Now that I have my MIDI Bake Node working pretty reliably and tested on some multi-channel MIDI files (see my entry in the Animations Section here) I have decided to give it a proper workout by taking on a complex modelling project all to be driven by Animation Nodes and my MIDI Bake Node: :eyebrowlift:
Here is where I have got to so far. The term “Clockophone” derives from two words; “clock” and “phone” the first implies a “clockwork” mechanism and the second is from the Greek “phonos” or sound. So it is a device that makes sound and is driven by a clockwork mechanism. Clockophones first appeared in the early 19th century, the model I am hoping to reproduce was made in 1856 and continued to be developed up to 1939, when a little skirmish in Europe halted development and led to the piece being lost in a bombing raid.
In the early days they were “programmed” by hand and a fan-fold card of played notes (achieved by punching holes in the card) activated the instruments within the device. The clockwork mechanism was there to provide for the timing and was driven by a large weight. It had a variable length pendulum that “kept the beat” (much like a metronome) and hand cranked bellows (operated by one’s servants) to provide air for the organ pipes and other wind instruments. Mechanical power for the percussion, etc. was also provided by one’s servants turning capstans - much like they used on old sailing ships to raise the anchor.
These devices were developed over time to take account of new technologies - such as a steam engine to provide power instead of servants - more politically correct I think - and during the early 20th century, valve electronics to augment/replace some of the instruments, lamps to replace the candles and electric motors to replace the steam engine, which had to be kept well away from the room where the instrument was housed due to the noise - this was also true for the servants, but for different reasons.
Clockophones were very expensive and ornate pieces, this one, the “Invicta” was heavily gilded, with about 27.5Kg of gold leaf used in total. Below is a detail of the clock face - this counted the bars of music played and is derived from the Beats Per Minute and the Timing Signature of the piece, so the larger hand counts bars and the smaller one counts hundreds of bars. The cherubs on top (there are 13 of them, so the machine was clearly not designed by a God-fearing person) play trumpets and raise them when each one plays a note:
This image also shows the pendulum with the weight about half way up - the nearer the top the faster it goes.
In this modern world, we now have the Clockophone controlled by modern computers and in the top image you see “Honey” at the keyboard and she has a MacBook and two screens. She is currently programming one of the channels and will remain in this position until I get a lot more made. Honey has appeared in a previous work of mine where she proved to be very capable, if a little feisty and at times, very rude! I am hoping she behaves a little better this time. :eek:
So here we have it started, I will be choosing a suitable piece of music shortly for the animation, which will determine how many channels I must animate. This particular Clockophone had a great variety of instruments and displays available, including a small train that went around its front stage (not made yet) that carried some percussion pieces. General construction was a wooden frame, extensive carving and ornate plasterwork, with some cast brackets, adornments, etc. I hope to be able to reproduce these all in fine detail as befits the original instrument.