airmonica

a free air musical instrument 

The airmonica project was an investigation into using waveform synthesizer technology, an arduino, and an accelerometer to create a free space musical instrument. After implementing a prototype instructable using the device, I created a more approachable version for a local Maker Faire as pictured here.

The enclosure was designed to provide a slightly etherial view of the hardware through an acrylic panel constructed from 2 clipboards I found at the office store. I added some high contrast knobs and a transparent nunchuck to reveal it circuitry as well.

The basic theory behind the airmonica is similar to that of the air blown harmonica in that notes are produced in a selected key, making the instrument simpler to play. The airmonica uses a harmonizer that changes the notes used to automatically match the key of a particular style of song, such as a 12 bar blues pattern. The arpeggiation of keys is performed as part of the sequence of the song. The free-air controller is a standard Wii nunchuck that senses wrist rotation, which is mapped into a radial arc of notes.The sound synthesis is performed using the GinSing shield, which can produce up to 6 simultaneous voices with unique tonal characteristics such as bells, organs, etc.

musical instrument for tonal interludes 

the beginning of a musical adventure 

video         instructable