Musical instruments, reinvented?
By: Dyson On
Tags: Innovation, Symphony, Music, Dyson, Inventions

ELECTROSPIN

Instrument: Air Guitar

How does it work?

The starting point for this design is a guitar, using a purifier enclosure as a body and a cordfree vacuum “wand” as its neck. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer connected to a motor links via Bluetooth to a smartphone’s internal gyroscope which measures how much a player tilts the guitar up or down. This means you can intuitively play the different notes without all that complicated fingering.

What does it sound like?

Sir James said it “was an instrument The Grateful Dead would gladly play.” Imagine trying to vocally recreate the glam-rock whine of an electric guitar solo. The noise this instrument makes is the perfect companion to the art of the air guitar, adding a smooth synthesised range that even Freddie Mercury would envy.

AMP-SICHORD

Instrument: Automated Harpsichord

How does it work?

Twelve purifiers are strung converting the bladeless hood into a resonant chamber. At the base of each tune-able string is an automated plectrum which is powered by a small motor. Each one of the twelve devices represents three octaves — all of which can be played together using a keyboard — or if you aren’t a pianist, you can connect it to a music file and let the machines play themselves.

What does it sound like?

For an set of strung air purifiers, Amp-sichord instrument produces a modern twist on the rich tones of the Far East. Essentially it’s a little bit like twelve miniature sitars being played by a robot with super-fast fingers.

CYCLOPHONE

Instrument: Pipe Organ

How does it work?

The design is based on a pipe organ. Unlike a traditional organ, Cyclophone has a continuous air supply which is released using a series of switches sending pressurised air over a plastic lip producing the sound. The 48 open flue pipes are made from cord-free vacuum “wands”. Eight fan motor bases power the airflow — which themselves create noticeable additional sound. All of the machinery is neatly contained by a geodesic frame which you can climb in to play.

What does it sound like?

Surprisingly similar to a church organ. Of course using eight fans creates a lot of rushing air, but hopefully that will remind listeners of the deep breath a Church of England organ takes when it bellows into life.

TEAM dB

Instrument: A violin

How does it work?

Exactly the same way a traditional violin does, with four strings and a resonant chamber. But, the complexity of getting it to sound like a violin lies in the materials used. A laser cut bridge, tailpiece, and fingerboard all had to be precisely prototyped, tweaked, and manufactured to ensure that the vibrations from the strings interacted with the resonant chamber effectively. Additionally, because violin strings only operate under very high tension all of the components had to be secured very precisely to prevent the instrument from literally pulling itself apart.

What does it sound like?

A violin. Which is relatively impressive considering a Stradivarius sells for anything up to £9.5 million and this was made using the plastic casing once used to dry people’s hands in a bathroom.

SOLO

Instrument: A modular synthesiser

How does it work?

Synthesisers use electronic “sound waves” as a sound source. Solo’s machine hooks up an electric motor to a device that detects electromagnetic waves and turns their fluctuations in its magnetic field into an audio signal. This was made into a ‘modular’ synthesiser when the team designed and built a number of effects to process the motor sound. Perhaps more so than the others this genuinely turns a Dyson Digital Motor into a unique electronic instrument.

What does it sound like?

In simple terms, like a Theremin. But the art is really in the way this instrument is played. In the right hands you have all the ingredients needed to make eerie echoing rhythms or upbeat trance tunes. Definitely the most futuristic sounding of all Dyson’s new instruments.