Robots may not yet surpass the piano-playing skills of master musicians, but they can at least blow a few piano students out of the water. And the latest musical robots aren’t priceless models out of big corporate R&D departments. They’re hacked together from off-the-shelf toys, use cheap parts, and are assembled with instructions you can grab free off the Internet. Now, what was that about the age of DIY being dead again? (Sorry, Radio Shack; maybe it just moved to Toys ‘R Us.)

Behold a programmable robot made of K’nex interchangeable toys. Recently featured on the how-to site Instructables, this robot can play simple musical sequences. Toys, as always, make for great rapid prototyping: this project makes use of an intelligent base unit and a system of interchangeable building blocks that make the design both easy to build and easy for others to replicate. It’s proof positive that while the digital age may tend to the virtual, mechanical invention still has plenty of room. And, hey, if this seems too advanced, there’s always the K’nex music stand project.

Programmable Knex Piano-Playing Robot – More DIY How To Projects

One more video follows below. And yes, the ‘bot can play Heart and Soul, even if it has neither. Congratulations to New York-based plysaxaphone on the work.

No comment on this one just yet; I’ll have to pick my jaw up off the floor. Amidst a sea of new robotic percussion, this Wii-remote-controlled, Max/MSP-based mini-ensemble of wooden African percussion is musical, expressive, and downright stunning. I love the mechanical (literally and musically) grooves, and with a single human controlling it live, it’s true to the one-man-band history of these sorts of instruments. “One human, three machines, rhythm,” says the video description. I hope to do some research and share more soon, but I can’t resist sharing the results now.

Thanks to Patrick Flanagan for the tip on his work. Patrick predicts that “this is the beginning of steamfunk.”

Note: please see comments for more on what’s happening; Patrick is using robotics to effectively augment his own personal performance and improvisation, allowing him to play multiple instruments at once. He is actually playing in one of the available modes, however, and has some nice reflections on what he’s doing. I’ll follow up with more details – as I said, wanted to give you a peek at the video first. So, before you jump to conclusions, ask about what’s unclear or what you’d like to know. We’ve got the artist here to discuss.

So, your human drummer can’t bang out the elaborate breakcore beats you’ve composed, huh? Build your own robotic replacement, putting the magic of positronics into rhythm.

That’s what the folks of Texas Central Positronics and the David Crowder Band have done with Steve_3po, the robotic drummer. It brings new meaning to “drum machine,” blending acoustic sound with programmed rhythms.

The secret to controlling this machine with MIDI is none other than one of our favorite kits, Highly Liquid’s MIDI Decoder. For more on that side of things, see the recent story by Mike Una here on CDM:

DIY MIDI In, MIDI Out For Your Gear: New Kits from HighlyLiquid

The challenging part, of course, is building the robotics. The talented creators at Texas State Technical College, including mechanical engineers Josh Caldwell and Eli Hernandez, worked with “bwack” (the father and son Bwack team) to create Steve. You can read the complete story at Texas Central Positronics, in a post from October:

Introducing – Steve

“bwack” has done other terrific work in the past, including a 760-pound, large-format MPC that stands seven feet tall. And they say drum machines have no soul.

Thanks to Richard Devine for finding this, and Simon Stansfield for bringing it to our attention.

This instrument is not alone among robotic drummers, of course; here are a couple of other top picks:

Glastonbury Festival 2008 was host to this fantastic-looking robotic drummer with four arms and a combination of hydraulics and servos. Sadly, as often happens at these festivals, the credits for who created this lovely invention appear to be lost. Anyone out there know the origins of the work?

Another fine example of robotic drumming comes in the form of Haile, by Georgia Tech’s Gil Weinberg and Scott Driscoll. Haile not only plays the drums, but responds intelligently (via computer) to “heard” sounds and rhythmic patterns. A very early CDM story talked to the creators about how they pulled off the trick.

