“Tree” light instrument

My original journey was to continue my Seeing Machiens project that utilized the Xbox Kinect and mimicked a looper pad. But after rediscovering the band Purity Ring, I am inspired by their crystalline instruments that are played using drumsticks and light up on each tap.

Initially I misremembered their design as a tree like structure with glowing orbs, leading to the idea for this project.

I will be creating an interactive musical "tree". It will be a tree-like structure with glowing orbs, each representing an assigned MIDI note. Using Arduino to Ableton software integration, tapping these orbs triggers sounds, allowing me to create melodies with a simple touch. The design incorporates bendable branches for a customizable effect, ensuring a visually captivating experience that adapts to any environment as well as ease of play.

I will be using Neopixels and capacitive touch sensors for the instrument, the orbs will illuminate in response to touch.

Below I have images for the look of my instrument.

I have worked on the sensor to Ableton interaction as well as adding the Neopixel effect as well.

This project will require a large amount of fabrication but believe it will be worth the effort to make an instrument that will not only play well but be interesting to watch.

For the first midterm performance I plan on having a mini version of this project and or at least the base technical aArduino set up needed for the whole project. I will be starting with 3 sensors (orbs) and work towards 6 for the final instrument.