Swoops and loops, match and scratch - using OptiMusic beams to perform and create conventional and zappy music
Imagine being able to play the Entertainer, direct a full orchestra, and improvise your own jazz riffs in a single day… Well for the five young people who came to the latest RNIB children's music event, this was only part of the musical adventures on offer with OptiMusic.
So what is OptiMusic?
OptiMusic uses beams of light to control switches which in turn send a signal to a computer to trigger musical events. The type of music available is limitless with tens of thousands of pre-sampled pieces of music, loops, vocals, drum beats and special effects.
OptiMusic can be scaled up or down to consist of a single switch or several beams, soloist to small group or ensemble. The beams can work in various ways to produce music, so for example, breaking the light beam can either trigger a note or loop, or stop the music playing. Beams can work in various modes, allowing for a variety of musical activities and type of movement.
And all this is achieved by breaking the beam with a small bat or wand or your own hand orknee which is coated in a reflective material.
In the words of Guy Sigalov, OptiMusic's inventor and director,
"This beam interaction can trigger sound, lighting, visual images, video, special effects, smoke, pyrotechnics and other digital applications - all in real time."
We didn't opt for smoke or pyrotechnics, but a dazzling array of musical styles and sounds which the five participants were able to explore and eventually use to create three pieces of music.
About the Day
Five young people between the ages of 10 and 13 joined us for the day, which was lead by Guy Sigalov and Stuart Thomas, RNIB's Music Technology Officer. We started by exploring the layout of the eight beams which were arranged in pairs on each side of a square. The metal pillars which support the over-head beams proved useful in giving a fixed point of reference for the beams so that they could be located and activated by those who were unable to see the light beam reflecting on the floor.
To practise using the small bats to break the beams, we started with the "any beam play" mode, and took it in turns to play the phrases of Beethoven's famous Für Elise, followed by Joplin's The Entertainer. We then moved onto a surprisingly challenging game of "guess that tune" where each time the beam was broken, the next note in the piece was sounded. The challenge here was to recognise the tune and play the beam in the correct rhythm for the piece.
The next stage was to set each beam to play a different note in a scale so that with a little teamwork and practice, it was possible to play a tune. We started with Frère Jacques which we then attempted as a round and then moved onto Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
After the delights of nursery rhymes and Beethoven, we moved seemlessly into the role of "Virtual DJ" with each beam playing a vocal, providing a drum beat or bass riff. By moving the bat in and out of the beam quickly, it was possible to achieve a scratching effect and each player took on the role of mixer and DJ.
Finally, we explored the "Optiband" mode which added drums, rhythm and bass guitars,along with a flute and vocals.
The challenge here is not so much playing the right notes in the right order, but achieving the split-second timing to ensure that the different building blocks of the piece sound in time with each other. Once playing in time, the next challenge is knowing when and how to conclude the piece when there is no obvious musical end, or visual clues such as a conductor.
So having seen how the beams can work to control the notes that are played, the speed of the music and the rhythm, and heard the infinite variety of instrumentation and musical styles available, it was time to create three pieces for a public performance at the end of the day. The tools and how to use them had been explained; it was time for the student's creativity to click in….
Final Performance
After much experimentation, polite discussion and practice, three pieces were created and performed to an intrigued audience. Thetask, as ever, was to create a piece which built on the day's workshop activities, and which had a convincing musical structure. It was fascinating to see how each piece developed from a set of loops and musical fragments into a coherent whole. Perhaps the best example of this was the final piece. The piece opened with a short improvisation on one beam using a five-note scale and a folk flute sound. Each phrase was echoed by a live recorder which then lead into a group jam with vocals and drums. The flute then returned to be copied by a live singer, before finishing with a final group jam including a live violin. The audience were clearly impressed with the music and introductions to the pieces and the beams, and few were able to resist the temptation to have a go afterwards…
What did the participants think?
OptiMusic was new for all the participants. Among the aspects of the day which participants particularly enjoyed were the different types of sounds that could be created with the equipment, making music with everyone and composing together. Quotes from the day included:
"Brilliant", "Very good", "Exciting", "It's great composing!", "Really really enjoyable", "You can never have too much music", a fitting way to finish!
The pieces can be heard via our website at
Our thanks go to Guy Sigalov and his team for their time in preparing and leading the day which gave five young musicians the chance to put their creative skills to the test and make so much music.