̽»¨¾«Ñ¡

Self-playing Guitars

The Self-playing Guitars exhibited at Sentralen in ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ during Ultima 2017.

The Self-playing Guitars were exhibited at Sentralen in ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ during Ultima 2017.

Duration:
01.08.2016–01.10.2027

The Self-playing Guitars is a platform for exploring the intersection between acoustic and digital sound production through a collection of self-playing instruments.

Contact

Platform Description

Each guitar has a microcomputer, which produces electronic sound through an actuator placed on the guitar body. There are no external speakers; all the sound is generated by the vibration of the acoustic guitars. This allows for exploring combinations of acoustic and digital music-making. See below for technical details.

Scientific Research

The Self-playing Guitars are used for various scientific research into sensors that detect people's motion, digital sound generation, and mappings between action and sound. Since each guitar is self-contained and has battery power, it can easily move around. As such, it is part of RITMO's "out-of-lab" experimentation.

Artistic Research

Through various public performances and exhibitions, RITMO researchers explore the artistic possibilities of The Self-playing Guitars. This includes exploring embodied "musicking" and active musical experiences on the boundary between performing and perceiving an instrument. It also includes investigations of the differences between acoustic and electroacoustic instruments.

Technical information

Each guitar has a attached to a , which sits on top of a Beagleboe microcomputer. The guitars are programmed using the graphical programming environment . Both hardware and software are available in an .

The digital sound produced by the microcomputer comes out through an actuator placed on the back of the guitars. There are no external speakers; all the sound generation comes from the vibration of the acoustic guitar. The guitars have an infrared sensor in front, a built-in microphone, and a three-dimensional accelerometer. Together, these sensors allow each guitar to detect the presence of a person standing in front of it, how it is moved, and the soundscape around it.

Guitar with micro-computer
Each guitar is equipped with a micro-computer, sensors, and actuators.

Participants

  • Picture of Alexander Refsum Jensenius
    Alexander Refsum Jensenius University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Cagri Erdem
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Habibur Rahman
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Jim Tørresen
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Kyrre Glette
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Stefano Fasciani
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Tejaswinee Kelkar
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Maham Riaz
    Maham Riaz University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Pedro Pablo Lucas Bravo
    University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Sagar Dutta
    Sagar Dutta University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Picture of Arthur Jinyue Guo
    Arthur Jinyue Guo University of ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡
  • Agata Zelechowska
  • Dongho Kwak
  • Michael Joseph Krzyzaniak
  • Seyed Mojtaba Karbasi
  • Qichao Lan
  • Victor Gonzalez
  • Nino Jakeli
  • Jack Edward Hardwick
  • Alicja Karolina Terelak
  • Eyyüb Güven

Publications

  • Jensenius, Alexander Refsum. . Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2022.
  • González Sánchez, Victor Evaristo, Charles Patrick Martin, Agata Zelechowska, Kari Anne Vadstensvik Bjerkestrand, Victoria Johnson, and Alexander Refsum Jensenius. . In Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, edited by Thomas Martin Luke Dahl Douglas Bowman, 324–27. Blacksburg, VI: Virginia Tech, 2018.

Funding

Funded by The Research Council of Norway

Grants from The Research Council of Norway and Nordic Cultural Council.

Norwegian version of this page
Published Feb. 3, 2025 10:24 AM - Last modified Feb. 3, 2025 10:33 AM