The Rhythmotron

John R. Taylor; Andrew J. Milne

doi:10.1162/lmj_a_01066

The Rhythmotron

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper describes the Rhythmotron: a percussion-centred robotic orchestrion, commissioned for the CoLABS festival in Sydney in 2017. We describe how we electronically reimagined the mechanical components of a cylinder piano, by using a variant of the XronoMorph software, and we consider the synergy between algorithmically generated rhythms in a digital environment alongside its analogous mechanical counterpart. We detail the idiosyncratic behaviours of linear actuators when used to power drumming robots, and we discuss the aesthetic implications of the Rhythmotron.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	67-72
Number of pages	6
Journal	Leonardo Music Journal
Volume	29
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1162/lmj_a_01066
Publication status	Published - 2019

Keywords

drum
electronic music
music
percussion instruments
robotics
software

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10.1162/lmj_a_01066

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title = "The Rhythmotron",

abstract = "This paper describes the Rhythmotron: a percussion-centred robotic orchestrion, commissioned for the CoLABS festival in Sydney in 2017. We describe how we electronically reimagined the mechanical components of a cylinder piano, by using a variant of the XronoMorph software, and we consider the synergy between algorithmically generated rhythms in a digital environment alongside its analogous mechanical counterpart. We detail the idiosyncratic behaviours of linear actuators when used to power drumming robots, and we discuss the aesthetic implications of the Rhythmotron.",

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KW - electronic music

KW - music

KW - percussion instruments

KW - robotics

KW - software

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The Rhythmotron

Abstract

Keywords

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XronoMorph

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