Waterfall Harp Waterfall Harp
Waterfall Harp plays musical chords as people 'strum' the water.
Olive began with a commercial appliance that circulated water (via a small pump) to make a continuous waterfall. It also had a light in its base to backlight the water. She added three light sensors at its top (connected to a PhidgetInterfaceKit), and used clay to funnel water so that each sensor had a water rivulet beneath it. She then programmed the backend software so that a particular musical chord would play whenever a particular light sensor was blocked for a small time duration.
As people 'strummed' the water by moving
their fingers through the rivulets (thus blocking the sensors), musical chords
corresponding to each rivulet would play.
see the video
Olive Au created this for her short assignment as part a senior-level human computer interaction class at the University of Calgary.
Created in March, 2001
Next exhibit: Cuckoo Clock