Spend enough time at NAMM, and the odds are you’ll come across at least one product that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Take, for example, the SpaceHarp, the revolutionary performance controller from SpaceHarp Corp. (space harp.com). It uses a combination of optical and sonar sensors and cutting-edge software to allow players to create music and visualizations simply by moving through free space. When users gesture near or above the device, their continual motions produce MIDI-controlled musical tones accompanied by colorful LED effects.
SpaceHarp Corp.’s CEO and Founder, David Clark, broke down the impressive technology that powers the SpaceHarp. “The SpaceHarp’s 208 variable-color LEDs actually give precise feedback to players, even before and after their triggers. Really, what it’s all about is unleashing a kind of creative flow without sacrificing virtuoso expression,” Clark explained. “Our device is, in fact, a biofeedback device. It entrains players into what the patent calls a Creative Wellness Response.” In other words, the SpaceHarp utilizes free space to remedy the disconnect that arises between musician and instrument when using other controllers. “It’s kind of like a magic trick in a sense. How could you align rhythm in a way that feels natural, on anything you touch? You can’t! Because you push a button, there’s a delay, then, boom, the sound comes. That delay factor just kills the ergonomics,” said Clark. “In free space, with this controller, a player immediately owns that creative feeling.” The process is so transparent that it actually does resemble a magic trick. “In a technical sense, we combine a number of musical transfer functions, but they’re all transparent,” Clark elaborated. “So, the players, they don’t have to constantly think about how exactly everything’s being adjusted. They just know, ‘I’m playing! I’m deciding what I’m doing, I’m modulating, I’m changing velocity, I’m controlling how I’m playing, the structure, the polyphony, the effects, all those things, just by moving.’”
The mechanics of the SpaceHarp might make it seem similar to a theremin in concept, but Clark was quick to point out the differences. “The theremin is probably the hardest thing there is to play well. It’s equivalent to one monophonic MIDI controller that’s tied to pitch. The SpaceHarp is way more expressive, with way more parameters, yet still easy to play well. Yes, both instruments are played in free space. But the SpaceHarp is managed, all behind the scenes, thanks to the magic of software. That lets players command a full polyphony of note attacks with velocity, plus multiple dimensions of continuous controlled expression.” The result is precise control over every aspect of a performance that just about any user can figure out after a few hours with the device.
According to Clark, the SpaceHarp was a big draw for NAMM show attendees. “We’ve had a huge response. We’ve been mobbed at times.” Although the Limited Edition Pro model is being marketed to early adopters, mainly DJs and professional performers, Clark has big plans for the product moving forward. “We’re quite far along in understanding the curve of cost-reducing this for a mass market, although that’ll take about a year after the Limited Edition units ship.” And once it hits the mass market, the company intends for the SpaceHarp to be used for more than onstage musical performances. “The foundation of our whole strategy is really about artist empowerment, and generating what we believe will be a massive new revenue ecosystem for artists in interactive, collaborative tracks,” Clark explained. “We like to see this as a mass-market tool that players at all levels can use to create, collaborate, compose, jam over the internet and jam along with broadcasts, all at a price point approaching that of a major game platform. We’d like in five years for there to be millions of SpaceHarps out there.”