1. Human Theremin using conductive ink

    Using hand built circuitry I was able to turn my sister into a fully functioning theremin, the idea being that eventually the equipment could be used by dancers to create music that relies entirely on choreography and body movement to generate sound as they dance. In this way the visual performance and the audio become intrinsically linked and thus the viewer is able to ‘see’ the sound as it is created.

  2. Just did a bit of tweaking to my and it’s performing better than it has for weeks! The weather today must suit it perfectly — it’s all nice and crisp. Might have to go and play in the park after lunch.

  3. sophiedennis looks like it went really well! Did anyone video it? Morpeth rant looks like a nice tune, I’ll try learning that on the gurdy this evening.

    The Unquiet Grave is one of my favourite traditional songs — have you heard the Dubliners’ version? I think my parents had a wonderful live recording of it on a cassette tape which I can no longer find :(

  4. for an augmented sense useful for musicians: add the ability to hear whether or not a note is in tune. Not sure how best to implement this — some sort of kinetic feedback system would be the most straightforward, but doesn’t seem true to it’s purpose in the same way that the belt buzzing north does.

    How about a small speaker on the shoulder/in a hat which plays a very quiet A 440hz — then use the beats to judge whether or not the note is in tune.

    Possible problems: might only work adequately for A and related notes (E, maybe D), might be irritating to have a constant sound — like artificial tinnitus. Also irritating if notes which the wearer doesn’t control are slightly out of tune! Probably the most simple solution is to allow the sound to be toggled quickly and easily.

  5. For all his smugness and misrepresentation, I’m actually really impressed with Howard Goodall’s conclusion to the Story of Music. In particular the closing segment, where he satisfyingly sums up the history of in about four sentences.

    Most of the series was moderately interesting historical info, but concluding by linking the advent of the Play button to Bach’s notation style is quite profound.