Synesythm is an experimental musical instrument and interactive installation. Synesythm explores the union of light, sound, group communication and group creation. It is engineered to be experienced and enjoyed by the passive observer as well the active participant.


<a href="http://casperelectronics.com/images/finishedpieces/installations/synesythm/faceplate3.jpg"><img src="http://casperelectronics.com/images/finishedpieces/installations/synesythm/_faceplate3.jpg" width="400" height="294" alt="" title=""  /></a>
<h3>The goal </h3> 
There are two main goals to Synesythm. The first is to design a musical interface which generates unique and moving audio and visual output. The interface utilizes a simple sound engine and programming structure along with public interaction as a constant variable. The public are given several elements of control of a musical system. This allows for individual expression while maintaining a cohesive structure. <br>
The next goal is to create a piece which engages the viewer sensorially, emotionally and socially. Synesythm uses viscerally appealing stimuli to engage the senses and offers potential for musical creativity to draw viewers into being part of a personal and collaborative experience.  <br>
<strong><em>Stimuli</em></strong>:<br>
-Sound to light<br>
-Complex color mixing<br>
-Rhythm<br>
All of these elements play on humans natural desire to see structure and correlation in the world around them. <br><em>Sound to light</em> creates harmony between the senses and is subconsciously pleasing while engaging a greater amount of the viewers conciousness than can vbe achieved with discreet stimlui. <br>
<em>Complex color mixing</em> introduces depth and complexity to the stimuli while maintaining structure. Each podium controls one of the three primary colors of light. When all three podiums are active, the colors overlap and make widely varying color mixes.<br>
The output of all three podiums are joined by a common <em>rhythm</em>. This creates an easily identifiable connection between the voices of the piece.
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<strong><em>Creative potential:</em></strong><br>
A programming interface and signal modifiing controls are available to the viewer. This allows for engagement on a much more personal scale. Once the viewer engages with the creation of the stimuli, they are now emotionally invested in it's presence. <p>
<strong><em>Interaction:</em></strong><br>
Synesythm is engineered to inspire the individule and channel the inspiration of three individules into one collective, ongoing presentation. 
<h3>The layout</h3><br>
  Three podiums are positioned around a light orb. Each podium can be easily programmed to create looping sequences. These loops are represented as sound and colored light within the central orb. The combination of sound and light creates a deeply engaging presence. Giving the viewer access to control parameters draws them even closer. By making all three podiums interact, it encourages groups of viewers to collectively share a personal exploration and experience. All three podiums share a central rhythm. This means that  each programmed melody will mix rhythmically with the other melodies. This encourages cooperation and communication between the podiums and players. <p>

The physical layout of Synesythm is very similar to an installation called<a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/white-light-2/">White Light</a>. Please see the <a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/white-light-2/">White Light</a> page for info and examples of how the light and sound interact.<br>
Synesythm is building on the discoveries I made through White Light while greatly increasing the focus on group interaction. I have done this by introducing rhythmic component and the potential for musical collaboration.<p> 
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<h3>The control interface</h3><br>
The challenge with the control interface is to give people access to a relatively sophisticated array of functions in a way that is intuitive to someone with no prior exposure. <br> My approach is to create an interface that can be activated simply through touch. This encourages curious exploration while also allowing for more sophisticated control. It's a device to be played with as well as performed on.<strong>To achieve this I will be using touch sensors and custom programmed micro controllers.</strong><p>
 

The interface is made up of two basic blocks as shown in the illustration above. The two parts are the <strong>programming grid</strong> and the <strong>variable controllers</strong>.<br> 
The <strong>programming grid</strong> is comprised of a series of light up touch sensors which act as a sequence programming interface as well as a visual indication of the sequence. The layout and technology is similar to the popular gridded midi interface called the <a href="http://monome.org/">Monome</a>. A primary difference is that the sensors on the programming grid are not mechanical pushbuttons. It is a clear plate with a grid of touch sensitive sensors that are activated by the brush of a finger. <br> This uses a series of capacitive sensors developed by Atmel for use in computer touch screens. Info on this line of products can be found <a href="http://www.atmel.com/products/overview_touch.asp">here</a>.<p>

