The Beamz is a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

-based music device. It is a W-shaped table-top optical control device with several

laser beams A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

. Users operate the device by using their hands to interrupt the beams.

History

The product was created by musician and record producer Jerry Riopelle, who began working on the device in 2001. Riopelle built the original prototype with

PVC pipe Plastic pipe is a tubular section, or hollow cylinder, made of plastic. It is usually, but not necessarily, of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow—liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders and masses of sm ...

and

lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

, and later refined it with Todor Fay and Melissa Jordan Grey. to develop the

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

that controls the device.

How it works

The Beamz system connects to a computer via

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

. Each laser beam corresponds to an instrument or sound that the user plays by interrupting the beam. When the player removes his or her hand the sound stops. Even though the player’s interaction with the

is random, the device ensures that the music will always be harmonious. Six laser triggers and two button-controlled triggers activate up to 64 independently controlled sequences of musical notes or events. When a laser beam is broken, the software program plays a

musical note In music, a note is the representation of a musical sound. Notes can represent the pitch and duration of a sound in musical notation. A note can also represent a pitch class. Notes are the building blocks of much written music: discretizatio ...

, event, or

musical phrase In music theory, a phrase ( gr, φράση) is a unit of musical meter that has a complete musical sense of its own, built from figures, motifs, and cells, and combining to form melodies, periods and larger sections. Terms such as ''senten ...

that is always harmonious to the other sounds being played at that time. The Beamz product line is now in its third generation with a smaller footprint controller with four laser beams cross-platform compatible with PC, MAC and iOS devices.

Users

In August 2010, Beamz was listed among the Best Tools for Schools by School Band and Orchestra Magazine, during the National Association of Music Merchants at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

with the note that using Beamz was fun and a "great way to involve special ed students in music making."

References

External links

* Electronic musical instruments {{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub

History

How it works

Users

See also

References

External links