Explore and create.

What is ChordBox?

ChordBox started with a desire to have a physical object that would let me explore different chords with the touch of a button.

Such instruments exist, but some, like the Omnichord, as well as its analog predecessor, the Autoharp, are prohibitively expensive and large.

ChordBox is not necessarily a toy, a tool, or an instrument, but it could be any of the three. It could be a songwriting tool, a way to experiment with chord progressions, or an entry point for someone who wants to make music but doesn't play an instrument.

Exploration as a design principle

While earning my degree in Music Education, I spent about a year pursuing a dual degree in Music History. My study of 20th-century music introduced me to composers like John Cage and Krzysztof Penderecki, and to the idea of extended techniques: producing sounds beyond the expected scope of an instrument.

That idea carried into my teaching. I wanted students to be inventive and discover sounds for themselves. Boomwhackers were particularly good for this. I would let students, sometimes as young as five or six, conduct the class and test their own ideas. How does the sound change if you hit one against your shoe, or toss it into the air and let it fall? What if you hit two differently pitched Boomwhackers together? Children could discover new ways to make sound and hear it immediately.

Designed for exploration

I envisioned being able to hand ChordBox to a small child, an adolescent, or an adult with no instructions and have them immediately start playing with it. The browser version is a starting point, but also has the added advantage of being able to do things a physical product could not: keyboard controls, customizable mappings, new sounds, and other features yet to come. In the current model:

• Major and minor chords are always immediately available.
• Chord modifiers alter notes that are already sounding.
• Instrument and octave changes happen in real time.
• MOOGIFY provides a collection of exaggerated analog-inspired sounds.
• Random generates unexpected combinations of sound settings and octaves.

Try it!

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." - Frank Zappa? Elvis Costello? Laurie Anderson? Martin Mull?