Sensor Instruments · build 30 — back to ericmayers.com

Air Fiddle EXPERIMENTAL
bow base range vibrato bright
AF2 EXPERIMENTAL
● REC

Mapping — pick what drives each part

Feel

stillness → silence

Extra sensors (enable to use as sources)

Note: true CPU/battery temperature and depth sensors aren't exposed to web pages — the CPU source is a load/throttle proxy.

🎻 Sweep the phone through the air to bow · tilt ↔ for pitch · twist (or drag the ↻ wheel) to change key · pads modulate the tone.
AF3 · Optical Bow EXPERIMENTAL
bow base range vibrato
Lighthouse
scale range roll = volume · cover = silence
Hand Synth EXPERIMENTAL
Strings

Hand Synth — how to play

Point the camera at your hand and shape the air:

  • Raise / lower your hand → pitch
  • Thumb ↔ index finger distance → volume (open = louder, together = quiet)
  • Rotate your handtone / brightness
  • Tap thumb to MIDDLE finger → 👊 kick drum
  • Tap thumb to RING finger → 🥁 snare drum
  • Pick the voice (Strings / Guitar / Bass / Lead / Bells) in the toolbar.
voice scale range
Face Synth EXPERIMENTAL
Tenor

Face Synth — how to play

Look into the camera and sing with your face:

  • Open your mouthvolume (closed = silence, wide = loud — sing it!)
  • Tilt your head left / right → pitch — it slides along the scale
  • 😑 Close both eyes (hold a beat) → 🧲 snap to exact notes; open to slide again
  • Nod up / down → jump an octave up / down (hold your head level at start — that sets neutral)
  • Turn your head sharply left / right → previous / next voice
  • Lip shape → vowel: pucker "oo" ↔ relaxed "ah" ↔ wide smile "ee"
  • Smirk (raise one mouth corner) → pan the sound toward that side
  • Raise your eyebrows → vibrato + sparkle
  • 😉 Wink left → 👊 kick · wink right → 🥁 snare (two-eye blinks are ignored)
  • 🐡 Puff your cheeks → growl
voice scale range
Face Choir EXPERIMENTAL
Choir

Face Choir — how to play

Your emotion is the harmony. Face the camera and conduct a choir of chords:

  • Open your mouthvolume — the choir swells as you open wide
  • Turn your head left / right → walk the chords I–VII in the key
  • Chin up / down → raise the voicing an octave & brighten / drop it & darken (hold level at start — that sets neutral)
  • 🙂 Smile = major · ☹️ frown = minor · 😗 pucker = sus4
  • Raise your eyebrows → add a 9th voice (color)
  • Smirk (one corner only) → shift the chord inversion up / down
  • 😉 Wink left → bass drone on/off · wink right → 🎶 harp strum
  • 🐡 Puff your cheeks → tremolo · tilt your head → shimmer
voice key
Maestro EXPERIMENTAL

Maestro — how to play

A duet: your hand plays the notes, your face gives them a voice. Get both in frame:

  • Raise / lower your handpitch (snapped to the scale)
  • Slide your hand left / right → pan
  • Pinch thumb ↔ index → tone (open = bright, pinched = soft)
  • 😮 Open your mouthvolume — no mouth, no sound
  • 👄 Lip shape → vowel: pucker "oo" ↔ relaxed "ah" ↔ smile "ee"
  • Raise your eyebrows → vibrato + sparkle
  • 😉 Wink left → 👊 kick · wink right → 🥁 snare (blinks are ignored)
  • 🐡 Puff your cheeks → growl

Runs two trackers at once — happiest on a recent phone. Prop the phone up at arm's length so your face and raised hand both fit.

scale range
Beatbox EXPERIMENTAL
voice tempo groove scale vowel
🎙 vox: record vowels · tilt ↕ morphs them · tilt ↔ = pitch
Beat Sampler EXPERIMENTAL
100 BPM
🎹 melody play over the beat →
tempo edit: KICK
Voice Amp EXPERIMENTAL
off
Volume
HS2 · Duet Hands EXPERIMENTAL

HS2 — a two-handed duet

  • 🫱 Right hand = melody. Raise / lower your hand to change pitch (snapped to the key). Pinch thumb + index together for louder. Rotate the hand for a brighter or darker tone.
  • 🫲 Left hand = chords. Raise / lower to move through the chords of the key. Open your hand to swell the chord; make a fist to mute it.
  • 🎶 Both hands share one key & scale, so the melody always fits the chords.
  • 📸 Best strapped to your chest with the rear camera facing your hands. Use Swap hands if the roles feel reversed.
key scale 🫱 melody 🫲 chords show hands
HS3 · Duet Hands+ EXPERIMENTAL

HS3 — a two-handed duet, refined

  • 🫱 Right hand = melody. Raise / lower = pitch (snapped to the key). Spread thumb + index = brighter tone. Rotate the hand = vibrato.
  • 🫲 Left hand = chords. Raise / lower = move through the chords. Make a fist to mute.
  • Distance = volume: reach a hand away from the camera to get louder (bring it close = softer). Slide left/right to pan & brighten.
  • 🎶 Both hands share one key & scale. Smoother, richer sound with steadier tracking than HS2.
  • 📸 Best chest-mounted with the rear camera facing your hands. Use Swap hands if roles feel reversed.
key scale 🫲 melody 🫱 chords show hands
Touch Harp EXPERIMENTAL
key scale voice 🖐 press with several fingers for chords