The WILLPOWER Theremin
Audiovisual InstrumentHow It Was Created.
Open Source Documentation
creative coding / openFrameworks / electronics / music tech
I performed using my Audiovisual Instrument the Willpower Theremin at Spektrum Berlin as a part of MOVLAB #28.
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As you can see in the video below, I then invited the public to play with the Willpower Theremin 🖐🏻🖐🏿
It was joyful to see the people having fun with it ! 🤟🏾🔊
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The original Theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact. It was invented by Léon Theremin of Russia who patented it in 1928. I created my version by adding a visual component amongst other differences… I coded the Sound and Visuals in openFrameworks, an open-source C++ framework… used 2 infrared sensors via Arduino to capture the distance of my hands in mid air to control amplitude and frequency of the Oscillator (Sound) while mapping them to a x/y axis for the visuals to be animated symbiotically with the audio, via hands in motion ✋😸🤚. The purpose is to create Music + Graphics with the natural movements of the human body.” ☺️🎼🎨🔊👩🏽🎤🖤
The video above is the first audiovisual version of The Willpower Theremin but the low frequencies were not working correctly yet. It uses 2 infrared distance sensors to read my hands and I use the data to control the oscillator synth. There are 2 sensors. 1 is for the amplitude of sound and y-axis of the visuals. The other for frequency and the x-axis of the circle.
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The Hardware is still in prototype mode here in the image below.
