The Martian Music Machines are four prototype electronic musical instruments designed by C. Chris Peters, built and engineered by Ronald Gaynor. Building all four instruments took two years and were completed in the fall of 2009.
The Martian Music Machines are designed to be musically neutral, meaning they do not rely on the scaled control that traditional keyboards and fretboards offer. They are not bound to the specific musical interval relationships of western music and capable of using macro and micro tuned scales. They offer performers new freedoms to explore different ways of making and controlling sounds not limited by established musical styles and performance techniques.
Intended for use in schools, the Martian Music Machines design philosophies merge the disciplines of music and physics. They encourage exploration, experimentation and manipulation of the basic elements of sound such as pitch, loudness, and timbre in much the same manner a sculptor would approach a piece of clay to create a finished work.
Martian Music Machines can be used independently as standalone musical instruments or can be interconnected with others using short quarter inch patch cords to form larger networks of musical functionality. All machines conform to the standard CV, Gate and Trigger voltages and are compatible with most analog modular synthesizer equipment.
Machine 1 - A real-time manual synthesizer controller used to initiate musical events and provide continuous control over pitch and loudness.
Machine 2 - An automatic synthesizer controller used generate patterns for musical sequences of sounds and events.
Machine 3 - Offers both maual and automatic control over the timbre or tone quality of sounds.
Machine 4 - A tone generator that uses various frequency and ring modulation to produce complex sounds.
Music from the Id - Original music clips were composed and recorded by C. Chris Peters using all four Martian Music Machines plus a little reverb for spaciousness.
© C. Chris Peters 2010 - cchrispeters.com