Brass Wave is a synthetic brass instrument that was developed by Cady Andrews, Josiah Djalleta, and I while at Georgia Tech's Music Technology Pre-College Program. Josiah and I both played valved brass instruments, and we wanted to see if we could build an instrument that could expand the technical range of brass sounds.

In the build, we used valves, a root note potentiometer, vibrato potentiometer, and joystick to control articulation and note length. These attributes allowed us to simulate regular brass concepts while introducing new ones, such as unlimited note length, faster vibrato, larger lip slurs, and simpler key changes.

In order to create Brass Wave, we had to combine hardware, software, and sound design into one functioning instrument. Each member of our group worked on a different part of the project.

Josiah developed a VCV Rack patch that simulated a brass instrument and responded to our custom CC and CV controls. Cady designed and built the physical instrument, making the controls easy for brass players to understand and use. I developed the Arduino code that connected the physical controls to the VCV Rack patch, mapping each parameter to an output signal.

The Concept

The Design

Brass Wave allowed us to explore how electronic instruments could expand beyond the physical limitations of brass playing. By recreating the controls of a brass instrument electronically, we were able to expand what a performer could do. I was particularly interested in the accessibility this type of instrument could offer. Someone who might not be able to physically play a brass instrument could use Brass Wave as an alternative so that they can experience music in new ways.

I want to continue exploring how technology can create new musical interfaces, expand access to instruments, and give musicians new and different ways to express themselves.

What I Learned