Laser guitar

Abstract

Music is constantly evolving, both in the culture and musical theory that dictates its structure, and the technology used to create the actual sound. This thesis explores a direction for development of one of the most proven instruments in musical brainstorming as well as live performance; the guitar. The form and feel has stayed nearly the same since its conception and it is a solid foundation with which to integrate modern technology. The design is to replace the strings with beams of laser that run through a line of beam splitters at each fret, each of which sends a beam onto a photoresistor. By blocking the beam at different frets, the current through the resistors uniquely determines what fret is pressed. The motivation for this development is twofold; firstly, the aesthetic appeal of a brilliantly lit guitar could make this a popular instrument for live shows, and, secondly, the lasers would be more versatile than strings, allowing the player to program frets to be any note. By doing this, the writing process could be enhanced with more options to experiment with, and the performance of difficult compositions could be simplified. This paper begins the design of the instrument and proposes solutions for some possible complications in creating it.