Electroplankton man's new idea
For a crazy musical instrument.
The creator of the DS music composer Electroplankton has come up with a new harebrained scheme that could be the best thing to happen to music since the stylophone.
Together with Yamaha, Toshio Iwai is developing the Tenori-On - which translates as "palmtop sound". It's a big square thingy, basically, containing a 16 by 16 grid of LED buttons. Each time you press a button, it'll light up and play a sound - and if you keep pressing it, the sound will repeat.
"I want to handle both light and sound simultaneously and pleasantly," Iwai states on the Tenori-On website. Don't we all.
"I have, in collaboration with Yamaha, been developing Tenori-On with particular attention being given to the beauty of the light and sounds, the ease of performance, and as a musical instrument for the future, the design and quality of the product as a whole."
Apparently Tenori-On is still in development, but it's in good enough shape for Iwai to use in his musical performances. You can read more on his blog - if your Japanese is good enough, that is.