Last year I remember writing about a little kit that would allow someone to turn anything (including fruit and veggies) into a keyboard. It was one of those Kickstarter projects that hoped to raise $25,000 but they ended up raising over half a million dollars. You can read about it on How To Turn A Banana Into A Working Touchpad. This video below shows producer and artist J.Viewz playing a cover of ‘Teardrop’ (a ’90s song from Massive Attack) using fruit and veggies using that same piece of technology.
He basically went to the store and bought eggplants (which I think are his favorite), a kiwi, grapes, strawberries, mushrooms and a carrot to play this song. Each piece of produce represents a different sound. When he touches a grape for example, it sounds like bells. The eggplant is his bass drum.
This looks complicated, but it really isn’t. If you click over to the original article about the MaKey MaKey which I wrote last year (the link is above), you’ll see that this is surprisingly simple. Of course, playing music that is as nice as J.Viewz’s is a whole different story, but aside from that, you can make instruments from the fruit and veggies in your kitchen too.
In an interview with J.Viewz on The Atlantic, he said, “I’ve been playing with MIDI controllers for a while and tested lots of drum pads, but I’ve never worked with a drum pad that was more comfortable and ergonomic than an eggplant, really.” This makes me want to go out and buy an eggplant to try this myself. Something tells me my music wouldn’t quite sound like this though. Either way, what a fun little piece of tech. You can buy your own kit to turn things into a touchpad or keyboard for $50 on MaKey MaKey.
Play Music With Fruit And Veggies Instead Of Instruments
Via: [The Atlantic] [Transparent Cities]
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