Jambox II: The Social Music Creation Project
Click above for a selection of work from a single student highlighting the process we went through.
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Click above to go to the project page on my class website. This was were students went when they needed certain resources for the project.
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Problem StatementTo design an intuitive MIDI device that people of all musical abilities can use.
Essential Questions
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Project Overview
Plato once wrote, “Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue.” Through music we express who we are. It is an almost universal experience that connects us all. To explore how music can bring us together, students designed and constructed a MIDI controlled Jambox. A Jambox is a social music creation device with which people of all musical abilities can come together, manipulate sound, and create music naturally. Students used the engineering design process and new technological tools to thoughtfully design and build a Jambox that had a super intuitive user interface. Students then encouraged others to express themselves together by interacting with our Jambox at exhibition.
Concepts and Skills
Concepts: What students could explainElectricity and circuitry
Hyper-collaboration Criteria based design Digital music |
Skills: What students could doCreate (CAD) models and drawings in Solidworks CAD
Project management Pugh chart analysis Soldering/Wiring |
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What Students CreatedThe Jambox comprised of three separate panels/controllers (Whole class collaboration)
- Step Sequencer - Drum Machine - Master Controller Solidworks model and manufacturing drawing (Individual) Pugh chart Design Report |
A laser cutter was used to manufacture the control panels. Students' CAD models were exported to Adobe Illustrator and then cut from acrylic using the laser cutter. The video to the right is of one piece being etched and cut. These panels housed the knobs, sliders, buttons, switches, and LEDs, which controlled the Jambox.
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GroupingThis project was a mixture of individual and group work. The Jambox comprised of 3 separate controllers that combined to make the final product.
- Individual - Each student designed one controller virtually and rough prototyped it. - Large Group – Students were placed into groups of 8 based on choice of controller type. During the research phase, group members helped each other understand their instrument type. Once the final designs had been selected, these groups were responsible for building the actual controller. |
SChedule |