With our devices, we can digitally summon any song we want. But the resurgence in vinyl record sales demonstrates we still crave tactility, the little physical rituals once required to access or create music. The team at Yamaha Design understands this, and as an exercise, created a series of experimental design objects that bring tactility back to music. They call the series “Stepping Out of the Slate.”
The first object, TurnT, is perhaps the cutesiest. A seemingly blank turntable platform uses your smartphone as the record:
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“The step of carefully placing the stylus on to the record will bring back the nostalgia as well as the solemn respect to the music you are about to play.”
The second, Winder, recalls the music box. With your phone serving as the box, the device now consists of just the key and the spring. And when the spring flutters, so too does the music:
“The joy of interacting with the clockwork object may lead to a more intimate musical experience.”
The third, MusicLight, involves open flame. It’s a votive candle holder with a sensor. Light the candle to start the music, blow it out to turn it off:
“Like listening to a song around a bonfire, the flame flickers in unison with the sound, creating a rich atmosphere.”
The fourth, RhythmBots, is perhaps the most alluring. It consists of a series of four objects meant to aid with playing music on an instrument, not your phone. Each object is essentially a metronome, but they all play different sounds:
“Creating a rhythm through a session-like style is a great way to enhance the experience of playing music.”
If they were to put any of the four into production, I think TurnT and Rhythmbots hold the most promise for potential sales.
Source: core77