Stardust

No details provided. Let me know when it's available and I'll give you feedback on your proposal

The overall idea is simple and easy to understand and has a lot of potential. But it seems like an obvious first step. Conceptually it isn’t too rich: it needs depth in either the idea, the content at play - its simply a translation of the piano into a new interactive domain - or the experience in space.

I am concerned that unless you develop a conceptual backbone for the project it will just feel like an interactive musical toy and not an experiential and immersive space. One way to develop this is to think about the content that is played back. For example in A Bicycle build for 2000 Aaron Koblin works with a specific song "Daisy Bell” for a very clear reason. Portée is a spatial homage to Xenakis. By working with specific content they create a very clear statement. But work like the Fun Theory’s Piano Staircase is just an interactive toy.

Alternatively, you can draw on the idea of the piano for collaborative music composition but you need to push hard on the aesthetics, form and experience of the installation space so it is not a literal embodiment of a piano through fabric.

Remember too, the goal of the project is to create a liminal media space - something experiential and immersive. 12 strands of fabric might not create enough physical volume to give it a sense of weight and dimensionality in the world. The form is black and white and resembles identically the keys on a board. While that’s intuitive direct interpretation, it isn’t very creative. And it isn’t using the full potential of the material. Explore the material more. Develop how the material and the media can intersect in rich way. How do they flow? How are they arranged? How do they drape? What is the quality of the material that you want to work with?

I recommend you avoid literal translations and explore abstractions. Think about how you can have the behavior of a piano (playing notes) without necessarily the representation of one.

There’s lots of potential to push this concept, implementation and material interaction further. Iterate a few times on the concept to develop it more.

Technology: It’s very feasible. I’d recommend looking at Makey Makey (http://www.makeymakey.com) a super useful tool for creating interactive media surfaces from everyday materials. These are perfect for working with wire and would allow you to have media playback happen as someone directly interacts with your wire.

For conductive thread and tape you’ll find them in the Physical Computing Lab downstairs. You might need to request access.

Power: I wouldn’t rely on batteries / arduino alone. A laptop is going to be the better way to drive audio interactions - richer sounds, higher quality and easier to plug into speakers for volume.

Precedents to look at:
- http://www.thefuntheory.com/piano-staircase
- “Piano – As Media Image” by Toshio Iwai.
- 21 swings - https://vimeo.com/40980676
- Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Laser Forest - http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/04/an-interactive-forest-of-musical-lasers-by-marshmallow-laser-feast/
- Portée/ - https://vimeo.com/118226187

I think the idea seems really cool, and definitely something enjoyable to someone passing by on their way to classes/meetings.

I would also really like to see the project featuring more than just piano keys - maybe even simulating a drum pad to add some more creativity and options for music being produced. I think some big decisions you'll have to make include the actual size of your installation, as well as how obvious you want the piano to appear to students just walking by.

The idea of making a stairway into a piano is one that I saw many times before. So I think the way you implement it would be very important to the final outcome. I also think the technical part of this would be a bit challenging so I would test it multiple times to make sure it's working the way you wanted it to be. Overall, I think this would make a beautiful installation and be shown to many people since it's going to be installed on the Hunt stairway, where plenty of people go by everyday.