Check this thing Out

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

What a Machine ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q

Poppy....

[csb (Craig)]

I love those gizmos. Interesting to watch.

However, I'm quite sceptical of internet videos (and stories) so I wonder if perhaps the music is partially or fully dubbed into the video.

It certainly seems to be actually produced by the machine when he used his hands to manually open the ball gates.

Link below to see similar fantastical machine but this one is cgi (computer generated imagery). I originally watched it on a DVD of international cgi awarded short films.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IOmFgIxvVzc

[Terry B]

Originally Posted by csb

I love those gizmos. Interesting to watch.

However, I'm quite sceptical of internet videos (and stories) so I wonder if perhaps the music is partially or fully dubbed into the video.

It certainly seems to be actually produced by the machine when he used his hands to manually open the ball gates.

Link below to see similar fantastical machine but this one is cgi (computer generated imagery). I originally watched it on a DVD of international cgi awarded short films.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IOmFgIxvVzc

The machine does play the music but they had to blend many hours of recording to make the video. It was mechanically a disaster. He is currently building a new machine called "Marble Machine X" and there are lots of videos about the construction.
Here is the latest.
https://youtu.be/zjMImqFn3AI
This machine will hopefully be more mechanically sound and will be able to tour.
All very clever.

[csb (Craig)]

Thanks for extra info, Terry.

I did also wonder that it would jam or other fouling. Edited video explains that.

Very imaginative fellow and I liked the tune.

[sil (Steve)]

csb, yes its real and btw the animation you linked is from the AniMusic series, I have the dvds and as a 3d modeller/animator I can appreciate how impressive Animusic is. They built the mechanics and models in 3D then used MIDI files to trigger the animation events and synced to midi instruments (regular) to play the sounds. A ton of work went into making it, I'd done similar years ago but with WAV files to get simple robot mouths "talking" in time with a speech recording, speakers and spectrum analysers reacting to music realistically etc. Theres a lot of work in getting the translating of an external file into something usable inside a 3d program so the animation runs itself, but you only have to do it once then you can easily change the input as long as its the same format to reuse/edit in other projects. Building the real world one would have been fun and frustratng as hell.

[csb (Craig)]

Originally Posted by sil

. . . They built the mechanics and models in 3D then used MIDI files to trigger the animation events and synced to midi instruments (regular) to play the sounds. . .

Very interesting how the cgi was done.

I saw the Intel demonstration based on the original Animusic machine. Not as entertaining as the cgi video.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

It's sort of like a pianola on steroids. Or a cross between a pianola and a one-man band. But why does the operator wear ear muffs? I wonder how long it takes to set it up to play a different tune?

If you are interested in self-playing instruments but very much in the ambient domain, the David Toop and Max Eastly album 'New and Rediscovered Musical Instruments' is perhaps worth a listen. The instruments are more like wind chimes on steroids and have names like 'hydrophone' and 'elastic aerophone' - no melodies here.

https://vimeo.com/158749685
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_an...al_Instruments

[speach (Simon)]

That is a great machine, reminds me of a Linotype machine.

[csb (Craig)]

Sorry David I didn't find that sample from Top n Eastly entertaining nor interesting. No tune, no rhythm just some noises from musical instruments (possibly?) with the noise of a running creek as background. Perhaps it is musical sculpture.

Do you, yourself, listen to it as music or a kind of ambient background?

Did anyone else like it?

I really enjoy The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony by Dave Greenslade - but not much else of his work.

[sil (Steve)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

But why does the operator wear ear muffs?

Not ear muffs, headphones. Like musicians recording often do so they can have their part being played clear to their ears as its being recorded without any other distractions. You'll note he is actually playing the electric guitar (fingering the notes while the ball "pluck" the strings) so he's likely listening to the guitar clearly so he stays in time and doesn't mess up too much.


I reckon the mythbusters should build one without ball bearings but bullets shot from a mile away with an array of 50 cals 1812 overture maybe ending with a timed daisy cutter destroying the instruments?

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by csb

Sorry David I didn't find that sample from Top n Eastly entertaining nor interesting. No tune, no rhythm just some noises from musical instruments (possibly?) with the noise of a running creek as background. Perhaps it is musical sculpture.

Do you, yourself, listen to it as music or a kind of ambient background?

Did anyone else like it?

I really enjoy The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony by Dave Greenslade - but not much else of his work.

It probably wasn't a good segue from the OP. I was just reminded of the album's title and its self-playing 'instruments'. I did say it was very much in the ambient domain so the lack of tune and rhythm shouldn't have been a surprise. (BTW The hydrophone is activated by running water.)

I do listen to ambient soundscape sort of stuff a bit - generally as a wind down at the end of the night or to cover some objectionable noise. I sometimes play it through my noise cancelling headphones when working in the instrument room as it takes the edge of the drone of the vacuum pumps (the noise of which is only dampened by the headphones) while not demanding my attention. Similarly I have used it to cover traffic noise while observing and the former neighbour's late night parties.

I bought the album in the mid 70s when I bought a lot of stuff because it was different. It never spent much time on the turntable but certainly more than 'Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv'. I haven't played it since perhaps the 80's as I don't have an electronic copy and I've only recently got my turntable going again. So my memory is a bit vague but I think the issue is that it is just a relatively brief sample of a few types of instrument. Perhaps more of a sampler of the type of installation a person may put in (or outside) their house. If I can find the occasion I'll have a listen soon.

[csb (Craig)]

Thanks for your reply, David.

Well that puts a bit of perspective on that "music". I did check the album on Wikipedia but your thoughts helped to better understand what the music.

The hydrophone explanation was helpful..

Released as a limited edition of 2000 copies. You may have a rarity!

Now that piece is a bit interesting however not my taste.