A water-based instrument/art installation.
The Aquordion was developed by members of the Edinburgh University Music Technology Society. As a team of people with various backgrounds and specialities within music technology, we decided to make an instrument, aiming to display it at the Edinburgh College of Art graduate show. We wanted something that would be satisfying to interact with for the wide range of people that would come round the show, regardless of their level of musical knowledge or understanding of music technology.
The main body of the instrument was a large tank of water, with a paddle provided for users to stir it. This movement of the water would change the pressure detected by piezo sensors dotted around the inside of the tank, just underneath the waterline. The data from these sensors was fed underneath the plinth into an arduino and a raspberry pi, which passed the data into a PureData patch. If the activity of the water was above a certain threshold, how far above this threshold it was, or if the water was undisturbed, how long it had been below that threshold, were some readings from the sensors that were used to control the parameters of a generative synthesiser. This sound was then combined with the output of a contact mic on the tank, picking up sounds both of the waters movement and of any percussive sounds from the tank itself or a collection of small stones at the bottom of the water. This was then fed through an effects board and played through speakers positioned behind the user. The end result was a soundscape that reacted intuitively to the disturbance of the water. At rest, the only sound from the Aquordion was a quiet, low drone, but when stirred vigorously there would be cascading and swirling layers of synthesisers.
The main body of the instrument was a large tank of water, with a paddle provided for users to stir it. This movement of the water would change the pressure detected by piezo sensors dotted around the inside of the tank, just underneath the waterline. The data from these sensors was fed underneath the plinth into an arduino and a raspberry pi, which passed the data into a PureData patch. This data controlled the parameters of a generative synthesiser, with short- and long-term changes in the level of activity in the water affecting the pitch, timbre and rhythm of the synthesiser. The output of the patch was then combined with that of a contact mic on the tank, picking up sounds both of the waters movement and of any percussive sounds from the tank itself or a collection of small stones at the bottom of the water. This was then fed through an effects board and played through speakers positioned behind the user. The end result was a soundscape that reacted intuitively to the disturbance of the water. At rest, the only sound from the Aquordion was a quiet, low drone, but when stirred vigorously there would be cascading and swirling layers of synthesised noise.
All aspects of the creation of the Aquordion were collaborative, from the initial conception to the practicalities of display. One aspect I particularly put work into was the generative PureData patch, especially the synthesis, and turning fluctuations in the data into musical gestures.On display at the graduate show, our instrument was like a beeping and humming brain. It was popular with visitors, and being interactive and lit with colourful lights, especially with children. It was a physical manifestation of the group’s diverse technical expertise as a musical instrument that was intuitive and easy to use. The instrument was on display in the music room of the show, which was soundtracked by projects by graduation music students, including my album Painting the Edges.
olly flaig 