Music

Ever since the dawn of electronics, inventors have looked at weird and wonderful ways of getting at the wealth of opportunities offered by synthesized sound. The instruments through which such sounds are controlled by a player have enjoyed much variety in form, size and functionality in the years since. While most have been keyboard-based, some – like the Theremin – have broken away from tradition to offer an altogether different way of playing. French sound and sensor innovator Eowave has recently updated an instrument that uses a more modern approach to the ribbon-based synthesizer technology used by the likes of Dr Freidrich Adolf Trautwein for his Trautonium – the Persephone Mark II. Read More

A team at Mälardalen University, Sweden, has created a one meter-tall robotic swan that “performs” to the music of Swan Lake. The aim of the project is to explore the potential of robots to move people emotionally and mimic human expressions. So could this binary Baryshnikov represent the future of ballet? Read More

Whether you're chilling out to some smooth jazz, venting a spleen with the help of hard rock or jumping for joy to the latest in bubblegum pop – there always seems to be a song or an album that suits whatever mood you happen to be in. A research project at Glasgow Caledonian University is currently taking a close look at why a certain piece of music evokes a particular emotive response. It is hoped that the research may lead to music being used to bring folks out of a depression or even help with pain management. Read More

The incredible guitar virtuosity from the likes of Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Stanley Jordan all rely on their string-picking proficiency being registered by the instrument's pickups. These vibrations are then transformed into electrical signals and sent off to an amplifier for our listening pleasure. Using such a setup, string movement can only be read on one axis, the horizontal. The 3Dxy pickup system reads each string twice, on both the horizontal and the vertical and is said to result in a rich, surround sound effect called natural stereo. Read More

Built to provide music outdoors, Eton's Soulra solar-powered sound system has a rubberized exterior to help withstand the odd bump and being splash-proof too, it's designed to cope with unpredictable weather conditions. When the sun does shine, folding out the high-efficiency solar panel will keep the music playing on whilst also charging the docked device. Read More

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), the company that boasts the distinctive Zeppelin iPod dock, Nautilus and Panorama amongst its line of high-end speakers, has made its first foray into the headphone market with its P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones. With a slim design and great sound reproduction that provides warm bass and stunning clarity through the mid-range and high-end, these headphones would have to be the most comfortable – and amongst the most impressive – headphones I’ve ever wrapped around my noggin. Read More

Leading up to Apple's big iPod refresh last week, Sony managed to steal some spotlight as headlines around the Internet proclaimed how the company's Walkman had outsold the iPod for the month of August in Japan. According to a market survey from BCN Ranking, the Walkman holds a 47.8 percent market share, with the iPod now suddenly trailing at 44 percent. Read More

Tuner manufacturing veteran Peterson Electro-Musical Products has been helping musicians keep their instruments in check since 1948, and introduced the first true bypass strobe tuner in 2004. Responding to requests from players for a snap-on tuner, the company has announced the StroboClip. The handy tuner benefits from 0.1 cent accuracy, exclusive presets for a variety of stringed and non-stringed instruments, a sturdy, road-friendly design and a pivoted clear screen that makes for easy viewing. Read More

Guitarists who like to bring a little music to city streets and maybe make a bit of extra cash on the side face the problem of having their tunes drowned out by traffic noise or carried away on the wind. Traditional amplifiers requiring a power source are no help and while there are battery-powered units around, we don’t think any are as elegant or convenient as the solution developed by Laurie Nicoll of Victoria, Australia. His sound hole amplifier, or “SHamp” is a compact amplifier that fits into the sound hole of an acoustic guitar to give it that bit of extra oomph when you need it. Read More