Gallery: Music Gets Physical in Biorhythm Interactive Exhibit
01biorhythm
NEW YORK — What started off as a conversation between a neuroscientist and a musician has turned into an eye-popping bonanza of beats and rhythms. [Biorhythm: Music and the Body](http://www.eyebeam.org/events/biorhythm-music-and-the-body) is an exhibition of sonic experiments and installations from artists across the globe, all exploring how music moves your feelings — and your feet. "It's about letting people experience sound in ways they've never experienced it before," says exhibit director Michael John Gorman, director of the exhibit, which will be at [Eyebeam Art and Technology Center](http://www.eyebeam.org/) here. "We're only just beginning to understand the basic ways we respond to music." Brought over from Dublin's [Science Gallery](http://www.sciencegallery.com/), Biorhythm tries to answer questions like, what makes a pop song so catchy? How does sound give us awareness of space and dimension? Why do minor chords sound so sad? Crawl into a sonic cocoon and feel what it's like to be in someone else's body, adjust tempo and frequency on a glowing virtual synthesizer to create new beats, or listen to a musical instrument that plays to the tune of your own heart. Here's a look (and a listen) at a few exhibits from the show, which runs through Aug. 6 at Eyebeam.
02reactable
Reactable --------- __LISTEN: Reactable__\[dewplayer:http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images\_blogs/underwire/2011/07/Reactable-2.mp3\]You "play" this tactile musical interface by moving tokens on a glowing tabletop to adjust rhythm, volume and tonality. Sensors underneath the table scan the tokens like barcodes, creating a rich sonic texture that sounds (and looks) different every time.
03heart-n-beat
Heart 'n' Beat -------------- __LISTEN: Heart 'N' Beat__\[dewplayer:http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images\_blogs/underwire/2011/07/Heart-n-Beat-1.mp3\]This instrument lets you play the sound of your own heartbeat by converting your pulse into an adjustable tone. Change the frequency by stacking up Lego bricks in different combinations.
04heart-n-beat-2
Heart 'n' Beat With Metro Card ------------------------------ If you'd rather not treat your body like an electrical circuit, Heart 'n' Beat lets you play your Metro card: The machine converts the magnetic strip data into analog sound.
05heart-n-beat-2
Heart 'n' Beat With Metro Card ------------------------------ If you'd rather not treat your body like an electrical circuit, Heart 'n' Beat lets you play your Metro card: The machine converts the magnetic strip data into analog sound.
06body-snatcher
Body Snatcher ------------- __LISTEN: Body Snatcher__\[dewplayer:http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images\_blogs/underwire/2011/07/Body-Snatcher2.mp3\]Shout (or clap) as loud as you can into this microphone to create your own personal dance tune. The sample of your voice is externalized into a fluctuating artistic representation on three screens.
07klangkapsel-sound-capsule
Klangkapsel Sound Capsule ------------------------- __LISTEN: Klangkapsel__\[dewplayer:http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images\_blogs/underwire/2011/07/Sound-Capsule2.mp3\]The Japanese artist who created this immersive piece attached microphones all over his body, then rode his bike around town. Snuggle into this transducer-filled sleeping bag to feel (and hear) his experience.
08music-emotion-empathy
Music, Emotion and Empathy -------------------------- You may think you're not interested in Lady Gaga, but your body tells a different story. This exhibit measures your heart rate and skin response while you listen to a random selection of music tracks. Your results will be part of the world's largest science experiment on the emotional and physiological response to music.
09contacts
Contacts -------- __LISTEN: Contacts__\[dewplayer:http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images\_blogs/underwire/2011/07/Contacts-1.mp3\]Touch this sculpture and it makes a sound. Get someone to touch you, and it makes even more sound. Interaction drives this electrical audio tool, making it the friendliest exhibit in the show.
10hear-hear
Hear, Hear ---------- Any noise you make in front of this much larger-than-life ear is transmitted to a model of the inner workings of the ear on the other side of the exhibition. The sound waves go through the "eardrum," or speaker, and hit the three bones of the middle ear — in this case, the plastic duck, guitar and kettle.
11hear-hear
Hear, Hear ---------- Any noise you make in front of this much larger-than-life ear is transmitted to a model of the inner workings of the ear on the other side of the exhibition. The sound waves go through the "eardrum," or speaker, and hit the three bones of the middle ear — in this case, the plastic duck, guitar and kettle.
12hear-hear-2
Hear, Hear ----------
13something-for-the-girl-who-has-everything
Something for the Girl Who Has Everything ----------------------------------------- It looks like a 1920s chair — and it is. Only now it's been stuffed with voltage-controlled oscillators that let you experience the physicality of sound. Turn the vibrations up to 11, if you dare.
