Floppyphonium – a unique musical instrument consisting of 104 floppy disk drives

Application summary

The Floppyphoniumis a musical instrument based on the use of 104 floppy disk drives. This project expresses my desire to build my own musical instruments that allow me to realize my musical ideas. In doing so I am inspired by the works of musical inventor's like Léon Theremin, Luigi Russolo, John Cage, Gerhard Trimpin and Erkki Kurenniemi. The Floppyphonium can be used for concerts, new compositions and recordings. It can be played like an organ using conventional MIDI devices, since the audible frequency of each floppy disk drive is controlled via MIDI notes and arduino microprocessors. When a MIDI key is pressed the instrument will play the corresponding musical note. Also totally new musical scales or micro-tonal scales can be implemented by changing the code of the microprocessors controlling the floppy disk drives. I will build acoustic resonant bodies for each floppy disk drive that amplify their mechanical sounds. In that way no additional amplification or loudspeakers will be needed. Additionally, the motions of the mechanical parts of the disk drives will be visible making the connection between sound and sound source clearly perceivable for the audience. The spatial distribution of the floppy drives is another significant aspect of this instrument. In want the spectator/listener to be “inside” the music created with the Floppyphonium and for that reason the floppy disk drives will be distributed in the space surrounding the audience.