I think the most important aspect of this instrument as far as my project is concerned is perhaps the actual physical design. The Eigenharp Alpha is some what reminiscent of a guitar or bass in the way that it is carried and played. Interestingly this seems to have had an effect on the player in this video. I would say that based on the way he moves his left hand fingers its likely he is a guitarist or a bassist and this seems to have really helped him when approaching this new instrument for the first time. He already has a gestural vocabulary which fits this situation and has allowed him to apply his past experiences with a new instrument. Despite this it is clear he is still unfamiliar with many of the gestures the instrument requires such as the way samples and loops are trigger and the way the sliders work. I think this makes a strong argument for instrument-inspired controllers. The controller is immediately accessible to many musicians and it is arguable that most users would have some concept of the appropriate gestures. The controller still offers however a range of new gestures and functions to be mastered.
The combination of the 3-axis (left-right, up-down and pressure) keys and the breath controller seem to allow for an incredible amount of expression and musical subtly and would certainly allow scope for the instrument to be mastered to a high level of expressivity given a large amount of practice and training.
Another interesting feature is the visual display which is most noticeable when the instrument is used in its step sequencing mode. This seems to have been aimed towards providing a degree of audience involvement when it comes to performers who use a lot of loops and samples in an attempt to give the audience a sense of the musical functions the performer is carrying out.
The full range of products currently offered by Eigenlabs is available here. This seems like a really interesting company and, most importantly, its British!
According to the website the keys are finger position sensitive to within a micron - the wavelength of light!! This is immensely impressive but seems kind of over kill since I would say it is physically impossible to produce position variations to that level of precision. Still it should surely mean that a vibrato effect, for example, could be applied (give the correct level of skill) just as subtly and expressively as any acoustic instrument, ie the violin.
The Specials - Ghost Town. Performed by three eigenharpists (?). Brilliant. The best thing is the guy at the back who is using is Eigenharp to play and change between several drum loops as well as provide a bass line. Eigenlab say the instruments have enormous expressive potential and a limitless range of sounds - and I'm starting to believe them.
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