Works for Optron
Optron Overview
If a lightsaber and a guitar had a baby it would be the Optron, a light-based electronic music controller & visualizer designed by Chet Udell. Chet and the Optron won Best Performance at the world-renowned Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in 2017.
PhotoSynthesis (2017)
In the Air Tonight, a tribute (2020)
Chet Udell performs a cover of Phil Colins In the Air Tonight on the Optron with Ableton Live and MaxMSP.
Works for SpiderHarp
SpiderHarp Overview
SpiderHarp is a collaboration with an NSF research group of biologists and roboticists researching how spiders detect where vibrations come from in webs. Measuring spider web vibrations is extremely complicated. Oregon State Roboticist Dr. Ross Hatton built a 4-foot artificial web and robot spider to model these vibrations. Udell joined the group in 2016 with the mission to help transform the system into a musical instrument, and in doing so, greatly improve the speed and accuracy of the device. SpiderHarp has been performed at high-profile venues including as a finalist in the 2019 GA Tech New Musical Instrument Competition, and to be featured on the Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Field Guide Winter/Spring 2023.
Clare de Toile for SpiderHarp (2019)
The title is a play on Debussy’s Clade de Lune, which is appropriated prominently in this piece for SpiderHarp. The compositional approach is motivated by a goal to demonstrate the instrumental capacities of the SpiderHarp by mashing up a few familiar tunes to the audience. The piece begins with a playful nod to itself with the melody Itsy Bitsy Spider. Clare de Lune is then quoted as the second theme and point of departure for my own musical exploration of these motifs within the web of the SpiderHarp. Comparing similarities and differences based on previous familiarity of these themes hopefully provides a point of reference to better understand the unique qualities of the instrument itself. The piece was performed as a world-finalist at the Georgia Tech Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in 2019.
AirGlow
AirGlow exists at the intersection of creative expression, musicianship, lighting design, and STEAM education. At first glance, it looks like a ukulele and a lightsaber had a baby. Underneath is a powerful combination of bleeding-edge electronics and an RGB LED array. It is held and performed much like an air guitar. Whether you’re a musician looking for the next thing to wow your audience, or a teacher looking to engage students with exciting music+art+technology concepts in the classroom, AirGlow has the features you've been searching for. Our collaborators are not-for-profit organizations including Cymaspace (a Portland Incubator that produces multi-sensory musical instruments and concerts for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community), the How Big Is Your Dream? Foundation, and Intel-4H-OSU Mariachi STEAM Camp.
AirGlow won acclaim as a world-finalist at the International GA Tech New Musical Instrument Competition in 2022.
Check Engine Project (2015-16)
Recent survey data from The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that, outside of sleeping, the largest collective contributor to energy expenditure among the population of the United States was "driving a car." Furthermore, the same source mentions the average person spends about 15 hours per week in their vehicle. Note, this is not simply the time you spend in the day, but actual time expending our energy. The space within a car is a rich multi-sensory environment encompassing a constant stream of visual, sonic, tactile/haptic, and even oral-factory stimuli (those who have pulled over at the smell of burning rubber or engine coolant know what I mean). The driver is part of a sensory-mechanical feedback loop. All the senses inform how to continually adjust this sophisticated mechanical system. In a way, the car is a kind of interactive kinetic "sculpture musicale.”
