This weird-looking, fully playable violin may look like it was designed by H.R. Giger or the prop department of Star Trek Next Generation but it actually a 2-string Piezoelectric Violin. And it’s not just for looks, this sci-fi violin can actually be played to create beautiful music, in the right talented hands, of course.
The traditional four strings have been reduced to just two, and the sweeping shape of the piezoelectric instrument’s body is a far cry from the curves of a traditional violin. But the differences aren’t just cosmetic. The structure serves to amplify its acoustics in new ways.
Monad Studio states on their website: “The surface of this complex topological environment is further activated and becomes interactive using computer-generated sounds created by composer/computer musician Jacob Sudol. These sounds are emitted directly through the 3D-printed mural by means of handheld transducers that activate the installation as if it were the cones of a speaker to fill the space with constantly changing fields of sonic activity.”
3D printed instruments are revolutionary. In fact, they’re a real game changer. Consider the amount of time that goes into handcrafting guitars and violins. Then, imagine printing them in a quarter of that time and putting unique touches on them.
And the 3D-printed violin is just one of a suite of instruments designed to provide a collaborative experience exploring our relationship with sound. It’s just one of five redesigned, 3D-printed instruments created by Eric Goldemberg and Veronica Zalcberg of architecture studio Monad, with musician Scott F. Hall, which first appear at the 3D Print Design Show in New York on April 16-17 back in 2015 as part of an installation the studio is calling Abyecto, a word meaning abject, heinous, hideous.
The instruments also include a cello, a didgeridoo, and a larger, valved horn instrument called a hornucopia. Rounding out the suite is a a single-stringed, baritone electric guitar — which sound artist Hall is calling a “Monobarisitar.”
What brings all these instruments together is the “rack” into which they integrate when not in use — the sixth instrument in the series, a sort of 3D-printed mural hung upon the wall.
“The surface of this complex topological environment is further activated and becomes interactive using computer-generated sounds created by composer/computer musician Jacob Sudol. These sounds are emitted directly through the 3D-printed mural by means of handheld transducers that activate the installation as if it were the cones of a speaker to fill the space with constantly changing fields of sonic activity,”
“Multiple performers explore the installation with sounding transducers around the work in a performance of a new work by Jacob Sudol titled ‘…spaces to listen to from within (ii).’ Participants can also engage with the installation by touching the sounding transducers against the sculpture to personally explore the work’s complex resonant structures.”
You can check out what Abyecto sounds like in the video below — including Hall playing his monobarisitar and others exploring the mural with transducers.
ART SELECTRONIC 