LOS ANGELES, Feb 1 — ‘No instrument — no problem’ — the message at this year’s National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in California with several companies demonstrating gesture controlled tech that lets you make music with body motion.
Japanese-made Kagura uses augmented reality to trigger samples and loops by pointing at icons, with gestures captured by the computer’s camera.
French company Enhancia showcased their ring that lets keyboard players shape the sounds they’re playing while they’re playing them.
“The problem is, for certain people, is that when you’re going to have to play and you want to change the musical effects, you’re either going to have to reach with one hand on the knob while you play with the other one... One of the powers of this ring, for one, is that you will be able to modulate and change the sound the way you want while you’re playing it,” Matthieu Soulier, Enhancia’s chief experience officer, said.
Meanwhile the Wave ring can be used with any electronic instrument — or trigger and manipulate sounds using a workstation.
“For live performances, it’s, of course, a really visual way to kind of communicate something that may be happening in the computer or somewhere you can’t see it. But while not performing live, it can also enhance what you’re doing when you create music. So it gives you an extra layer of creativity on top of the instruments you already use,” Haraldur Hugosson, COO of Genki Instruments, said.
Another new music maker is the Blipblox, a fully functional synthesiser for children.
“It takes care of playing the notes, so it’s sort of playing the notes for you. The real fun is getting in there and really, you know, designing the soundwave itself,” Troy Sheets, creator of Blipblox, said.
The NAMM show was attended by more than 100,000 people with 2,000 exhibiting companies. — Reuters
