{"id":780,"date":"2014-10-21T08:38:37","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T15:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.evergreen.edu\/coopmakesmeaning\/?p=21"},"modified":"2014-10-21T08:38:37","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T15:38:37","slug":"blue-rabbit-the-idea-printing-musical-instruments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/making\/blue-rabbit-the-idea-printing-musical-instruments\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Rabbit \u2013 The Idea: Printing Musical Instruments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Printing tools to make art: Can instruments built using additive manufacturing have place and meaning alongside their wood and metal counterparts?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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3D printing, though new on the block, has so many potential uses, but perhaps what interests me most is creating the tools to create art and in this case, music.\u00a0 I’m fascinated by the concept.\u00a0 While most previous methods for creating an instrument require the removal of material from an object to reach a finished product,\u00a0 additive manufacturing is practically waste free, printing only what you design.<\/p>\n

I’m interested in printing an Irish flute.\u00a0 I chose this because of its simplicity, small size and relative ease of play.\u00a0 The greatest challenge will be in tuning, which ideally would be in the key of D.\u00a0 After speaking with Arlen though, I’m now considering alternatives, such as just intonation<\/em>, following an algorithm or even random hole spacing.<\/p>\n

\"soprano-folk-flute-2_preview_featured\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Beyond a specific instrument, the practicality of printing any instrument would be huge.\u00a0 Though I have little to no experience with the Irish flute, I find it fits best then my goal of using 3D printed instruments for educational purposes.\u00a0 This is a cheep and quick way of producing a gateway to a new art for many people, especially in a classroom setting where budget and supply may be short.<\/p>\n

Being able to print an instrument allows for faster prototyping that doesn’t require the time and tools that say wood working does, nor the expertise of a practiced luthier.\u00a0 In addition, any tinkerer would have the ability to fully customize any piece they wish to print.\u00a0 Making the instrument suit his or her needs specifically, whether that be in pitch, color, shape, size or tamber.\u00a0 Arvid Jense states that, ‘While all of these things are cool, they\u2019re all replications of existing traditional instruments, and aren\u2019t touching the new geometrical and structural possibilities of 3d printing. (Though, this quite mirrors early electronic instruments, which were mostly trying to emulate existing instruments in sound).’\u00a0 He implies that the real ingenuity of this technology will come with experimenting with new and unfamiliar designs, something that that is already being explored on Thingaverse.<\/em><\/p>\n

Olaf Diegel, a professor at Lund University in Sweden, recently created what he calls the world’s first live concert with a ’3D printed band.’\u00a0 He has designed and printed electric and bass guitars, keyboard housing and even a drum kit (all of which are for sale, none of which are affordable).\u00a0 In a video featured on digitaltrends.com, you see his students playing the track ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood on printed instruments (Mugatu’s brainwash theme from the film Zoolander<\/em>).\u00a0 Diegel’s instruments are under the brand name Odd<\/em> and you can find them for sale at www.odd.org.nz.<\/p>\n

‘No <\/span>two <\/span>instruments <\/span>sound <\/span>exactly <\/span>alike, <\/span>and <\/span>players <\/span>frequently <\/span>have <\/span>widely <\/span>differing <\/span>opinions <\/span>about <\/span>what <\/span>constitutes <\/span>a <\/span>good <\/span>sound. <\/span>There <\/span>are <\/span>many <\/span>factors <\/span>which <\/span>contribute <\/span>to <\/span>the <\/span>sound <\/span>of <\/span>any <\/span>given <\/span>traverso, <\/span>among <\/span>which <\/span>are <\/span>embouchure <\/span>size <\/span>and <\/span>shape, <\/span>interior <\/span>dimensions <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>bore, <\/span>and <\/span>type <\/span>of <\/span>material <\/span>from <\/span>which <\/span>the <\/span>instrument <\/span>is <\/span>made’ (Solum, 67). John Solum, in his book The Early Flute<\/em>, outlines what goes into making a flute, what the factors involved are and why they’re important to the finished product’s sound.\u00a0 I wonder about these effects with PLA.\u00a0 Since the instrument is less dense and softer (in regards to the overall material strength), how will a printed flute sound in comparison to one made of wood?
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It’s most important to students and people looking to experiment with new instruments.\u00a0 Students, because they could in theory have access to a 3D printed instrument for very cheep and be able to learn the basic techniques.\u00a0 Take a 3rd grade music class for example, if the school wanted to try teaching the recorder, but didn’t have the funds, they could order a batch of 3D printed models for much cheaper.<\/p>\n

Printing instruments empowers people that want to explore sound.\u00a0 With prototyping taking a matter of hours, instead of months with traditional practices, musicians and students can create, test and perfect any idea they choose to design.\u00a0 I don’t believe that such technology will find it’s way into concert halls anytime soon, but for the curious musician of the future, this world of 3D printing opens many doors.<\/p>\n