Bio Rhythms v1 Evaluation (via SteamSHIFT)

The whole thing is built in Max/MSP: plug in a sensor, and play. And yes, this is yet another example of why Max is a compelling tool for translating data from sensors into sound and imagery. It’s music with heart.

Digging through to the actual product page for this, there are some interesting features. It is sending only MIDI, which is a little disappointing given the accuracy of data required for real motion capture; I wonder if they’re using the full data range of MIDI or just 127 values per sensor. But it’s a wireless device; many previous designs were wired. Its software looks very intuitive, rather than the homebrew Max/MSP patches that usually accompany such devices. There are presets for everything from Pro Tools to Traktor DJ. And, maximizing your value, it can moonlight as a motion capture device with Autodesk Motion Builder, in case you happen to be developing a computer game or shooting a sci-fi motion picture.

Be sure to check out the videos on the homepage to see this in action.

Now, it’s time to play “Where have we seen this before?” In fairness, the Gypsy MIDI folks claim only to be the first “commercial” product. Depending on how broadly we define commercial, though, that would include the Body Synth, developed in 1994 by Chris Van Raalte and Ed Severinghaus. I’ve seen several people using these, usually dancers, but the most “famous” user is probably singer/electronic musician Pamela Z (pictured here looking a bit like Edward Scissorhands). Another device that has made the rounds (not commercially, but I believe used by more than one artist) is the MIDI Dancer, developed and used by the Troika Ranch dance company. Like the Gypsy MIDI, this device sends data wirelessly.

So, yet again, what’s old is new again. These devices are looking like a bargain buy compared to the US$2500 Lemur multitouch touchscreen and, let’s face it, also cost less than a lot of high-end synths from Roland, Yamaha, and Korg. And body sensors are arguably more fun, since they require you to move about to produce sound. But while the hardware designs have been repeated, I think there’s a lot more progress to be made in this area.

First, these designs are all fairly intrusive. Portable — well, sort of, but they’re not comfortable to wear. And they look a bit like a pile of electrical cords fell on you; hardly wearable high-tech fashion. (The artsy shot here is the choreographer of Troika Ranch, tangled in her sensor suit.)

The next, and more important problem, is software. While we’ve come up with clever ways of capturing motion capture data for animation, it’s not at all clear how to best use body mappings for sound and music. I still believe that a great instrument should sound terrific, and sound unique, even if you don’t see how the sounds are being produced and controlled. I’d be really interested to see how they mapped the presets for Gypsy MIDI here. The Traktor DJ settings work well, but it’s mostly for show — the performance in the video is cool, but mapping a filter and crossfader is a little too pedestrian to have you screaming “I have to own this!”

To me, these are exciting problems, however. Sensor tech is obviously readily available: now the interesting question is, how can we make them musically successful?

Come on, cyborgs, let’s get on this.

(And readers, I’m sure I’ve missed other body control systems, so let’s put together our collective intelligence and flesh out my list!)

You’ve got a second chance: Dorkbot is due again on the 2nd of October with bending circuits apparently the theme:

Dorkbot Tokyo Taking Off [English, WWMNA]
May Dorkbot coverage in Japanese: RealTokyo, RadioLife
May Dorkbot summary in English: Dorkbot.org, plus photos
Upcoming Event info [Japanese only, but hey, it is in Tokyo]

Tokyo correspondent wanted! Readers in Tokyo, want to keep us posted on music making there? I’d love to have a CDM Tokyo writer, even if just to send us some Dorkbot Tokyo pictures next month. Drop me a line.

What’s Dorkbot? Dorkbot is “people doing strange things with electricity”; it’s an event that was born here in NYC (at Columbia) but has now spread to many corners of the world. Check the international Dorkbot site, find a Dorkbot, go listen/see/present, and send photos and a few words = instant global fame on CDM. Even if you’re not in Tokyo.

Using piezo-electric sensors or specialized drum pads, you
can turn acoustic drums into triggers, then convert that signal to MIDI. But why stop there, when your
legs are just waiting to be slapped?

To use your legs as a trigger, you’ll want a fairly sensitive sensor — standard drum triggers would require you to hit your legs with your sticks. Hard. (Though you might be into that; I don’t know.)

The Pulse BD-1 Body Pad Drum Trigger is supposedly designed just for the purpose of strapping a trigger to your body. They’re ugly as hell (check the geeky product shots). Loose-fitting costume / parachute pants might be in order. (Better option may be to go DIY or use a different trigger — see the comment at the end of the story.)

The tricky part, as with any drum trigger, is that you’ll need a module to convert triggers to MIDI to make the trigger useful, like the Roland TMC6 Trigger MIDI Converter. (If that’s too pricey, you can usually score something much cheaper by scouring eBay.) Once you’ve added the MIDI trigger, you can trigger percussion, samples, loops, video clips, whatever, by slapping your (suddenly rather bulky) legs.

Let me know if you’ve done anything like this and how it went. As a non-drummer, thigh-slapping may be the closest I can come to percussion – stay tuned.

UPDATE: These are crap? I asked for feedback and got it — our friend Kevin of The Nettles (great band, by the way) writes in comments (in case you missed it):

I’m sorry but I own a pair of these suckers and they’re a waste of money.  

 For a start, they’re not pads, they’re blocks of wood with transducers inside. When you bang with your fingers on a unyielding block of wood, you damage your finger joints.  Secondly, the transducers that Pulse provide with my pair have widely varying sensitivities, an indication of a serious quality-control problem, which I’ve also seen with their Red Dot drum transducers.

Avoid or build them on your own with piezos, a piece of wood and old rubber mouse pads. Then you can use sticks or your hands. For trigger midi converters you can check out older trigger to MIDI converters but your best bet might be to buy an old drum brain, like an Alesis D5, that has MIDI outs. Then you not only get MIDI conversion, you also get a sound bank in case you don’t want to burden your synth.

 

Thanks, Kevin; that was exactly the kind of first-hand experience I was hoping for. I’ll continue my quest for a knee-slapping good musical time, but if Kevin is right here, lousy triggers are not a good place to start. And wooden blocks? DIY it is. More updates on this topic soon.