The<strong> variable controls</strong> utilizes touch sensitive potentiometer strips and allow the user to control various parameters of the sounds. The potentiometers used are SpectraSymbol brand Soft pots which you can see <a href="http://">here</a>. A row of LEDs placed below the strip indicate the position of the potentiometer once your finger is removed. This allows the position of the pot to be animated by the sequencer as it runs through the recorded sequence.<p>

<p>
<strong>Making loops</strong>
loops are generated by programming sequences into the grid sequencer. <br>
The grid is made of 3 rows and 16 columns. <br>
-Each row represents a voice.<br>
-Each column represents a step. The sequencer cycles through each step in order and then loops back to the first step.<br>
-The three variable adjustments represent the three voices. The adjustment controls the picth of that voice.
When one of the lights is ON it means that that voice will be on when the sequence reaches that step. The position of the variable adjustment sets the pitch of that voice when it is activated. Sequences are programmed simply by moving your finger along the variable adjustment and activating steps in the sequence. The position of the adjustment is recorded when a step is activated and played back every time that step is activated. It sounds somewhat complicated but is an interface that renders interesting results regardless of user familiarity.  
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<h3>
Background</h3><p>

This project is the next iteration of an ongoing study of interactive sound and light generation utilizing the phenomenon of drone. Drone occures when two or more static (unchanging) wave forms are combined and a constantly changing difference between the two waves is the product. From two static tones emerges a moving, sonic presence. Many topics have branched from my research of drone including topics of interactivity, communication, synesthetic stimuli, and an exploration of performance conventions.<br>
Three projects that have led up to the development of Synesythm are:<br>
-<a href=" http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/drone-lab/drone-lab-v2/">The Drone Lab</a><br>
-<a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/benjolin-light-synth/">The Benjolin Light Synth</a><br>
-<a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/white-light-2/">White Light</a><p>
Through this piece I aim to build on my experience designing <a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/white-light-2/">White Light</a> and interacting with the public throughout the 3 months of the its installation on RPI campus. As a result of the enthusiastic feedback I received I am turning more of the focus of the piece to group communication and interaction through two methods:<br>
1)	By designing sophisticated and intuitive control interfaces. 
2)	By generating accessible output through synergetic stimuli and the use of loops and rhythms. <hr/>
I have been experimenting with drone for the last 2 years.
After spending time exploring the effects of sound waves on one another I began to investigate the effects humans controlling drone would have on each other. This led me to develop a drone synthesizer called the Drone Lab which could be easily produced in quantity thus facilitating group drone creation. You can read about the first version <a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/drone-lab/">here</a> and the second more advanced version <a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/drone-lab/drone-lab-v2/">here</a>.

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I found that I could easily apply the physics of audio drone to light and could create a multi sensory experience. This led me to create an installation called White Light. Through the use of colored light and color mixing between droning podiums I was able to further highlight the strength of collaboration and convergence and create an audio, visual, tactile and social experience.<br>
White Light utilizes what I have learned from the Drone Lab project but takes steps to make the material more accessible to a general audience. This was done by creating a more engaging experience (through the combination of sound and light) and by making the interface significantly simpler and more intuitive.  
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Following the installation of White Light I built a piece called the <a href="http://casperelectronics.com/finished-pieces/benjolin-light-synth/">Benjolin Light Synth</a>. 

This piece shares elements of The Drone Lab and White Light but is designed to create more complex output rather than meditative drone. What I find very interesting about this piece is that it generates a wide range of complex audio signals but also possesses a rhythmic component which gives a clear access point for the audience. I consider Synesythm to be a combination of the format of White Light with a bit of the rhythmic accessibility of the Benjolin Light Synth. 
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