“MIDAS”
Perceptual Guidance
Musical Instrument
Follow the instinct if you can; enjoy it if you must.
"I can totally understand it. It's just like different people want different car, but one has to learn how to drive first." This is a comment that one user who played "MIDAS" and used a metaphor to share his thought. Becoming a proficient musician is generally a long process. This obstacle hinders normal people from enjoying playing music. So far technology has not changed the instrument interface enough for intuitive play.
If we look back to the whole musical instrument history, since the very first known instrument (flute shape) 40,000 years ago, a huge leap had been made in the music industry after the synthesizer was invented at last century 60’s. Electronic instruments now are capable of more sophisticated functions in order to suit complicated performance. Players not only play with the melody and rhythm but also have access to control the details about effects.
However, the fundamental process of learning how to play the music still requires plenty of energy, which inhibits the possibility of being proficient. In the music learning market, people who like music are spending huge amounts of money and time buying instruments and taking courses. Because of the complexity and relative inefficiency, these investments are unlikely to yield much return for the majority of musician wannabes. The problem is these existed instruments have many triggers on the operation interfaces that create barriers so that before users interact with these triggers, they are unable to realize and remember those tones or even those chords. I recognize this kind of interface as the "dark box."
Mind loop of playing complex instruments shows how perception works when playing "dark box" musical instruments.
Considering this predicament and rethinking the purpose of playing music caused me to identify a design philosophy piloting this project. A psychology study called "The Gestalt Principle" might be the clue to find the answer. Although the visual example that Gestalt Principle has cited, this principle can be applied to any perceptual domain (hearing, smell, touch, and taste.) These are all based on profound experiences, developing since we were born. It seems this principle could be used to neutralize the "dark box."
Most of the playing interfaces follow the linear logic. The sequence of a single note is arranged from low frequency to high, but, really, the composition of music doesn’t go with it. Music includes a series of chords, and in each music chapter, the arrangement of these chords is closer to a circle than a line. On current instruments, the player needs to locate the chord’s positions on the linear interface and keep remembering them through practicing, whereas it does not have to like that. Technology has provided more advanced methods for making the interface variable, so the combination of notes can be re-arranged based on composing requirement.
Thus here are my proposals: what if the new design could provide perceptual familiarity, and what if it has dynamic functions, which means it is possible to echo one’s intuitive experience while releasing the complexity in playing process. I call this design philosophy as "Perceptual Guidance." Firstly, it should engage in communicating through both haptics and gesture in hand-held size. Secondly, I introduce the chord guidance system, which has already been successfully used in few smart devices applications (ex. Garageband,) to the product interface.
Players can interchange covering surface following personal preference. The rich choices of touching materials enhance the gameplay of “MIDAS.”
"MIDAS" is a stand-alone musical instrument. The built-in memory system saves every information includes chords combination, instrument tone, tempo, octave etc. from the smart device's application, and then it transfers signal to the output devices through the wireless connection. It is also creating a new sustainable platform. Players can share and download their chords combinations and arpeggio patterns through the "M Store" in the application.
*For more details of this project, please visit https://kentwangdesign.com
*This product design is patent pending. If you need further information, please email at kentwangdesign@gmail.com
Thank you!
