Tangible Sound: Musical Instrument Using Fluid Media

In this paper, we introduce “ Tangible Sound,” a musical instrument with a novel user interface that uses fluid water. Like music, fluids cannot be physically grasped because their shape is constantly changing. We thus believe that water is a suitable interface for performing flowing music. We created a live, hands-on installation that uses the flow of water as an input medium to control the intuitively appealing feeling of musical flow. With our instrument, performers interact with water flowing from a faucet into a drain. We have developed a method for measuring the volume of the water flow and for generating music from this measurement. This installation leads to the novel concept of “ Source and Drains” for programmable musical instruments. Finally, we consider the potential of this special interface for musical instruments and interactive arts.