But wait — there’s more! There are robots responding to plants and playing bamboo and Chinese instruments, an all-robotic band, robotic Theremins, robotic knives, Taiko drummers, robots that play Guitar Hero for you, Game Boy-controller robotic drum machines, Roombas controlled by MIDI, robotic Ballet Mechanique instruments, and, for the holidays, Robotic sleigh ride-playing chimes.

For ensembles filled with unique and creative robotic-powered instruments, look no further than the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, which recently relocated from here in NYC to tech capital Pittsburgh. One of the most exquisite recent creations from a residency with this group is Zemi17′s wonderful Gamelatron, which, as the name implies, robotifies the Indonesian gamelan ensemble. That instrument visited Handmade Music; here it is at Galapagos in Brooklyn from earlier this year:

Also in the robotic gamelan category, here is Rui Penha’s own contribution (independent of the other project, believe it or not):

Robotic Gamelan from Rui Penha on Vimeo.

A network of several independent robots play some of the javanese gamelan instruments: 2 bonangs, 2 demungs, 3 kenongs, 1 saron, 2 peking and 1 slentem, some gongs and an additional slentem in the near future. This network is controlled by a computer sending serial information using Max/MSP.

In this specific case, all the robots are being played using custom controllers made out of an Ikea salad bowl, an Arduino and two ultrasonic distance sensors.

Best of all, here is Processing-based software for arranging sequences gamelan-style, which can be used to control this instrument (or others). It’s funny, as I had built a similar circular sequencer which I showed briefly in Dublin at the DEAF fest – so perhaps the age of circular, cyclical sequencers is here, to replace all these rectangular step sequencers we’ve had so long. (Similar notation is sometimes used in the analysis of gamelan cycles.)

GameLan from Rui Penha on Vimeo.

To me, most beautiful of all is a set of work called “Felix’s Machines”:

From the description — thanks to opuswerk in comments for reminding me of this:

The Artist, Felix Thorn created this monster which was filmed by Tom Swindell, Directed by Tom Mansfield and edited by Chris Barnet.

Extract from composition: ‘Glide’ recorded and filmed at Gasworks winter 2008. www.felixsmachines.com

www.youtube/tomswindell

Chris Barnet the editor channel is here www.youtube.com/user/chrismicrofilm

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Updated: Still more wonderful creations…

Byeong Sam Joen’s “Telematic” Drum Circle, far from the more automated selections here, imagines robotics as a way of encouraging interaction in a group.

Telematic Drum Circle (The 9th Session) @ Siggraph Asia 2008 in Singapore from Byeong Sam Jeon on Vimeo.

Telematic Drum Circle (The 9th Session) @ Siggraph Asia 2008 in Singapore

Website: TelematicDrumCircle.net

Artist: Byeong Sam Jeon (BSJeon.net)

Period: 12/11/2008-12/13/2008

Siggraph Asia 2008: Suntec International Convention Centre (Singapore)

Robotic Installation: Darren Communication Center @ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (USA)

It’s designed to be used interactively over the Web. Kyle McDonald has even hacked it for MIDI support:

Telematic Drum Circle (Hacked) from Kyle McDonald on Vimeo.

Thanks to our friend, the resourceful and talented Memo Akten, for bringing this to our attention.

We’re in the middle of a snowstorm of holidays (most definitely plural), and, for many of you, possibly also a snowstorm of snow. So, gather by the fire with your robotic DIY carillon and bask in the warm glow of gorgeous, chimey Prokofiev.

What? Haven’t got a DIY bell-playing construction of your own? It’s not snowing? Gather by the YouTube and bask in its warm glow instead. Robotic Prokofiev will be all you need. Creator Sarah Angliss of Spacedog sends us the video above.

Video details and technical specs:

Fireside music, performed for your enjoyment in one take after a couple of glasses at the Spacedog HQ, Christmas Eve 2008. Featuring Dolly, the Lakeland Terrier who has hurt her paw.

Bell rig created and programmed by Sarah Angliss (Spacedog UK), camera Colin Uttley.

