{"id":8,"date":"2018-01-29T00:27:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T00:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects-old.etc.cmu.edu\/music-in-motion\/?p=8"},"modified":"2018-01-29T00:27:49","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T00:27:49","slug":"team-music-in-motion-gets-moving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects-old.etc.cmu.edu\/music-in-motion\/index.php\/2018\/01\/29\/team-music-in-motion-gets-moving\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Music in Motion Gets Moving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our team was still arranging our new project room for the semester when our first visitor dropped by. We were lucky enough to receive an introduction to the <\/span>Theremin <\/span><\/a>from virtuoso, <\/span>Pamelia Kurstin<\/span><\/a>. She made playing the electronic instrument look natural as she demonstrated her control of pitch with one hand and volume with the other. We were surprised by the Theremin\u2019s versatility. So often it is associated with a \u201csci-fi\u201d sound, however, Pam drew out its musicality with graceful and measured hand-movements. She allowed us each to make an attempt at playing the instrument and to explore its responsiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This experience quickly became the inspiration for our first gold spike and prototype. We wanted to mimic Pam\u2019s controlled and movement-oriented performance by creating a Theremin ourselves in VR. In the demo, the Vive controllers replaced the hands of the musician, while their distance from virtual antennas determined volume and pitch. However, this experiment surprisingly felt unsuccessful because the concept did not translate into VR as well and the magic of the instrument fell flat. Still, it became clear that what we loved about the Theremin was the nuanced hand gestures and intimate movements that shaped the music.<\/span><\/p>\n