Air Guitar T-Shirts Rock
By Emma Norman
Some might say ingenious (others may say bored) Aussie scientists have created the ultimate dream for wannabe Brian Mays out there. No, it’s not a life size wig of enormous perm proportions, or a lifetime’s supply of skin tight trousers – the answer to so many of your rock n’ roll dreams is…wait for it…a “wearable instrument shirt”.
The brainchild of scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the t-shirt enables the simulation of guitar sounds from the air guitar movements of the wearer without any guitars or even musical talent in sight. The shirt has sensors throughout its sleeves and, as the “guitarist” mimics the motions of playing a guitar, the jerky movements are translated into sweet music via wireless connections to guitar audio samples. Just as if playing an actual guitar, one arm determines chords and the other rhythm.
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Specialists in music composition, computing and textile design brought their skills and know-how together to produce the shirt. Apparently the technology can be applied to almost any clothing – so what next? Replacing your PC keyboard with trousers that type as you walk? The demise of the TV remote control due to channel changing pants?
Previous guitar substitutes - hair brushes, tennis rackets, bottles, the cat or whatever else happens to be lying around, may now be made redundant only to resume the mundane tasks for which they were designed.
According to Richard Helmer of CSIRO, even players without significant musical skills can generate real time guitar music. This instantly brings all sorts of questions to mind, such as why? Is it machine washable? And does it come in green?
Details of when this technology will be ready to grace the shelves of Dixons have not yet been disclosed. In the meantime can I suggest another really effective way of domineering the instrument of your choice whilst, as an added bonus, maintaining relationships with whoever you live with? Music lessons.
The brainchild of scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the t-shirt enables the simulation of guitar sounds from the air guitar movements of the wearer without any guitars or even musical talent in sight. The shirt has sensors throughout its sleeves and, as the “guitarist” mimics the motions of playing a guitar, the jerky movements are translated into sweet music via wireless connections to guitar audio samples. Just as if playing an actual guitar, one arm determines chords and the other rhythm.
Specialists in music composition, computing and textile design brought their skills and know-how together to produce the shirt. Apparently the technology can be applied to almost any clothing – so what next? Replacing your PC keyboard with trousers that type as you walk? The demise of the TV remote control due to channel changing pants?
Previous guitar substitutes - hair brushes, tennis rackets, bottles, the cat or whatever else happens to be lying around, may now be made redundant only to resume the mundane tasks for which they were designed.
According to Richard Helmer of CSIRO, even players without significant musical skills can generate real time guitar music. This instantly brings all sorts of questions to mind, such as why? Is it machine washable? And does it come in green?
Details of when this technology will be ready to grace the shelves of Dixons have not yet been disclosed. In the meantime can I suggest another really effective way of domineering the instrument of your choice whilst, as an added bonus, maintaining relationships with whoever you live with? Music lessons.
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