I-phones are now musical instruments

A U.S. university has found a new use for the Apple iPhone – as a musical instrument. Academics from the University of Michigan have joined forces to create what they call a 21st century orchestra. There are no traditional instruments, only 20 of Apple’s best-selling mobile telephones. The project is a group effort from the university’s music, computer science and engineering departments. They call themselves the Michigan Mobile Phone Ensemble and describe their work as "new, crazy, electronic ensemble music". They will hold their first concert on Wednesday, December the 9th. Each ‘musician’ will ‘play’ the notes and tunes that they programmed into their handset. The result will be an original piece of... music. The brains behind the iPhone orchestra is assistant professor Georg Essl. He is a musician and an engineer. On his course, he encouraged students to experiment with the iPhone’s advanced technologies. They wrote special applications that used wireless radios, motion sensors and the touch screen to produce different noises. The result is the hi-tech sound of the experimental new orchestra. Professor Essl was excited about this innovative form of music. He said: “We can do interesting, weird and unusual things. This kind of technology is in its infancy, but it's a hot and growing area to use iPhones for artistic expression." He called the iPhone “a very nice platform for exploring new forms of musical performance". He didn’t say when the orchestra would record its first CD.