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Case Study

The Ocarina is an application for the iPhone. Named after an ancient folk instrument, this app is the first to turn the iPhone into a new kind of musical instrument. Sensitive to touch, movement, and breath, it also has social networking capabilities. Once a user plays a song with the program, he/she can instantly share the music they have created with the Ocarina with other app users currently online.

The program was designed by Ge Wang a technology student at Stanford University he named it after an ancient folk instrument. Last December, he conducted the first orchestra performance of the Ocarina with the Stanford Mobile Pone Orchestra. The musicians improvised by wearing a pair of special electric gloves with miniature speakers inside them.

The application has been downloaded by 600,000 people so far. Even though it can never replace physical instruments it allow you to create music in an entirely new way.

Name: Josh

Occupation: Student in Computer Science at Waterloo

Mirage Status: Single

Device Usage

Lap Top: Mac Book Pro

Cell Phone: iPhone

Favorite Apps: Tetrus, Wether, ColorSplash, Rebot Robot Synth, Violin,

Other : Wii Console

Scenario

Josh has played music for most of his life. He plays the piano, clarinet, and drums. He enjoys playing all kinds of music and has even used his old cell phone as an instrument.

Last year he bought an iPhone, and it has changed his way of making music and how he communicates with other musicians. Over the year, he has amassed a vast library of virtual instruments. While the applications are not a replacement for traditional instruments they do provide him with a completely new means of expression.

Josh and his friends formed a mobile phone orchestra four months ago. They practice twice a week sometimes in the same room together and other times practice online. The program they use the most is Ocarina. It provides the musicians a new way of creating music and sharing music.

When the orchestra practices, they improvise movements, tones, and rhythms. For each piece, one of the members is chosen as the conductor to lead the group. The conductor coordinates and organizes direction of the sound. Over the course of the session the musicians decide were and when to blow tap or wave their iPhones as well create the audio palette of the piece.

When the musicians are practicing at home, they use the sharing feature of the app to hear instant playback of each other’s music. When the orchestra meets, the musicians also wear gloves with speakers inside them. They recently bought them from Stanford’s IT department. The gloves allow them to greater control over the sounds and provide grater amplification than is capable with the iPhone’s speaker.

When Josh is working at home he always tries to stay connected with one or more of his bandmates. Excited by the new possibilities this instrument offers, he looks forward to the Waterloo Mobile Phone Orchestra’s next performance.