The Didgeridoo is one of the human race’s great triumphs in instrument design, simple but capable of producing profound sound – thanks, indigenous Australians. Kyle Evans sends us his project to extend the instrument with powerful digitally-augmented sound-making capabilities. The ingredients:
- Bluetooth wireless data transmission, connecting to a wireless mic
- Additional controls, including pots, push buttons, and toggles. (One limitation of the original relative to other blown instruments is its lack of any kind of keys or finger holes – an issue if you want to play with more than one note or modify the sound with something other than your mouth.)
- Max/MSP-patched synthesis and signal processing, analyzing the input and making lots of wonderful sounds
As he describes it:
I created this instrument to experiment in the combination of the organic sound qualities of a didgeridoo with the advanced signal processing capabilities of modern computer programming and sound synthesis. This custom built didgeridoo features externally mounted modules that allow the performer to process and manipulate the sound of the instrument in real time. All control data is transmitted wirelessly via blue tooth and is controlling several audio processes created in a custom-built software environment. If you have any questions about the instrument please feel free to ask.
Truly inspiring work, Kyle!
See also: Perry Cook’s DigiDoo. I’m familiar with the instrument, but couldn’t find any good documentation online; if someone has any (or, if Perry is out there reading), send it our way. The more digital digeridoos, the merrier!