Prism Bell
An oversized musical instrument for large scale musical gestures
In this post we take a look at the Prism Bell created by Lia Mice. The design of this huge and modular instrument explores the effect of size on musical gesture. The instrument consists of numerous tubes which can be reassembled to create a number of different, but always very large, forms.
Giant Modular Percussion Instrument
The Prism Bell is an oversized gesturally performed digital musical instrument that sounds like a cross between distorted electric guitar strings being struck and a bell ringing.
The Prism Bell being performed by Janine A'Bear. Photos By Jake Davis.
Designed by Lia Mice, this instrument is constructed from reclaimed PVC pipes. The pipes are used as modular pieces which can be reassembled allowing the shape of the instrument to be changed each time it is performed.
The Prism Bell being performed by Janine A'Bear. Photos By Jake Davis.
Embedded in the pipes are sensors (piezos and/or analog accelerometers) that are connected to a Bela Mini. The Bela Mini uses the sensor signals to control bursts of noise which are fed into a bespoke physical modelling synth that was created using Pure Data and which all runs on the embedded board.
About Lia Mice
Lia Mice. Photo By Laura Kate Bemrose.
Lia Mice is a multidisciplinary artist whose works range from live A/V performance, composition, instrument design, installations and interactive sculpture to academic papers. In her practice, Mice uses new technologies to explore relationships between the musical instrument and embodied performance.
For more information about Lia and her work check out her website.
