2010 – Original Concept by Hal Gillilan, Benjamin Weetman, Doug Roxburgh, Zahra Shahabi

The Digital Pianola is an interactive revival of the classic mechanical pianola design. We created a sensor array of 15 light dependant resistors, placed opposite an LED strip. The light exposure would trigger MIDI samples. This was done using three Arduino boards that converted LDR signals to MIDI, which was then interpreted in Logic. We perforated over 40 metres of print roll paper with a vinyl cu er. By picking these perforated dots out of the paper, the user was able to compose a piece of music.

As the paper passed over the sensor array, the dots that had been removed would cause light to shine onto the LDR’s and in turn trigger samples within the Logic environment. In the environment was a bank of samples, each sensor had it’s own bank, within which notes were randomised to give variety.

The array was split into 3 groups of 5, each group going to a separate Arduino board. These groups were all assigned samples within the same pentatonic scale - as to always give a harmonising composition. The Digital Pianola was proudly featured at the London College of Fashion graduate digital showcase in 2010 and the V & A in London.