Tag Archives: Ocarina
University of Michigan Has An iPhone Instrument Class [Video]
This one time at band camp, I played an iPhone. Next week at the University of Michigan there will be a public performance of a band playing instruments. These aren’t ordinary instruments. As a matter of fact, they are iPhones. The public performance will be taking place as part of the “Building a Mobile Phone Ensemble” course.
Every iPhone played by the band is programmed to make different sounds when each function of the phone is used. This includes the microphone, GPS, compass, wireless sensor, touchscreen, and accelerometer. The professor behind the project is Georg Essl. Essl was instrumental (pun intended) for the development of the iPhone app Ocarina, developed by Smule. Smule is the company that recently released the auto-tune I Am T-Pain app as well.
Essl and his colleagues were the first ones known to have used a micrphone as a wind sensor. This is one of the tactics that is used by Ocarina. The Mobile Phone Ensemble course is believed to be the first of its kind where music, engineering, and interactive media arts are combined.
To follow the performances of the Mobile Phone Ensemble band, you can check out their Facebook page. You will also notice that the band’s uniform is the signature black shirt and jeans look that Steve Jobs goes for.
Categories Apple Inc., Georg Essl, Ocarina, Smule, University of Michigan
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Smule Makes Another iPhone App Hit Leaf Trombone
Smule raised $3.9 million two months ago. Dr. Ge Wang, Assistant Professor of Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford is the co-founder of the company and their first application was a hit. The first app is called Ocarina and now they have released their next application Leaf Trombone World Stage [iTunes link].
The Leaf Trombone is a traditional Chinese leaf instrument. To use the application, players run their fingers across the touchscreen and blow into the iPhone microphone. Leaf Trombone has a music box that also accompanies the music you play. You can also download music for Leaf Trombone. The application tells you if you hit the notes correctly with the music when blowing into the microphone.
[via Macworld]
Categories Leaf Trombone, Ocarina, Smule
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