Digital Electronics for Musicians

CHAPTER 6

An Interactive Bow

In this chapter, we’re going to build a sensor circuit to use with a bow to manipulate the sound of a live instrument, with input given by the gestures of the performer, who will control the instrument’s audio input. This circuit can actually fit any instrument that involves some movement, such as a trombone, for example. The sensor we’ll use is an accelerometer, which in this particular case was chosen for its tilt-sensing capability. Tilt sensing means that the sensor is able to orientate itself with respect to the Earth’s surface. This sensor gives values for three axes, which we can use independently. In this project, ...