iPhone orchestra at the vanguard of smartphone music-making push
By Vlad Savov 
posted December 7th 2009 3:49AM
posted December 7th 2009 3:49AM
[Thanks, Ry]
posted December 7th 2009 3:49AM
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This is so 2007.
@Jean
or earlier
Hey guys can I join your band? I play the Droid, I hope that isn't a problem.
@insky
"I'm sorry but we only like iPhones"
"DRRROOOIIIIID"
"Run! It's after us!"
haha sorry
@insky
I hear your mom plays the skin flute--can she play too?
Jk...
@googleadam
that was funny how I heard the "Droid" alert in my head while reading your post
Mandatory black shirt and jeans...quite freaky.
@pomotaro
Black turtle neck shirt, that is ;-)
Throw in some black Nikes and some Kool-Aid and call it a day.
It a type of sickness. It's only a telephone !
@Grolt
Why? Did you not see the advert with car parts made into instraments! This is just a bit of fun!
The iPhone is not JUST A TELEPHONE! It is a portable pocket computer!
Take your sickness and jealousy and go and stand in the corner!
@Grolt
It's not just a telephone. It's
- A Phone
- An iPod
- An internet communication device
AND
- A gaming device.
What the hell is an iPhone!?
what a loser's university.
what a commercial shit is that?
isn't that advertising?
bah...
This just shows what you can do with a full spec smart phone!
Fantastic bit of fun!
Why?
@LowestRanked
Why not?
how can u make "new and interesting sounds" while they are just copying normal orchestral instruments???
Come on guys... This is taking it too far.
Come on... This is taking it too far...
Two black shirts, two pairs of black trousers, one pair of heavy black boots, two pairs of black socks, two pairs of plain underwear, one heavy black coat.
One iPhone for each unique snowflake.
What a total waste of time, like most collage classes.
@macdoc I think you meant "college". But I mean you do not learn anything useful there. "Skrew Skool", right?
So think drone then?
this kind of wasteful activity clearly contributes to 'global warming'
Prove it
Why is it that you practice revisionist history whenever it comes to Apple and their products? Please, stop. Cell phones have had music applications for many years, and the intention to develop such tools has been there even longer. The iPhone is not the first device to be capable of making music. Apple is not dragging us into the 21st Century, Apple is following in the footsteps of many predecessors who were the real ground breakers. Jeez.
I cant believe the school gave them funding for this bullshit. These guys really need to get a life.
@Jeff
I agree. What a waste of resources and time.
Let me know when the iPhone can act as the Ocarina of Time.
Maybe they should have their football team take this class, they obviously can't play football
All I can say is, "Wrong song, at the wrong time, at the wrong company" Maybe this will be hilarious and might have that '15 minute of fame' last 2 years.. But now? I must say, the time 'wasted' for this opera is 'not that' worth it.
As for the iphone songs, I think the best and maybe the most hilarious I've heard was the one done by Mister Pogue.
http://bit.ly/I-want-an-iphone-parody
interesting .. but weird .. i mean its great to explore possibilities with available technology .. but ... this is really weird ..
So many haters.
Wow talk about negative comments. Maybe some of you can shove your biased hatred for the iphone and/or UofM and just enjoy the fact that this is something unusual.
I love how some of you call music and art wasteful. Yikes. What a negative high expectation generation we are.
@(Unverified)
I know that art is defined by its creator, but its merit is determined largely by its audience. And for 12 thou a year for tuition, it's gimmicky and ridiculous.
If they were clicking on WM smartphones with styluses, it would be as goofy and absurd. And it would still be bad art.
What I think many commenters are missing is the target audience here. These students aren't creating music for general consumption - this is art music composition.
Much of the last hundred years of art music would sound foreign to most Engadget readers but, like it or not, art music has trickled down and influenced most musical movements of the last fifty years. Acts like Radiohead, Bjork - heck, even the Beatles - were heavily influenced by art music that preceded them.
So is this a gimmick? Perhaps. Is it silly? Perhaps. But should it be disregarded simply because it's not easily digested by the unwashed masses? Probably not. As a trained professional musician I find the notion of creating an instrument that doesn't depend on physics intriguing.
Looks like the Juveniles came out to type again.
I think this is interesting (whether it's iPhone, Palm or Droid), and that each student designed their own unique sound App. Looking forward to the performance.
I'm all for art but really... this is just some fanboi who decided to push his preferred gadget onto other people and found a "legit" way so you don't actually have a choice. Why iPhone? Why not other phones? Why the discrimination for one type of phone?
It seems to me, and this is just my personal opinion, that this is a rather blatant fan hawking his preference. It would be far more interesting to be using various devices and exploring the versatility of the device as a whole rather than trying to mimick and synthesize what already exists.
@ounkeo
Maybe it's easier and cheaper for the students to learn and professor to teach from one type of phone instead of 30 varying types. Maybe the fact that almost everyone have an iPhone or Touch these days which also makes it easier for the professor and students to be in sync (plus not much learning curve). Maybe, just maybe it's not all about what 'tool' they're using but instead it's the lesson (building you're own unique instrument), and the output.
Hmm, so no DROIDs I see?
I smell hippies....
Nice, a bunch of stuck up Apple tards shoving their great amazing toys in our faces :)
i was expecting some crazy sick electronica song, but all I got was an annoying ringing noise
Only one girl in the photo and none in the video, I wonder why?
Could it be the stylish wool hats?
Or possibly the BO?
How about we reserve our negative comments until December 9th when they unveil their full performance. Can other devices make these sounds? - absolutely. However I feel what he is doing goes beyond gimmicky schitcks. He's adapted a recognizable consumer device into something beyond our everyday expectation. Oh, and the students are also learning how to program for iPhones as well, if you'd listen to the video. Sorry, but from both an artistic and educational standpoint, this is a good idea.
its going to be hard to keep in synch specially those with 1 and 2nd gen iphones...
watching the video the only question that comes to my mind is.. Who paid him from Apple ?? This is guy is a living ad for Apple !!!!