ROY G BIV

ROY G BIV

Duration: 25 min

Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone, Live Electronics, Ambient Light Sensor

Technical Specifications: Stereo Audio, 4k Video

Year: 2024

Performer: Stef Haynes

Mixed by: Steven Webb

Videographer: Joseph Glaser

ROY G BIV uses an ambient light sensor attached to an alto saxophone to measure changes in both colour and light intensity.

Although difficult to perceive via video, gradual fluctuations in light intensity increase or decrease the amount of signal processing (distortion, reverb, delay etc.) applied to the saxophone.

Initial experiments in intensity adjustment of each of the three primary colours (Red, Green, and Blue) led to the following three movements.

Development of the piece involved calibrating the light sensor on the instrument and writing code to interface with an Arduino microcomputer, which in turn interfaced with a MAX/MSP patch that dynamically processed captured audio from the saxophone, based on light information received by the sensor.

Filmed at the Canadian Music Centre, Toronto, ON, November, 2023