Collective sound
This instrument is designed to invite collective interaction around sound.
I’m interested in the way sound and music allow us to communicate in ways that language cannot always reach.
As someone who learned music as a young age and experienced playing together in a small group, I wanted to translate this specific way of interacting with one another, while removing the constraints of needing knowledge about music.
Through adulthood, spontaneous playful interactions tend to ratify. We rely more on skills and familiarities found in our childhood, and trying or learning a completely new language, like music theory, or playing an instrument, takes some time and practice. The idea here is to offer a way of playing together without needing prior knowledge, but also instigate curiosity about the way electronic sound works.
As many capacitive instruments, this prototype uses a teensy card. Each disk corresponds to one key on two octaves (twice the same note) while the middle one is connected to ground. When played alone, one person needs to connect the keys to the ground with their body. When played together with multiple people, you can connect in many ways through skin touch and, in that way, add more playing hands to the performance.