We’ve been playing the same instruments for hundreds and hundreds of years now. Not literally the same ones, of course: they would all have fallen to bits by now. The violin has been around in its current incarnation since the 17th century and all we’ve done since then is stick up plug up its arse and hook it up to some speakers. Since the Theremin, circa 1928, mankind has not made much headway in the invention of new musical instruments. What we have done is made huge advances in computing and how it relates to music; now even Rebecca Black can sound like the perky pop princess she dreams of being.
What this means, however, it that at every gig, some guy is required to sit there on stage behind a computer screen, busily mixing everything that needs to be mixed. Which is where the Alpha Sphere comes in:
The Alpha Sphere allows the producer to engage with the audience and performers instead of working all that behind-the-scenes magic. The sphere is fully programmable, with a range of up to four octaves, which means that it’s not just limited to spooky electronic Theremin noises; any sound you can think of can be uploaded to the device, which can then be played live on stage.
It also looks awesome. I could swear I saw something just like it on Star Trek once.
The creators of the Alpha Sphere are now engaged in trying to raise money to fund the project on indiegogo, which allows ordinary people like you and I to contribute to innovative new ideas. I would definitely suggest checking it out.
For more weird and wonderful musical instruments, check out these wooden instrument sculptures, cool apps for music lovers, or this guitar made out of a kitchen sink
