For my Art 122 final project, I attempted to augment the capabilities of my saxophone using sensor data running through the Arduino to my computer. My goal was to control a variety of parameters and functions in a max/msp patch with the saxophone mechanism, while play the saxophone as usual. In past attempts to develop such a control system, I implemented foot pedals, iPhones and microphones, but I found the control possibilities to be somewhat limiting and cumbersome. To overcome these challenges and create a saxophone controller that is both functional as an electronic input device and as a working saxophone, I retrofitted my saxophone with a number of sensors.
I intended the sonic output of my project to be completely open-ended. It is my hope that the device will not produce a particular variety of music, but rather enable a new world of hybrid electro-acoustic music. However, for the purpose of demonstration, I implemented some of the features of my device in a version of my improvisatory composition “Saxophony.”