Difference between revisions of "Living Instruments v2"

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==Prototyping Day #1==
 
==Prototyping Day #1==
Resurrecting the Yeast Organ (l'Orgue au levure) [[Living Instruments|aka the Bubble Organ]] was the basis for our first gathering (Esther, Rachel, Serge and Robert), when we were happy to find basically all that's needed still packed in their big traveling boxes.
+
Resurrecting the Yeast Organ (l'Orgue au levure) [[Living Instruments#Bubble Organ|aka the Bubble Organ]] was the basis for our first gathering (Esther, Rachel, Serge and Robert), when we were happy to find basically all that's needed still packed in their big traveling boxes.
  
5 big culture flasks, the magnetic stirring modules (one needed to be replace
+
5 big culture flasks, the magnetic stirring modules (one needed to be replaced...and we found one more), tubes and bubblers all came together well.
  
 
===Setup description===
 
===Setup description===
 
General principle:
 
General principle:
 
+
*
[[File:sketch-of-cool-exp-E1.JPG|300px|thumb|right|set up for run 1|link=Special:FilePath/Sketch-of-cool-exp-E1.JPG]]
 
 
 
===Materials & budget ===
 
*What, size | quantity | where to get it | price / unit
 
  
 
===(If it’s a) Construction===
 
===(If it’s a) Construction===
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We put our measures here: [link to other doc?]
 
We put our measures here: [link to other doc?]
  
==Run / prototype #2==
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==Prototyping Day #2==
 +
Getting the Moss-o-phone on line with the capacitance sensor was the second task, facilitated by Richard at the FabLab of Renens, and trying to get the EEG together, with two electrode options, the expensive ones that arrived today, and Yngvar's DIY dry electrodes the basis for our first tests..
 +
 
 +
For the Moss-i-phone ([[Living Instruments#Moss Carpet|aka the Moss Carpet)]], Arduino UNO, the capacitative sensor software, and a special stable plaque with x2 10M Ohm and x1 1M Ohm resistors, makes it look like all should be good!  Getting the patch to the MAX music program and setting sounds will come later with Robert...
 +
 
 +
==Run / prototype #3==
 
<!--  Experiment code / name ? -->
 
<!--  Experiment code / name ? -->
 
What's new compared to #1:
 
What's new compared to #1:

Revision as of 16:06, 30 July 2025


Living Instruments is a collaborative project between Swiss musician Serge Vuille (under the umbrella of the project WeSpoke) and the DIY science crowd of the community laboratory Hackuarium.


It is a musical composition for a series of instruments that use bacteria, yeast and other living organisms to generate music. By interacting with the organisms and recording the sounds, gas bubbles, pressure, and movements they generate, the artists can transform data into music, creating a live, semi-improvised musical piece.

This was the original Living Instruments wiki page documenting the project's early development and concerts.

We were invited to make the 'version 2' of this project for the open night of local museums. On a day we planned to do a special musical open evening, we got a message from La Musée de la Main inviting us to do a special Living Instruments event for the upcoming 'La Nuit des Musées' the 27th of September 2025.

Introduction

Context

This is a part of the Hackuarium project, Living Instruments

It is about experiments related to making music with living organisms.

One big hope is the the human brain will be the new 'living instrument' in time for the museum event.

People

Contact and lead: Esther Calderon

Participants:


Objectives

To make beautiful music and inspire others to mix life and tech for culture...
Pour créer une musique magnifique et inspirer les autres à mélanger la vie et le technologie au service de la culture... (traduction FR à venir)

Background & Inspiration

Background

The project began initially in early 2016, with several demos, workshops and even concert tours (including London, Darmstadt and other sites in Switzerland, even a Nuit des Musées in Neuchâtel). See the original project page Living Instruments ...

Living Instruments, circa 2017, in Neuchâtel

Inspiration

The current version is especially inspired by the hopes that the human brain can also be tapped as a living instrument, with EEGs... Some exhibitions at the EPFL were especially inspiring, for the EEG and for Music...

Other Hackuarium events were also inspiring, for instance, this one also many years ago.

Even more new projects, like this one about mushrooms making music, also inspire us...

However, we still draw our main inspiration from the first group's works, and are especially glad to have Serge and Robert in the mix!

Prototyping Day #1

Resurrecting the Yeast Organ (l'Orgue au levure) aka the Bubble Organ was the basis for our first gathering (Esther, Rachel, Serge and Robert), when we were happy to find basically all that's needed still packed in their big traveling boxes.

5 big culture flasks, the magnetic stirring modules (one needed to be replaced...and we found one more), tubes and bubblers all came together well.

Setup description

General principle:

(If it’s a) Construction

Step 1 in pictures:

(If it’s an experiment) Parameters

To vary | Values
p1 |
p2 |
Constants (Key elements of set-up)
c1 |
c2
To measure/ observe
m1
m2

Protocol (Plan)

Startup

Phase 1

do what | frequency | duration

Lab Notebook & News (Real)

We put our measures here: [link to other doc?]

Prototyping Day #2

Getting the Moss-o-phone on line with the capacitance sensor was the second task, facilitated by Richard at the FabLab of Renens, and trying to get the EEG together, with two electrode options, the expensive ones that arrived today, and Yngvar's DIY dry electrodes the basis for our first tests..

For the Moss-i-phone (aka the Moss Carpet), Arduino UNO, the capacitative sensor software, and a special stable plaque with x2 10M Ohm and x1 1M Ohm resistors, makes it look like all should be good! Getting the patch to the MAX music program and setting sounds will come later with Robert...

Run / prototype #3

What's new compared to #1:

Results / Feedback from use

Recommendation + next steps