Microphone-festooned coat hanger expertly held for the full three and a half minutes by Jenny Angliss. www.spacedog.biz

The music is an adaptation of Troika, from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije.

The bells are being played by wooden balls, spring-mounted on servo-controlled beaters, running off a LynxMotion SSC-32 board, receiving serial signals from a Max/MSP patch (which is interpreting a midi file). NB These bells have been recycled from Swinging London, my 2006 installation for the Overture Weekend at the South Bank, London. Here they’ve been mounted on a stainless steel shop fitting, reclaimed from the back yard of Moore’s of Dunstable.

Dolly, feel better!

Previously from Spacedog:

Theremin as AV Controller: Technical Details from Spacedog

Video: Robotic Theremins, Ready To Replace a Human Near You

IVO Software, a Polish company that develops text-to-speech software, have announced they’re making a free PDF of A Christmas Carol available for download on their site. The idea is, you take this PDF, then unleash their Expressivo text-to-speech tool on it. Sure, every actor from Patrick Stewart to Jim Dale to … well, just about anybody who’s anybody with an English accent has read the story. But now you get it in the somewhat robotic monotone of “Jennifer”, an American, synthesized voice. Jennifer has won awards and rave review, but let’s just say computer-generated speech in general can’t help pass a Turing Test yet.

If you’ve been hankering for a little artificial speech in your holiday, though, don’t pass this up. In fact, if you want to hear Dickens’ words completely mangled, try Polish and Romanian voices on the English text. And you thought you would never hear A Christmas Carol in a new light. Dickens as you’ve never heard it before.

Free sample passage of the text
Expressivo Download Area
PDF repository, direct download of “A Christmas Carol”

For more holiday cheer:
Christmas Carol Mondegreens, which is what happens when you mis-hear lyrics. (Think: “See the blazing Yulbie Forest” and various things roasting on an open fire.)

If you didn’t see it last year, there’s always — through the magic of digital sampling — the Nutcracker Suite played entirely on bicycle parts.

And lastly, from the CDM forums, a very Happified Wintricated Holidation to all. Now let’s get celebratronic, at least until we make up our own holidays.

Sarah Angliss, a human Thereminist in the UK, sends us this video of a creepy doll robot playing the Theremin. (If you’re prone to the jeebilies, you may not want to watch. Sarah writes, “I’ve posted my latest jam with Clara 2.0, the theremin playing robot doll, on YouTube. Hope you enjoy watching her talents (or lack of them).” (Technical details after the jump.)

Our friend Ranjit promises this week he’ll bring his Theremin-playing bots to Handmade Music, so if you’re in the NYC area and free this Thursday, you can meet them in person. If not, here they are on YouTube playing “Crazy”. Ranjit describes thusly:

ROBOT BAND! LEV the thereminbot and his newly-built pal thumpbot play “Crazy” with help from a 20-year-old MT32 synthesizer. OK, Lev’s a bit out of tune, but hey, ROBOTS. A tribute to The Ether & Aether Experiment’s marvelous performance.

I don’t know. I’m nervous. I think we’d better whip up some Theremin Laws of Robotics quickly. (Wait — on second thought, those conflicting laws don’t work out very well, do they?)

More technical details on how Sarah pulled off her creeptacularly brilliant robo-Thereminist:

First, from YouTube:

Named in honour of the original theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, Clara 2.0 is a robot doll who can play the theremin live. I call her the ‘polite robot thereminist’ as she listens to a line from another player and moves her dolly arm to get her own theremin in perfect tune. Well, that’s the theory…

In this jamming session, Clara 2.0 is copying a line from an old Roland SH-2 synth (which I play silently), then the line from my own theremin. When the two theremins play together, it gets quite chaotic as Clara tries to follow me – and I try to lock into Clara’s line.

As Clara 2.0 is continually monitoring a live sound and adjusting her tuning (no midi here), her technique has the fluid pitch of a human player. Everything on this recording – apart from the drum track – is played live. There is no manipulation of the recorded sound, apart from multitracking and a little reverb after the event. The keyboard instrument at the beginning is a cheapy toy, called an Angel Organ – I hope you can forgive its cranky tuning. The final theremin melody has been treated, live, with an old-school vocal flanger.

