I’m now working on an installation using some of the idea from these recent Kalimbo projects. The criteria for the show is very open, i just knew it was likely to be based on a plinth so used that as the starting point.
I decided to keep things simple and make the installation static/fixed down, so I will not be using an accelerometer to map midi to Mainstage sampler instruments etc., but just focussing on the capacitive-sensing aspect and staying within Pure Data for the audio processing. I noticed in the last Kalimbo build that the capacitive sensors seem to interact with and multiply one another, so this project gives me a chance to figure out some creative exploitation of this behaviour which can then be transplanted into the programming for the handheld/live versions of the instrument.
The idea for the piece is fairly simple and self-contained; the acoustic instrument, fitted with a contact mic, will stand on top of a box (possibly an old hard-body suitcase or something similar) containing an arduino, audio interface, mini Mac and speakers. It can be played by any number of people, but ideally two facing each other. The sounds played will contribute to an ambient bed generated within PD, with capacitive sensors in 4 corners affecting various aspects of the audio and sound bed. I’d like the sound bed not to be too static but also not too intrusive, ideally drawing in passers-by to interact and leave an audible trace of their playing on the ongoing bed.
The above photos are of the physical instrument, which is what the viewing public would see and interact with. It consists of two opposing sets of tines and four capacitive-sensing bolts. I tried the wing-nut idea mentioned in a previous post - it works well in that it can be tightened from outside the box, but once the tension reaches a certain point the bolts inside rotate with the wing-nuts, so it would be good to find a way to keep these still (maybe set them within wooden recesses or use spiked washers to grip them in place).
In the pictures, both sides are tuned to the same pitches, but after some testing I felt that this didn’t really sound very good, so I’ve since rearranged the tines to different ranges on either side. This works a lot better with less clashing but I might still try some other tunings, perhaps with each side having alternating notes within one range.
I was originally intending to paint this along the same lines as the video box Kalimbos, but there may be something in the idea of romantic duets and the Romeo y Julieta branding that could become part of the piece’s concept.