The Accordia is a digital musical instrument that combines the aural aesthetic of
early experimental electronic music with the tactile experience of an IBM Selectric II typewriter.
The primary analogy utilized for the interface is that of the accordion. The usage of
this analogy is partially homage to Pauline Oliveros and Gerard Grisey—both accordion players.
A soft potentiometer serves as the treble keyboard and controls a fixed set of continuous single
pitches. A sliding potentiometer controls the timbre of these pitches by controlling the floating-point
values of the five partials above the fundamental—analogous to the reed rank of an accordion. An air
pressure sensor attached to a rubber tube to be blown in by the user serves as the bellows. The bass
keyboard of an accordion is replaced by the tactile keyboard of the typewriter wherein key presses
are interpolated as signal distortion. Sensor readings are read with an Arduino and processed using Max 8.
The primary context for which the Accordia was designed is electro-acoustic improvisation. Its simple interface allows for a small entry barrier, but there is much expressive control afforded by the soft potentiometer—including vibrato and portamenti. With a small amount of practice, users can select discrete scalar pitches or play freely with noise. The reed rank analog allows users to choose from a large variety of sounds and to experiment with a more timbral performance.
The body of the Accordia is made up of the 1971 IBM Selectric II typewriter.
A major design challenge was how to reduce the weight of the body—originally 37lbs.
This was achieved by completely gutting the interior of the body with the sole exception
of the keyboard mechanism. The keyboard then had to be remounted, drilling into the body and securing it with two bolts. The Arduino and
remaining sensors were then affixed to the body. The final weight is approximately 7lbs.
In future iterations, I would like to attach a front strap so that the instrument can be played standing,
giving the performer a greater range of motion. I would also like to use a larger soft potentiometer for the treble keyboard,
allowing for more visible gestures and giving the audience more visual feedback for sound generation. I would also like the entire
instrument to be self-contained with an internal speaker; this would likely entail reimplementing the backend in Pure Data and embedding
it in a Raspberry Pi.