Irregular heart rhythms self-arrange into a musical composition based on the position of the user. Each beat is amplified, delayed and pitch shifted.
SUMMARY
Below is a video of a live performance at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. I demonstrated the instrument in CCRMA's Listening Room – a 3D studio with 24-channel surround sound.
THE INSTRUMENT
I have a nervous system dysfunction that causes my heart to beat irregularly and very rapidly (up to 300 BPM). I am able to control it based on my position (laying down, sitting or standing). I thought this would create an interesting musical instrument and a novel interface for controlling it.
TECHNOLOGY
Rather than using digital biometric data, I used a stethoscope as an analog microphone and amplified the signal. Another microphone recorded my breathing. This was fed into a Max patch that added pitch shifting and delays to modify the audio and create a richer composition.
