The saxophone was too squeaky. The piano was too complicated, and it made your wrists hurt. You hate getting blisters, so string instruments and drums are out. But still, you want to learn how to play an instrument.
Maybe you should give the encephalophone a try. It's an instrument scientists are developing that you can control with your mind.
Real
It sounds like a joke or something out of a really good sci-fi novel. But scientists are really working on it.
A musician wears an electroencephalogram cap that has electrodes on it. The electrodes pick up electrical signals caused by thoughts or actions the musician has or makes.
The signals then move to a computer that converts the signals into the value from 1 to 8, and then to another computer that turns the values into eight musical notes in the key of C for a synthesizer to make.
There are specific thoughts that the player has to think to make music.
Imagined Gestures Become Sounds
Essentially, a musician imagines grasping and ungrasping their right hand. Thinking about that arm and hand movement lowers the signal from the left motor cortex of the brain, which in turn lowers the note on the scale. If the musician thinks about the arm and hand movement less, this raises the note on the scale.
Still, not sold? The music made by an electroencephalogram sounds like electric piano or strings: basically, any sound a synthesizer can produce.
Thank you to Thomas Deuel, Swedish Neuroscience Institute and U.W. Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) for reviewing this episode's script.
Sources And Further Reading:
- Frontiers. "Creating music by thought alone: Newly-developed hands-free musical instrument now allows people to make music with their minds." ScienceDaily. Accessed October 31, 2017.
- Kiley, Brendan. "Meet the encephalophone: An instrument you can play with your mind, just by thinking." Seattle Times. March 24, 2017. Accessed October 31, 2017.
- "Studio99 Presents: Thomas Deuel and his Encephalophone." Microsoft Research. June 27, 2016. Accessed October 31, 2017.
