Bela-Based Augmented Acoustic Guitars for Sonic Microinteraction

Victor Evaristo Gonzalez Sanchez, Charles Patrick Martin, Agata Zelechowska, Kari Anne Vadstensvik Bjerkestrand, Victoria Johnson, and Alexander Refsum Jensenius

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

This article describes the design and construction of a collection of digitally-controlled augmented acoustic guitars, and the use of these guitars in the installation Sverm-Resonans. The installation was built around the idea of exploring `inverse' sonic microinteraction, that is, controlling sounds by the micromotion observed when attempting to stand still. It consisted of six acoustic guitars, each equipped with a Bela embedded computer for sound processing (in Pure Data), an infrared distance sensor to detect the presence of users, and an actuator attached to the guitar body to produce sound. With an attached battery pack, the result was a set of completely autonomous instruments that were easy to hang in a gallery space. The installation encouraged explorations on the boundary between the tactile and the kinesthetic, the body and the mind, and between motion and sound. The use of guitars, albeit with an untraditional `performance' technique, made the experience both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Many users reported heightened sensations of stillness, sound, and vibration, and that the `inverse' control of the instrument was both challenging and pleasant.

Citation:

Victor Evaristo Gonzalez Sanchez, Charles Patrick Martin, Agata Zelechowska, Kari Anne Vadstensvik Bjerkestrand, Victoria Johnson, and Alexander Refsum Jensenius. 2018. Bela-Based Augmented Acoustic Guitars for Sonic Microinteraction. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1302599

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Gonzalez2018,
 abstract = {This article describes the design and construction of a collection of digitally-controlled augmented acoustic guitars, and the use of these guitars in the installation Sverm-Resonans. The installation was built around the idea of exploring `inverse' sonic microinteraction, that is, controlling sounds by the micromotion observed when attempting to stand still. It consisted of six acoustic guitars, each equipped with a Bela embedded computer for sound processing (in Pure Data), an infrared distance sensor to detect the presence of users, and an actuator attached to the guitar body to produce sound. With an attached battery pack, the result was a set of completely autonomous instruments that were easy to hang in a gallery space. The installation encouraged explorations on the boundary between the tactile and the kinesthetic, the body and the mind, and between motion and sound. The use of guitars, albeit with an untraditional `performance' technique, made the experience both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Many users reported heightened sensations of stillness, sound, and vibration, and that the `inverse' control of the instrument was both challenging and pleasant.},
 address = {Blacksburg, Virginia, USA},
 author = {Gonzalez Sanchez, Victor Evaristo and Martin, Charles Patrick  and Agata Zelechowska and Bjerkestrand, Kari Anne Vadstensvik  and Victoria Johnson and Jensenius, Alexander Refsum },
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1302599},
 editor = {Luke Dahl, Douglas Bowman, Thomas Martin},
 isbn = {978-1-949373-99-8},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 pages = {324--327},
 publisher = {Virginia Tech},
 title = {Bela-Based Augmented Acoustic Guitars for Sonic Microinteraction},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2018/nime2018_paper0068.pdf},
 year = {2018}
}