⚡ Laserphonic
musiccollege
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Post
summary
For a course in Digital Arts this semester, two friends and I grouped together to create a multichannel audio circuit for displaying "Chladni Figures" in a project we called "Laserphonic".
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Published
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music
college
edited
Dec 15, 2024 04:50 AM
slug
Laserphonic
date
May 2, 2018
For a course in Digital Arts this semester, two friends and I grouped together to create a multichannel audio circuit for displaying "Chladni Figures" in a project we called "Laserphonic".
You may have seen these formations on plates such as the one shown above. We set out to recreate the resonant frequency effects visually using lasers, as a way for listeners and artists to see a real-time visualization of harmony and dissonance. We were inspired by Nathan J. Wall, who demoed a similar idea for an acoustics project at USF Music Tech in 2012.
Tools and Software
We used a Motu Ultralight mixer to channel out software instruments in Ableton. Our audio was a combination of pre-composed elements and improvisational input options for interactivity. Each channel was connected through our circuit to a small speaker, covered in a stretched balloon, with a piece of broken mirror fixed to the top.
We earned an A for the presentation, and were very pleased with the final result! Watching people react to our work and be able to play piano in a new way was great.
Update March 2024: