ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel SmarterEveryDay This is Music On An Oscilloscope – (Drawing with Sound) – Smarter Every Day 224
Welcome! I’m Destin, and today we’re diving into the fascinating world of oscilloscopes. You might have seen these devices before and felt a bit overwhelmed by their numerous knobs and buttons. However, oscilloscopes are actually quite straightforward. Their primary function is to display voltage over time, and you can adjust the time settings to analyze different signals.
In this exploration, I’ve set up two microphones: one for the vertical axis (left channel) and another for the horizontal axis (right channel). By combining these two inputs in a creative way, we can achieve something extraordinary. Imagine using sound to draw images! This is exactly what happens when we manipulate these signals on an oscilloscope. There’s a niche community of enthusiasts who dedicate their time to creating art on oscilloscopes using sound.
Let me introduce you to a track called “Blocks,” designed specifically to be both seen and heard through an oscilloscope. Now, let’s travel to Austria, where we meet Hanz and Jerobeam, pioneers in the field of oscilloscope music.
Jerobeam is the artist, and Hanz is the programmer. Together, they have crafted an album available for download, showcasing their unique art form. An oscilloscope operates with two signals, X and Y, similar to an Etch A Sketch, where two knobs control the movement of a dot. Although it appears as a line, it’s actually a dot moving rapidly.
On the right, we have “Aussie Studio,” short for Oscilloscope Studio, a software developed by them to create shapes for the oscilloscope. This software integrates with Blender, a 3D modeling application, enabling users to visualize 3D objects through sound. By designing shapes in Blender, the software converts them into sound waves that correspond to the 3D models.
The process involves mathematics and programming, primarily through algorithms. By manipulating parameters in the software, they can animate objects and generate music. For instance, they can animate a T-Rex model and produce sound that matches its movements. They can also experiment with various objects, adjusting them in real-time to create distinct sounds and visuals.
Jerobeam demonstrated the use of trigonometric functions to compose music, illustrating the relationship between sine and cosine functions and their connection to circular motion.
The allure of oscilloscope music lies in its blend of vintage analog technology with contemporary digital techniques. This fusion allows for a creative exploration of mathematics and sound, offering a unique artistic experience.
We extend our gratitude to Hanz and Jerobeam for sharing their insights into oscilloscope music. To support their work, visit oscilloscopemusic.com and check out their YouTube channel, Jerobeam Fenderson.
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and have a wonderful day!
Familiarize yourself with the fundamental operations of an oscilloscope. Set up a simple experiment to display a sine wave and adjust the time and voltage settings to see how the wave changes. Document your observations and share them with your peers.
Using two microphones or audio channels, experiment with creating simple shapes on an oscilloscope. Try to draw basic geometric figures like circles or squares by manipulating sound frequencies and amplitudes. Record your process and results to present in a class discussion.
Download and explore the “Aussie Studio” software. Use Blender to design a 3D object and convert it into sound waves using the software. Present your 3D sound visualization to the class, explaining the steps and challenges you encountered during the process.
Delve into the mathematical concepts behind oscilloscope music. Use trigonometric functions to create a simple musical composition. Analyze how sine and cosine functions relate to circular motion and how they can be used to produce sound patterns.
Research the history and evolution of oscilloscope music. Prepare a presentation that highlights key figures, technological advancements, and the artistic impact of this unique form of music. Include examples of notable works and discuss the future potential of this art form.
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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What’s up, I’m Destin, and this is an oscilloscope. You’ve seen oscilloscopes before, and you may have been intimidated by them. There are a lot of knobs and buttons, and it looks like something you could easily mess up. But they’re actually pretty simple devices. The only thing an oscilloscope does is display voltage over time, and you can change the time bases to see whatever you need to analyze.
I’ve got two different microphones set up: the left channel is running to the vertical axis, and the right channel is running to the horizontal axis. If we combine these two in an interesting way, something cool happens. Watch this whistle on the vertical axis and this whistle on the horizontal axis. If we combine them, we can literally draw things. I’m about to show you something incredible. There’s a whole subculture of people who have dedicated their free time to drawing things on oscilloscopes with sound.
I’m going to cut the lights and show you one of these tracks called “Blocks,” which was specifically written to be displayed and heard with the use of an oscilloscope.
[Music]
Welcome to Austria! This is Hanz and this is Jerobeam. These guys make oscilloscope music, and today we’re going to learn how it works.
Jerobeam is the artist, and Hanz is the programmer. They collaborate closely, with Jerobeam focusing on programming and Hanz on the artistic side. They have created an album that people can download.
An oscilloscope has two signals: X and Y. It works like an Etch A Sketch, where you have two knobs to move a dot up and down and left and right. Even when you see a line, it’s really just a dot moving very fast.
On the right, we have “Aussie Studio,” which stands for Oscilloscope Studio, the software they created specifically for making shapes for the oscilloscope.
This software connects to Blender, a 3D modeling application, allowing users to visualize 3D objects with sound. They can create shapes in Blender, and the software converts them into sound that corresponds to the 3D model.
The process involves using math and programming, primarily algorithms. They can animate objects and create music by manipulating parameters in the software.
For example, they can take a T-Rex model, animate it, and create sound that corresponds to its movements. They can also use different objects and manipulate them in real-time, creating unique sounds and visuals.
Jerobeam demonstrated how to use trigonometric functions to create music, showing the connection between sine and cosine and how they relate to circles.
The beauty of oscilloscope music lies in the combination of old analog technology with modern digital techniques, allowing for creative exploration of mathematics and sound.
I want to thank Hanz and Jerobeam for their time and for teaching us about oscilloscope music. Please support their work at oscilloscopemusic.com, and check out their YouTube channel, Jerobeam Fenderson.
Thanks for watching, and have a great day!
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This version removes any informal language, unnecessary filler, and maintains a professional tone while preserving the essence of the original content.
Oscilloscope – An electronic device used to display and analyze the waveform of electronic signals. – The engineering students used an oscilloscope to visualize the sound wave patterns produced by different musical instruments.
Mathematics – The abstract science of number, quantity, and space, either as abstract concepts or as applied to other disciplines such as physics and engineering. – In the mathematics course, students explored the relationship between harmonic frequencies and musical scales.
Programming – The process of designing and building an executable computer program to accomplish a specific computing task. – The music technology class involved programming software to synthesize complex sound waves.
Algorithms – A set of rules or processes to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. – The students developed algorithms to compose music by analyzing patterns in classical compositions.
Signals – Functions that convey information about the behavior or attributes of some phenomenon, often used in the context of electronic communications. – The lecture on digital audio processing covered how signals are converted from analog to digital formats.
Sound – Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s or animal’s ear. – The physics of sound was a crucial topic in understanding how musical instruments produce different tones.
Music – The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. – The music theory class analyzed how mathematical ratios define the intervals in a musical scale.
Trigonometric – Relating to the branch of mathematics that deals with the relationships between the sides and angles of triangles. – Trigonometric functions are used to model sound waves in acoustics.
Cosine – A trigonometric function that represents the adjacent side over the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. – The cosine function is essential in calculating phase shifts in sound wave interference.
Sine – A trigonometric function that represents the opposite side over the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. – The sine wave is a fundamental concept in understanding how pure tones are generated in music.
