Musical instruments (particularly Western ones) have historically been based on binary systems: press a key, pluck a string, hit a drum. Despite all the minute expressions one can create with traditional instruments, its bare foundations deny increments that contradict its hypothetical ruler of playability.
The Keyblade Synthesizer is an exercise in accepting the idiosyncrasies in expression. At the core of the instrument, four photoresistors detect variation in light and relay the information to an Arduino microcontroller. Through Max MSP, the signal is processed to produce four separate waveforms. Optionally, an ultrasonic sensor can be used to manipulate pitch. Four knobs control volume, tone, reverb, and scale. By manipulating light as a universal constant, the player reaches into the non-binary space between silence and sound.
Faadhi Fauzi, Dolgormaa Battur, Brady Rhora, Keon Rastgoo