http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk audio, visual, code & science Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:37:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Daito Manabe uses small electrical pulses to stimulate his facial muscles. via todayandtomorrow.net http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/10/26/electric-stimulus-to-face/ A definition for 'active controlled acosutic instruments' can be found in the paper by Edgar Berdahl, Hans-Christoph Steiner, and Collin Oldham for NIME2008 called 'Practical Hardware and Algorithms for Creating Haptic Musical Instruments [pdf]'. An actively controlled acoustic musical instrument is an acoustic musical instrument that is augmented with sensors, actuators, ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/06/08/actively-controlled-acoustic-instruments/ Sormina is a musical instrument developed by Juhani Räisänen. The aim of my project is to gain knowledge about instruments and their impact in the western classical music. My point is that the material quality of acoustical instruments has had a major effect in the development of music Sound is created by ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/06/08/sormina/ An amazing video combining the talents of Rahsaan Roland Kirk and John Cage. The video questions the definition of sound... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/05/17/john-cage-and-rahsaan-roland-kirk-sound-1966/ Snowball the Cockatoo loves to get down! The Bird Lovers Only Rescue says that no one taught him how to dance, 'he just heard this song and suddenly felt like dancing. When he's really in the mood, he dances and sings.' Does this mean that Humans are not alone in enjoying listening ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/05/17/animal-dance/ The DIMI synthesizers were designed by Finnish electronic music pioneer Erkki Kurenniemi in 1970. He created a number of early electronic instruments using original control methods. The DIMI-A was the first in the range standing for 'Digital Music Instrument - Associative Memory' essentially an early sampler. The DIMI-O or 'Optical ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/30/dimi-synthesizers/ A brief overview of Brain Computer Interfaces in relation to music. Human brainwaves were first measured by Hans Berger in 1924. Initially the results were ignored until Adrian and Matthews backed up Berger's results in their 1934 paper 'The Berger Rhythm: Potential Changes from the Occipital Lobes in Man' published ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/30/brain-computer-music-interfaces/ A Brain Computer Interface system, Brainloop allows a user to control devices by thinking specific motor commands. The system detects sensorimotor electroencephalography (EEG) rhythms when the motor commands are thought, so a user can navigate Google Earth without physically moving. A detailed paper on the project can be found in ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/28/brainloop/ A new interactive novel independently written by Susanna Jones, Alison MacLeod, Jeff Noon and William Shaw have started a shared fiction site called 217 babel. The novel is set in a block of seafront flats and will build into 'a complex, multi-character narrative'. http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/16/217-babel/ There are two projects currently under development at MIT's Hyperinstruments group testing Magnetic Musical Training. The systems provide the user with 'a kinesthetic preview', to help them learn the gestures required to play the musical instrument. The project aims to find out whether motor functions can be learnt at a ... http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/16/magnetic-musical-training/