Cubic Synthesis
April 2021
accelerometers, Arduino Feather, Arduino Uno, MaxMSP
A Rubik’s Cube-controlled synthesizer and performance interface that translates the physical, mechanical, and theoretical process of solving a Rubik’s cube into music.
PHYSICAL: accelerometers track finger movements and produce a continuous “lead” sound.
MECHANICAL: the sounds generated by scrambling the cube are recorded and then played back through granular synthesis at each turn while solving.
THEORETICAL: each facelet of the cube is assigned a note and a voice, and each turn of the cube plays the notes of that face as a chord. Scrambled chords are discordant, and solved chords are harmonious major chords.
MECHANICAL: the sounds generated by scrambling the cube are recorded and then played back through granular synthesis at each turn while solving.
THEORETICAL: each facelet of the cube is assigned a note and a voice, and each turn of the cube plays the notes of that face as a chord. Scrambled chords are discordant, and solved chords are harmonious major chords.
Github repository: https://github.com/ryurongliu/cubic-synthesis