A theremin is a unique instrument that is completely contactless. Instead of musicians handling the instrument, they simply move their hands in the air above. The position of the musician's hands determines the sound produced. Check out this video for an example.

In this project, you will recreate this futuristic, non-contact effect using a Distance Phidget

Supplies

VINT Hub
Distance Phidget

Step 1: Setup

Attach the Distance Phidget to your VINT Hub and your VINT Hub to your computer.

Step 2: Write Code - Processing

//Add Phidgets Library 
import com.phidget22.*;
//Add Sound library
import processing.sound.*;

//Define
DistanceSensor pitch;
SinOsc sine;

void setup(){
  try{
    //Create
     pitch = new DistanceSensor();
     sine = new SinOsc(this);
     sine.play();
    
    //Open
    pitch.open(1000);
    
    //Configure
    pitch.setDataInterval(pitch.getMinDataInterval());
    
  }catch(Exception e){
    //Handle Exceptions
    e.printStackTrace();
  }
}

void draw(){
  try{
    
    //Use your Phidgets
    println("Freq Distance: " + pitch.getDistance());
    //Map distance to frequency
    float freqResult = map(pitch.getDistance(), 0, pitch.getMaxDistance(),20.0,1000.0);
    sine.freq(freqResult);
    delay(30);
    
  }catch(Exception e){
    //Handle Exceptions
    //e.printStackTrace();
  }
}

Step 3: Data Interval

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the Advanced Lesson on Data Interval to understand the code.

Step 4: Mapping

In the code above, the map function is used to map the Distance Phidget output to a reasonable frequency range. You can learn more about the map function here.

Step 5: Learn More

Learn more at phidgets.com/education

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