…and if there isn’t, just make one. That’s just what Stutz Artist Andy Chen did.
Andy, who is a photographer, musician and the Stutz Art Space Gallery Director, recently added app creator to his list of talents with the unveiling of Shakie, a percussion instrument for your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Imagine having a box that you could put anything in, then shake it around to make sounds. That’s Shakie. It’s motion controlled. As you move, tilt, shake your phone the stuff inside this virtual box shakes rattles around inside. The app models the physics and sounds of all the bits hitting each other.
I’d like people to find ways to make music with it! There’s a weird satisfaction hearing and seeing the pellets bounce around. It’s really sensitive and responsive. You get different sounds and textures depending on how you hold and move the device.
“I play guitar and violin,” Andy explains, “I have some egg and canister shakers that I bring along when I play with others. When I got an iPhone, I was fascinated with the motion sensors in it. The first few days with that phone, I obsessively imagined a digital version of those shakers. A couple of years later I took some time and made the app.”
The current sounds are traditional percussion instruments such as maracas, bells, shakers and tambourine. There are more sounds planned, many of them possible only on an electronic device.
To learn more about Shakie (and it’s creator), visit www.shakieapp.com and www.whatandysaw.com. Shakie is available in the iTunes App Store for $1.99.
