Everything Is Music to Instrument Inventor Akito van Troyer's Ears The Berklee professors creations collapse boundaries between digital and physical instruments and highlight the sonic potential of everyday objects.
By
John Mirisola
December 11, 2023
Akito van Troyer holds two custom-made musical cubes built for the MM-RT, an instrument he invented in 2016. The cubes, which contain magnets, vibrate and rattle when activated by the instruments electromagnetic surface.
Image by Kelly Davidson
Akito van Troyers latest instrument is not a drum machine, exactly. More like a drumming machine.
Laid out on a table at the Electronic Production and Design (EPD) professors Cambridge workspace, van Troyers briefcase-sized prototype is surrounded by a striking mishmash of objects: containers and lids of all sizes, a box of 3D-printed plastic cups and saucers, an egg shaker, a glass ball, a styrofoam block, two decorative tin pails, a handful of playing card-sized metal plates, and a festive-looking fake pumpkin. Van Troyer has placed an object on each of the instruments eight square pads, which have mechanical actuators that will strike these objects in a programmed sequence when he presses play on the connected MIDI controller.
He hits a button and the instruments surface pings and rattles and shakes and thumps with the found-sound rhythm, which he can alter with further tweaks to buttons and sliders.
The biggest thing this instrument can do is turn everyday objects into musical materials, he says. The result is a kind of dream laboratory for anybody whos ever drummed on random objects and surfaces just to hear how they sound. He calls it the Garakutakara-a play on a Japanese term that means junk treasure. And its the latest development in a series of sonic explorations that have fascinated van Troyer for years.
Akito van Troyers latest musical creation turns everyday objects into programmable percussion sounds.
Image by Kelly Davidson
The Search for New SoundsFor as long as van Troyer has pursued music, he has sought out new sounds and new ways of making those sounds. There are all kinds of music out there, and I wanted to experience them, van Troyer explains. I want to create the most original sounds. Original sound counts when youre making new music.
As an undergraduate studying ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii, van Troyer focused on Indonesian gamelan music. Gamelan is a rich and complex system filled with instruments, tones, and scales that have developed independently of Western musical traditions. At the same time, he began to explore computer music, and discovered that the two interests could complement each other. For his senior thesis, he used a computer to analyze the sound of each instrument in a gamelan ensemble, then he created a new electronic gamelan composition with the digital versions of those instruments.
Van Troyer took this fascination with the intersection of technology and sound design through the rest of his education, from a masters degree in music technology at Georgia Tech to a second masters and Ph.D. in media arts and sciences from the Media Lab at MIT. He continued to develop new virtual sounds and instruments while also beginning to explore how to use technological tools to make music with physical objects.
Instrument Builder
Akito van Troyer plays the MM-RT.
Image by Kelly Davidson
The first physical instrument van Troyer built was a mechanically augmented cello that took advantage of a small but significant part of the instruments construction. Cellos have a piece called a sound post, a wooden rod inside the body that has a critical influence on the instruments timbre. Knowing this, van Troyer built a robot that changes the sound post position on the fly to change the timbre of the cello as the cello player plays.
Other instruments hes built or collaborated on have included a MIDI-enabled microtonal harpsichord, a percussive geodesic dome, and a tactiloscope-a work-in-progress device that would translate sound into a touchable interface for hearing-impaired users.
Van Troyer also began building instruments with platforms that would strike or resonate materials the musician puts on top of them, like the Garakutakara. Theres another one like this on the table in his workspace that functions differently, sending out electromagnetic pulses that vibrate metal pieces inside the materials he places on the instruments surface. He calls it the MM-RT (which stands for material, magnet, rhythm, and timbre), and it won the Peoples Choice: Most Unusual award at the Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition in 2017.
Watch Akito van Troyer demonstrate his award-winning MM-RT for Atlanta Magazine:
Making ConnectionsRunning through many of van Troyers musical creations is a deep desire to create connection-between the musician and the instrument, between the performer and the audience, and between the sound and the source.
Think about a guitar, he says. When you play it, its in your face: the guitar is right here, and the sound comes from there, and the [performers] gestures directly result in the sound. So it makes sense for the audience members and its fun to watch.
By contrast, he explains, with a conventional electronic musical instrument, the gesture-say, pressing a button on a keyboard or writing a few lines of code on a computer-is separated from the sound it produces, which comes out of a speaker somewhere else. This is the problem van Troyers new instruments are confronting head-on.
Everyday Music
Image by Kelly Davidson
Image by Kelly Davidson
With instruments like the Garakutakara and the MM-RT, van Troyer is bringing the sound closer to the gesture. An audience member can see him place the tin pail on one of the pads, then hear the pail start to pound like a steampunk kick drum. Then, they can watch as he selects the festive
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
23/05/2024
Alone Australia continues to build as it movies towards finale
23 May, 2024
Media releases
The program continues to deliver for SBS with significant uplift...
23/05/2024
As the 2023 HPA Awards were taking shape last year, in the aftermath of the pand...
23/05/2024
By HPA Staff
The call for submissions for the HPA Engineering Excellence Awards is already open, and closes soon on June 14; but the submission period for crea...
23/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast is reporting that it has reduced the electricity it takes to deliver each byte of data across its network by 40% since 2019....
23/05/2024
CARY, N.C. The UKs largest commercial broadcaster ITV has released new details on how it is using an API-driven first-party ad server developed by SAS, to deliv...
23/05/2024
LEAWOOD, Kan. While technology is central to making ATSC 3.0 a success as a means to deliver wireless data, it's only a part of the story....
23/05/2024
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron today unlocked a unveiled sweeping improvements to its newsroom portfolio that enable broadcasters to deploy a complete newsroom workflow ...
