Jacques Dudon
Encyclopedia
Jacques Dudon is a French
just intonation
composer and instrument builder. He is best known for developing a series of photosonic
disk (disque photosonique) instruments in the 1980s that produced sound
from modulated light
(a light source shines through painted glass discs; the resulting patterns of light are picked up by solar cell
s and converted into a voltage which can then be treated as a sound signal).
The production of synthetic sound in this manner has been used in 'optosonic' instruments since the early 20th Century. However Dudon's method is notable for the generation of tone which is produced by the overlapping of two or three discs, and the opportunities this design provides for timbral shifts by slowing one or more discs manually, thereby altering the waveform.
In the 1970s, he created 150 water instruments called ‘aquaphones’ (described in his pioneering book ‘La Musique De L’eau’), including a "flutabullum", a system of transforming flute
sounds by recording them underwater).
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
composer and instrument builder. He is best known for developing a series of photosonic
Photosonic
Photosonic is a light-sound concept originally used for the first time by Jacques Dudon for his 'Photosonic Disks', then adopted by VJ/music producer for his 'Photosonic Guitar'. The term stands for a synesthesia experience, and color sound music....
disk (disque photosonique) instruments in the 1980s that produced sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
from modulated light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
(a light source shines through painted glass discs; the resulting patterns of light are picked up by solar cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s and converted into a voltage which can then be treated as a sound signal).
The production of synthetic sound in this manner has been used in 'optosonic' instruments since the early 20th Century. However Dudon's method is notable for the generation of tone which is produced by the overlapping of two or three discs, and the opportunities this design provides for timbral shifts by slowing one or more discs manually, thereby altering the waveform.
In the 1970s, he created 150 water instruments called ‘aquaphones’ (described in his pioneering book ‘La Musique De L’eau’), including a "flutabullum", a system of transforming flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
sounds by recording them underwater).