Musical velocimetry

On the 12th of September a pretty spectacular Vectrino application will be on display in London, UK. The three velocity components from a Nortek Vectrino will be fed into a computer, converted to musical notes, and played live by 40 musicians.


Flood Tide, created by jazz trumpeter and composer John Eacott, is a unique open air musical performance generated by the movement of tidal water: a live sonification of tidal flow (http://www.informal.org/images/ft_bbcmusic.pdf). A sensor (the Nortek Vectrino) placed in the Thames reads the river’s tidal movements which are then converted into musical notation and played live by an ensemble of 40 musicians. The piece will last for approximately two hours, and will include string and wind instruments, drums and voices.

Flood Tide is an ambient piece that aims to encourage a new kind of listening- the audience are invited to drift in and out of the music, listening for a while and then moving on, perhaps to return and hear how the piece has changed. Here is a small taste of what to expect from this performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBAvGMH9UJg

Source: http://www.nortekusa.com/en/news/extreme-velocimetry