Here comes a high-tech clarinet
They call it Music in Motion - a clarinet fitted with motion sensors, bringing the over 300-year-old acoustic instrument into the digital age. Now PhD student Robert Ek and senior lecturer Jörgen Normark are ready to launch their product to the market.
The new version of the classic instrument is born from the research project The extended clarinet, where Robert Ek, who is a professional clarinetist in Norrbotten NEO and a doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology, has investigated how to use sensors to sense musicians' movements and enhance the music experience with additional dimensions, creating a so-called hyper instrument.
- The traditional music is fantastic but if you want to keep music as an art form alive, it must continue to develop. Classical music must not become a museum experience," says Robert.
It all started in 2015 when Robert asked a composer in Paris to write music for an electronic bass clarinet being developed in Zurich. The system did not feel ready and Robert soon had his own ideas. In connection with a project at Luleå University of Technology, he came into contact with Jörgen Normark, lecturer in design and Peter Parnes, professor in the field of distributed computer systems.
- Together we started working on a new bell for the clarinet, where we can collect motion data from the musician. In 2016, we won first prize at NIME, an international music conference for new music. Our clarinet has been used in several concerts around Europe since then," says Robert.
In the fall of 2020, Robert and Jörgen started the company Music in Motion and now the clarinet is going to the market. The target group includes both professional musicians and happy amateurs.
- "The idea is that anyone who is curious should be able to try this out. The money we receive will be used to further develop the system.
In research, hyperinstruments have been around since the 1980s, but thanks to the many developments in microelectronics in the last decade, new possibilities have opened up," Robert explains.
How it works
Inside the bell of the clarinet is a microcontroller with Wi-Fi, motion sensors and a battery. The sensors detect movement in all directions and the intensity of the movement. This data can then be used to recognize and use movement qualities to affect sound, light, film or other electronics. For example, there are functions such as spatial loop pedal, pitch bend, spatialization of sound in 3D, and many more.
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