Grace O’Duffy, a Blair School of Music student, is exploring fun ways for the Vanderbilt community to interact with music. Inspired by her passion for fostering connections through new music, Grace embarked on a journey to create an interactive musical instrument: an optical xylophone that plays sound in response to light.
Grace’s journey began with a desire to strengthen the new music community at Vanderbilt. While Blair’s composition program provides a platform for premiering new works, Grace felt the need for deeper engagement and experimentation. With guidance from Professor Dashon Burton, she conceived the idea of a public sound installation that could serve as both an instrument and a creative experience.
This vision was inspired by a performance Grace attended at a summer festival, where musicians used light sensors to control sound in a dimly lit setting. The unique interplay of light and sound sparked her idea to design an instrument that translates light into music.
In 2023, Grace and her peers in the Vanderbilt New Music Society—an organization she founded—took their first steps toward making this concept a reality. Though she had little experience in electronics, Grace approached the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s innovation center, where she connected with electrical specialist Anupam Kumar. Armed with Arduino components and a drive to learn, Grace crafted her initial prototype over winter break.“The first thing I made was pressing a button to turn on a light. It felt like magic,” she shared.
Through workshops, countless YouTube tutorials, and hands-on experimentation, Grace’s project evolved. Her current prototype features 16 light sensors capable of detecting light intensity and triggering corresponding musical notes and LEDs. “The idea is to create a large-scale mosaic-like installation where light traces gestures and produces sound, like painting with light,” Grace explained.
As Grace’s skills grew, she also began teaching others. Within the Vanderbilt New Music Society, she organized soldering lessons for her peers, with guidance from the Wond’ry staff and maker techs. Together, they built functional contact microphones using guitar chords, piezo pickups, and furniture pads. “They looked messy, but they worked beautifully,” Grace said, reflecting on how she has transitioned from a novice to a mentor in her community.
Despite challenges—including PCB design setbacks and the intricacies of scaling her system—Grace remains undeterred. She is refining the design by integrating multiplexers and enhancing the circuitry to accommodate additional sensors and LEDs. She envisions an interactive installation that engages students and the wider community, with potential applications in public art spaces and educational outreach for local music programs.
“Grace was a joy to teach,” said Electrical Specialist, Anupam Kumar. “Our team enjoyed helping her convert an initial concept on a whiteboard to a basic prototype for her new musical instrument. What made this especially rewarding was her large internal drive to learn, and the maker’s attitude she brought to the project where she spent plenty of time both in and outside the electronics space!”
Grace’s story is a testament to perseverance and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration. From concept to prototype, she has blended her musical background with technical skills developed at the Wond’ry. As she continues to refine her optical xylophone, she exemplifies how curiosity and community can drive innovation.
Ultimately, she aims to secure funding to scale her project and is eager to collaborate with others to bring her vision to life. Her work not only enriches Vanderbilt’s artistic landscape but also inspires others to embrace creativity and experimentation.
____
Story by Lauren Carnahan. Republished with permission.