Imagine if you could reinvent your favourite musical instrument to make it do infinitely more by harnessing your gestures?
Auckland University music lecturer Hans Kim has done precisely that by turning his electric guitar into a kinetic guitar, and musicians like Talking Heads’ David Byrne are queuing up to play it.
The new breed of guitar Kim has invented has a name, Eva.
“Fundamentally what we’ve done is transform the guitar from a finger-tip enhanced instrument to a full-body expressive instrument,” Kim told Stuff.
That means your gestures enhance the sound in whatever way you programme your guitar – no need for extra pedals or gizmos.
“Imagine being a guitar player and the conductor of an orchestra at the same time,” he said.
“Guitar players already move and bounce around when they play, now you’re mapping musical intentions to those movements.”
Kim took 10 years to create his first kinetic guitar. He’s now built eight.
“Oh this one was probably six months of blood, sweat and tears,” he said.
He’s taken a year off his day job as a lecturer, and is seeking funding to build a whole lot more.
“Within minutes of people playing with this instrument, and without going on computer or taking anything else to attach to the guitar, people are just literally arms length away from taking on sounds they’ve never heard before.”
Eva gives a brand new edge to creativity – including a new opportunity to blind or mobility-impaired people.
“People are asking me, ‘oh can you set the degree of motion from the tip of your toes to the head so it becomes more of a dance instrument’.”
Kim’s been touting Eva to musos in the US, people like Ray Suen who works with Lorde, Childish Gambino, Vampire Weekend and David Byrne who’s especially keen to use her on tour.
“The musicians are also the dancers and choreographers on stage, and so for him he’s disconnected to all of the effects and transitions he’s normally used to, but with this he can have all of that freedom and more.”
Kim says he’s weeks away from a patent for a version of the instrument that’s more sophisticated still.
“I would have been happy as a personal experience but now being able to give this to some of my heroes even, and they make with it music which is the thing that I love, it’s been a very special experience.”
At first, Kim is giving away 10 guitars to professional musos – but the public will need to pay about $7000.