Title: A prototyping support system for the creation of painted musical instruments

Authors: Yoshinari Takegawa; Kenichiro Fukushi; Tod Machover; Tsutomu Terada; Masahiko Tsukamoto

Addresses: Future University Hakodate, Faculty of Systems Information Science, 116-2, Kamedanakano, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8655, Japan ' Tokyo Institute of Technology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, 4259-R2-59 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8503, Japan ' MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ' Kobe University, Graduate School of Engineering, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan ' Kobe University, Graduate School of Engineering, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan

Abstract: Currently there are numerous works of research and products which utilise electronic and information technology to equip a piece of paper with interactive functions, including illustrated books which output sounds and the process of drawing electric circuits onto paper, in conductive ink, to facilitate the output of light and sound. However, these technologies do not facilitate customisation of the output that is linked to an input interface. In the case of producing a musical instrument, the sound comprises a wide range of tones and pitches and naturally a single note will produce a different effect than chords and melody. When users are creating a painted musical instrument they identify and discuss any design flaws and then test the design through use of the customise function, which controls the sound output. Therefore, our study aims to construct a prototyping support system for the creation of painted musical instruments. By using conductive ink to draw various designs onto paper, users create input interfaces to which they can then assign different sounds freely and easily. To evaluate the usability of the proposed system, we conducted a basic experiment, as well as an exhibition and a workshop, using our proposed system.

Keywords: mapping; painting; prototyping support systems; painted musical instruments; customisation; conductive ink; instrument design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2015.073583

International Journal of Arts and Technology, 2015 Vol.8 No.4, pp.382 - 402

Published online: 13 Dec 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article