Electronic violin turns laser signals into music

[Nipuna]

Gets you into the groove (Image: Dylan Menzies)

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THE sound of a violin bow across strings can be exquisite. But bowing well is hard to master. Now that smooth grace is encapsulated in a new kind of electronic instrument.

Developed by Dylan Menzies at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, the O-Bow uses optical sensors to track the movement of a real violin bow across a groove in a metal instrument. The sensor detects the bow's angle and speed to drive the production of digital music in a connected computer. Notes are created using a separate keyboard.

The instrument's body is a smooth copper cylinder and the groove holding the sensors is shaped to ensure that the bow doesn't skid off. It is easier to play than a real violin because the musician does not have to moderate the downward pressure of the bow onto the string, one of the trickiest elements of playing a violin.

Many different sound effects can be created and manipulated, while rotating the bow also creates a vibrato effect, a technique that novice violin players find difficult to master.

Menzies demonstrated the instrument at the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction conference in Barcelona, Spain, last month and plans to commercialise it. Listen to the O-Bow here:

Violin: bowing, legato, vibrato, staccato, ringing

Violin: opening triple bounce is from natural bow bounce

Cello: the bow speed is warped so that lower speeds are raised, creating a flatter performance

This article appeared in print under the headline "Electronic violin gets you into the groove"