, though - so the goofy arduino noise is all i'm going to manage lol.
BUILDING THE BODY - 6/04
Building the body! I made cardboard cavities for each sensor, and extended the cables for this. This meant that it was easier to get light into the machine.
I also added an amplifier and switched the speaker to a larger one to increase the volume. The speaker was super loud + produced a lot of vibration - so I made an enclosure for a soccer ball (random ball i put marker on) to bounce on top of it + continue the soccer theme.
I added hinges, patched up the box I was using as the shell, and made holes for the wires to pass through. The box can open for wires to be adjusted, and the code can be changed to manipulate the pitch.
FINAL INSTRUMENT ! ! !
1. 3x PHOTOS OF INSTRUMENT
LEFT: Internal arduino/sensors/amp, CENTER: external view - body, box, power + speaker setup, RIGHT: instrument being played.
2. PAGE-LONG BESPOKE MUSIC SCORE
LEFT: Picture of keys to support instructions.
RIGHT: This image details instructions for playing a short song (?) using the instrument. There are 6 players on the back row (row A), and 7 on the front row (row B). Each player corresponds to a key. In my score, I specified the keys being pressed (e.g. A5, B2), duration (s), and whether the user would be flipping them repeatedly (on/off), or just once.
3. PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
Made using clipchamp video editing software + photoshop.
REFLECTING ON OUTCOME + DEVELOPMENT
I feel pretty happy with this project. It looks cool and turned out better than I expected it too - I also didn't feel rushed for time at all while making it. Using arduino was really fun, even though I was bad at it and was always asking the fablab technicians dumb questions. I think taking a different approach to the assignment (thinking about what I want to do, not just fulfilling the brief) was really worth it.
One thing I'd definitely change is the sound of the machine - it's totally ass. Using music-programming software would be a good way to manipulate the noise produced in a more smooth way. Out of laziness and maturity (taking time, skill into account), I decided to use the simple but ugly tone() function.
Also, I should've watched more arduino tutorials during this. I wasn't SUPER constrained for time, and could've fit some learning in! I'd like to understand the language better in the future, rather than just modifying code.
Overall, though, super fun + learnt a lot :-)