23/05/2024
Philippe Guillotel, senior director of metavideo group, InterDigital, explains how haptic technology could be the next big thing in watching everything from spo...
23/05/2024
How to color match broadcast cameras
Brie Clayton May 23, 2024
0 Comments
Ever wondered how to color match on two different high end broadcast cameras...
23/05/2024
Chyron Unlocks a Complete Newsroom in the Cloud With News Portfolio Updates
Brie Clayton May 23, 2024
0 Comments
Based on a long-term, coordinated dev...
23/05/2024
NBA legends Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony are helping to promote Inside Out 2, the new film from Disney and Pixar, in commercials that are appearing during th...
23/05/2024
The CW drama Walker will not see a fifth season on the network. Inspired by the 90s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger, the show premiered in 2021. Jared Padalec...
23/05/2024
The E.W. Scripps Co. named Robin Davis senior VP, chief distribution officer, effective immediately....
23/05/2024
Season two of Mulligan, an animated comedy about people struggling to rebuild the planet after an alien attack, with a star-studded cast and producer group, deb...
23/05/2024
NewsNation expands to a 24/7 programming schedule starting June 1. The network, part of Nexstar Media Group, will launch the final portion of its live news line...
23/05/2024
BrightLine, which provides interactive and shoppable advertising formats, said it launched StreamLine, a self-service system for creating dynamic commercials th...
23/05/2024
Nick Cannon will host a talk show on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee. Called Counsel Culture and based on his podcast of the same name, it premieres June 6. Ther...
23/05/2024
YOKOHAMA, Japan Leader Electronics has expanded the capabilities of its LVB440 IP Analyzer with extended support for the latest standards relating to object-bas...
23/05/2024
Zeenal Thakare, senior vice president, enterprise solutions architecture at Ateliere Creative Technologies, explains why shes enjoying a front row seat to the o...
23/05/2024
The Bill is currently at its third reading stage in the House of Lords
By Jenny Priestley
Published: May 23, 2024
The Bill is currently at its third re...
23/05/2024
SOUTHPORT, Conn. Diamond Sports Group has reached a multi-year renewal of its distribution agreement with FuboTV Inc. for the continued carriage of Diamond'...
23/05/2024
AUSTIN, Texas Brainstorm, a provider of real-time 3D graphics and virtual studio solutions, has opened a new office and Demo Studio in Austin, Texas in a move t...
23/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. As concerns grow about the potential impact of fake AI-generated photos and videos being used to influence elections, Federal Communications Co...
23/05/2024
NEW YORK BrightLine has announced the launch of StreamLine, the self-service, automated tool for clients to design, build, and publish interactive and dynamic a...
23/05/2024
With NCAA college football moving to a new, greatly expanded playoff format for the National Championship this year, ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a five-yea...
23/05/2024
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, launched its AI and Advanced Analytics practice,...
23/05/2024
Glensound, industry leader in high quality audio systems, is exhibiting for the first time at InfoComm 2024. The company is demonstrating why it has such an env...
23/05/2024
Shotoku Broadcast Systems, international manufacturer of high-quality, easy-to-use, robust and reliable camera support systems, has announced plans to exhibit b...
23/05/2024
Based in Scalby Village, Scarborough, Beckview Studios is one of North Yorkshire's largest, one-stop recording studios in the area. Since its opening in May...
23/05/2024
Pixellot, the global leader in AI-automated video and data solutions for sports, is proud to announce a partnership with Tximist Foundation to broadcast all Txi...
23/05/2024
Global video solutions provider, Accedo, has worked with ITV, the UK's largest commercial broadcaster, to bring its streaming service, ITVX to PlayStation 4...
23/05/2024
The Global Media and Entertainment Talent Manifesto, an organisation working to address the skills shortage across the media technology sector, today announces ...
23/05/2024
A trio from WRAL-TV has been honored with a 2024 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for the WRAL documentary Ghosts in the Stadium. The Radio Television Digital Ne...
23/05/2024
May 23rd, 2024 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL 2024 ANNOUNCES ...
23/05/2024
7 minute read
Share
alt=Telenor Group's Board of Directors has appointed Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer as new President & CEO class=lazyload main main-l...
23/05/2024
Game Pres Glitz: How Allegiant Stadium and the Las Vegas Raiders Shine in the En...
23/05/2024
TNT Sports to Present College Football Playoff Games Through Sublicense with ESP...
23/05/2024
PGA TOUR's Anthony Renda on the Role of Cloud-Based Workflows in Every Shot...
23/05/2024
NCAA Women's Lacrosse National Championship: ESPN To Integrate Goal Cams Int...
23/05/2024
SVG College Sports Media Awards 2024: Winners in Outstanding Social Media Video,...
23/05/2024
Back to All News
Trailer for Joko Anwars Nightmares and Daydreams' Explore...
23/05/2024
Back to All News
What We Watched the Second Half of 2023
Entertainment
23 May 2024
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Today we published our second edition o...
23/05/2024
IBM Security's Martin Borrett shares his thoughts on how cybersecurity will be impacted in the age of generative AI. Please see the full article here in AI ...
23/05/2024
By Christine Purse
One of the most compelling discussions at the 2024 HPA Tech Retreat happened off stage with no audience present. After hours, while the room...
23/05/2024
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES
Press release - 23 May 2024 10:07
Eutelsat Ku-ba...
23/05/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
The Mauritius Prime Ministers Office (PMO) has c...
23/05/2024
All candidates invited to debate live on the night
As part of RT 's extensi...
Everything Is Music to Instrument Inventor Akito van Troyer's Ears The Berklee professors creations collapse boundaries between digital and physical instruments and highlight the sonic potential of everyday objects.
