Telemetron: A Musical Instrument for Performance in Zero Gravity

Sands A. Fish II, and Nicole L'Huillier

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

• Year: 2018
• Location: Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
• Pages: 315–317
• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1302595 (Link to paper)
• PDF link

Abstract:

The environment of zero gravity affords a unique medium for new modalities of musical performance, both in the design of instruments, and human interactions with said instruments. To explore this medium, we have created and flown Telemetron, the first musical instrument specifically designed for and tested in the zero gravity environment. The resultant instrument (leveraging gyroscopes and wireless telemetry transmission) and recorded performance represent an initial exploration of compositions that are unique to the physics and dynamics of outer space. We describe the motivations for this instrument, and the unique constraints involved in designing for this environment. This initial design suggests possibilities for further experiments in musical instrument design for outer space.

Citation:

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Fish2018,
 abstract = {The environment of zero gravity affords a unique medium for new modalities of musical performance, both in the design of instruments, and human interactions with said instruments. To explore this medium, we have created and flown Telemetron, the first musical instrument specifically designed for and tested in the zero gravity environment. The resultant instrument (leveraging gyroscopes and wireless telemetry transmission) and recorded performance represent an initial exploration of compositions that are unique to the physics and dynamics of outer space. We describe the motivations for this instrument, and the unique constraints involved in designing for this environment. This initial design suggests possibilities for further experiments in musical instrument design for outer space.},
 address = {Blacksburg, Virginia, USA},
 author = {Fish II, Sands A.  and Nicole L'Huillier},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1302595},
 editor = {Luke Dahl, Douglas Bowman, Thomas Martin},
 isbn = {978-1-949373-99-8},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 pages = {315--317},
 publisher = {Virginia Tech},
 title = {Telemetron: A Musical Instrument  for Performance in Zero Gravity},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2018/nime2018_paper0066.pdf},
 year = {2018}
}