Clara is under continual development – she has quite a way to go before she can claim the talents of Lev (a great robot player). Keen-eyed observers may have noticed the wobbily thread of wire on the end of Clara’s egg whisk. This gives her some Rockmoresque vibrato.

I do attempt to incorporate Clara 2.0 into my stage act although she can be temperamental. Recently, I’ve been trying to improve her earthing and capacitance so she can be set up swiftly and can work more reliably ‘out of the box’.

Thanks to everyone at Dorkbot London and the Hands off Festival, 2007, for their encouragement and useful tips. In particular, I’d like to thank theremin maker Jake Rothman for his extremely useful electrical advice (Clara’s insides are now lined with silver foil) and Gordon Charlton, whose virtuosic egg whisk numbers inspired Clara’s current look. Thanks also to Emmet Spier for screwing her arms on better, Mike Blow for suggesting I try out this classic tune and Colin Uttley for playing the bass riff. Apologies to the great Roy Budd, composer of the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Get Carter theme.

Sarah Angliss
Spacedog UK
www.spacedog.biz

Technical how and why

I wanted some more technical details, so Sarah followed up with this explanation (thanks!):

I use pitch detection, plus classic old-school servo control, to make her work. Her theremin and mine (or my synth) are both connected to a Max/MSP patch running on a Mac. A phidget board interfaces her to the Mac. The patch is constantly measuring the error in her pitch. I use the error to control the velocity of her pitch arm servo – if the error is greater, it moves faster.
That’s why she’s constantly adjusting herself, as I play, to keep herself in tune. The very crude servo control gives her pitch a certain amount of portamento and overshoot that gives it that sloppy pitching that you get with a human player. I’ve added the little hairs of wire to the end of her egg whisk to give her some fine, Rockmoresque vibrato.

The biggest concerns were getting enough earthing and conducting area – I noticed Lev [Ranjit's 'bot] is made of metal which must be a huge help here.

Clara is earthed to my theremin and is packed with silver foil to make her a better conductor. She still needs a lot of work to improve her range and reliablility – but she’s just about good enough to get out of the box and play ‘live’ in my stage shows.

Maybe it’s something about music making in the digital age, the alienation of music technology. Or maybe there’s just something fun about mechanical objects making sound on their own. Whatever it is, artists lately have been fascinated by mechanical instruments. Here’s yet another one:

French artist Saadane Afif makes sometimes-chilly installations out of musical objects, like a minimalist collection of guitars and amps, strummed by mechanical apparatus, in his piece Power Chords. Or, in art world-speak, he…

…works with notions of displacement and contrast. His pieces, vibrating with multiple meanings, function by using collusion as their driving force. He employs objects, scale models, installations, sounds, and writing to classify the unclassifiable and mirror-in the work of art itself – the dialog that arises between the viewer and the artist. This dialog is continuously fueled by various allusions and is infiltrated on every side by historic, psychological, social, and cultural elements.

It always has to be about displacement, doesn’t it? Always has to be the dialog between viewer and event? Darned art writers.

Anyway, in plain English he puts 13 guitars in a room and they play mysterious, ethereal strumming sounds as you walk through, a bit like a minimalist haunted Guitar Center.

It’s not just the guitars: he’s made his other work into musical installation. Lyrics is a radically different take on the artist retrospective: the artist is gone, and instead digital music reinterpreting his work takes its place. Lyrics are printed in bold Helvetica on the walls, and commissioned texts are reinterpreted by commissioned composers, as colored lights lead the audience around to headphones.

Good stuff, and fertile ground for those imagining new venues for music. Now, excuse me; my phone is vibrating with multiple meanings.

Gelerie Michel Rein on Exhibition
Power Chords, monograph
Seen in the lovely Artkrush 63