Create Digital Music » entertainment

Play Super Mario Bros. with a Theremin

Peter Kirn — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:06:17 +0000

This is worth posting for this line alone:

“Who needs a Natal when you’ve got a theremin!”

(If you don’t know what he’s talking about, see here.)

Yes, in case you’re looking for a creative way to practice your Theremin playing, here you go. Now, where’s our Theremin Hero game? From the description by Glasgow-based YouTuber conquerearth, previously seen using the Theremin to play “Still Alive.”

This is even more fun with two people playing! One person controls left/right, the other controls jump.

Its not just limited to the theremin. Its even possible to hook up a microphone and use your voice to control the game! Or a guitar! Or a violin!

Heres how it works:
The sound from the theremin is split into its frequency and amplitude components in real time, which are then mapped to values in a linear scale representing the X and Y axis. Pitch becomes horizontal control, and Volume becomes vertical control.
The X and Y scales are then cut up into different zones. In this case, Left; Right and dead zones for the horizontal, and a single trigger and dead zone for the vertical.

The trigger zones are then mapped onto a virtual joystick hooked into an emulator.

The end result is a fairly usable input control for playing games like mario. The bars give the much needed visual feedback as to how “in tune” you are, so you have a better feel of where the trigger points are.

I’m sure there’s a deeper meaning I could extract about gestural controllers, expressive musical instruments, and the meaning of life, but it’s Friday and it’s lunch break time. If you can do my job, feel free – add in comments. (If your cat walks across your keyboard, it’ll still probably come across as more intelligent than an average YouTube comment, so have at it!)

Remembering the 80s in Flyers

Peter Kirn — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 05:00:00 +0000

Quick: what do Nina Hagen, Laurie Anderson, Sonic Youth, and
Run DMC have in common? Among many others, they hung out at 80s arts
hub Danceteria here in NYC. Check out the history in flyers. As if the current real estate market didn't give us enough reason to be wistful for 80s New York. (via eyebeam reblog and Xeni Jardin, creator of our favorite Boing Boing posts.)

In an update on Eyebeam, Nina Hagen is still alive. (But you knew that.) Punk lives.

And while I missed it, evidently over a week ago Boing Boing covered a Hip-Hop flyer gallery.

Okay, that's enough nostalgia for one day. (Any other flyer sites out there?)

Synth Personality Quiz

Peter Kirn — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 05:00:00 +0000

Yes, I’m sure I’m late to the party on this one, but I couldn’t resist sharing. What’s better than a personality quiz in Cosmo Magazine? Almost anything. What’s better than a ‘what synth are you?’ quiz? Absolutely nothing.

You are a Korg Triton

You have multi-sampled preset sounds ranging from opera to bongos and a fancy touch screen control panel

You are f’cking new school

Very modern and hi tech

You have to have the latest and best of everything

You think you are better than everyone [Ed: What do you mean, think? -PK]

You probably like house or trance or somthing like that [Ed: No, but I like Apple Logic Pro -- basically the software DAW equivalent. -PK]

what synthesizer are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Now, surely that couldn’t be me, could it?

DJing as Reality TV: Oakenfold on Spike

Peter Kirn — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 05:00:00 +0000

Reality television has finally come to DJing, with a new show on Spike TV called The Club,
featuring DJ Paul Oakenfold. Oakenfold's spinning skills will be
featured alongside the adventure of managing and marketing nightlife at
Ice in Las Vegas. Shure is using the show as a chance to push their
line of turntable cartridges — not your everyday product placement.

CDM is holding out for an all analog synth version of Pimp My Ride, but
until then, The Club starts January 2 on cable here in the USA. Hey, you! In the back! Stop the comments about a slow news week, will you?