New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: As a reader of NewMars forum, we have opportunities for you to assist with technical discussions in several initiatives underway. NewMars needs volunteers with appropriate education, skills, talent, motivation and generosity of spirit as a highly valued member. Write to newmarsmember * gmail.com to tell us about your ability's to help contribute to NewMars and become a registered member.

#1 2021-06-01 18:13:40

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,903

3D Printing Musical Instruments on the Mars colony.

Music is good for Good Spirits and Morale, it can also be good to mark events, anniversary or celebration. Gemini astronauts sang 'Jingle Bells' with a Harmonica and a Bell, Apollo astronauts have sang inside their spacesuits on the Moon. In a space Colony your first music builder, your instrument make is going to be some kind of robot machine. Woods and Plastics and Minerals produced in a Space Dome will become important items for building in the Colony but they could also be used for music building material.

A Guitar has gone on the MIR, tape cassettes were played on Skylab, the Voyager Golden Record has many songs from many different world cultures, Elon Musk's more recent launch of the Tesla Roadster Car into space had old Woodstock SpaceRace Era songs on its radio. The music instruments have gone to the Shuttle and the ISS. Chris Hadfield explained challenge of playing a guitar in zero gravity on the International Space Station, the video went viral and was world famous across world news media. A harmonica or guitar will be expensive to launch to space, a drum or bass or bell will be expensive so what if there was a facility that could make instruments in space or on a Mars colony? Would your Mars or Moon made instrument sound the same or as good as one made on Earth? Ellen Ochos played the flute in space, NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman played a flute space she is also known for losing her flute on the ISS. A type of Plastic Bagpipes was played on the Space station, I believe a Japanese free reed sho musical instrument was played in space I dont know much about this instrument I believe it is similar to an old Chinese polyphonic instrument, I don't know if it does 'chords'. It was intended Ronald McNair would record a Blues Saxophone Solo in space but he died onboard the Challenger, an improvised Australian aboriginal wind instrument known as a didgeridoo was also played in space.

The strings on Bass guitar launched into space are going to cost something like $10,000 US Dollars (USD) to $25,000 USD per kilogram ($4,500 to $11,000 USD per pound). I believe China wants to send a Rover that will test using Material from the Lunar Soil to Print stuff, establish a 3D printing technology on the Lunar Surface, China is also on Mars with a Robotic Rover. International Space Station’s 3-D Printer, Italy and ESA already designed a 3-D model Printer prints with biodegradable and harmless plastic. I have Listened to 3D-printed string instruments not in person but online, odd 3D printed string looking instruments being played they sound bizarre they dont sound Orchestra like, more electronic pop instruments or rock guitars with reverb and fx pedals unlike your normal Violin or Cello which made good or bad will always sound like genuine carved wooden stringed instruments.

The 3D Printed Electric Guitar sounds good to my ears but I'm not sure if these were edited playing with some post production audio engineering tricks to make it sound even better. The 3-D printed Sax back on Earth kind of sounds like a real Saxophone but like anything the more complex the more difficult it is to print, the buttons, valves, the levers, all which makes it a more difficult instrument to reproduce any kind of 3-D printed air leakages can sound pretty annoying. If you were to print a Reed or Wood type or Flute or Blown instrument it would probably first be a simple design. You can now 3D Print just about anything if your software and measurement and design is correct, a Programmable Musical Instrument for example. Horns could be 3-D printed, Speakers printed, Headphones printed. Your percussion sections the Steel Drums can be Printed with Turkish Greek type and Chinese cymbals printed. You could 3-D print a Plastic-Polymer type Guitar but this instrument may not sound 'Acoustically Good'.

It might be possible to Grow different type of Plant Tree material for instruments in space, a new genetically engineered type of Tree on the Moon or Mars that is similar to your Ash, Mahogany, Bamboo, Koa, Maple, Oak, Indian/Brazilian Rosewood, Walnut, Alder...the space colony when established, the colony might not have time to waste for letting slow trees grow, quick growing type of Bamboo, Birch type plants the Poplar, Cyprus, Pea family, Roots and Vines might be engineered into new species for even faster growing. A different type of wood might be important for colony construction material but also give your instrument more Body, better tone, more attack, woods that are durable resonant or some other needed musicality quality. Plants, Foods and Trees inside a Biodome on Mars and the Moon will grow very different to the way they grow on Earth. Simple types of instruments without complex parts like Ukulele or the Ocarina could possibly be 3-D printed on the Moon and Mars very soon. These days Scientists now take a step closer to growing fake wood in a Lab, perhaps combos of cells and chemicals, cellulose, hemicelluloses, and maybe lignin.

See also Painting/Sculpture
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=9339
Art and psychological good health on Mars...

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=8234
'Culture, craft and art on Mars'

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-06-01 18:32:57)

Offline

#2 2021-06-01 18:29:16

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: 3D Printing Musical Instruments on the Mars colony.

I can see any of the wind instruments being with in the reach of any of the 3D technologies and materials to make them. Its one thing to use and excess lot of materials to make them its another that for materials that are destine to be made into things we need....

exports of a "Made on Mars" comes to mind to sell for more materials and other things that colonists would need and want...

Offline

#3 2022-10-09 20:13:30

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,903

Re: 3D Printing Musical Instruments on the Mars colony.

8 Coolest 3D Printed Instruments You Can Print and Play Today!
https://www.3dsourced.com/guides/3d-pri … struments/

'The 3Dvarius presented to Hugh Jackman'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCEt2UKId8w

Eight 3D printed musical instruments coming to Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/eig … ra-134660/
,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcLR6xwYpkA

The 3D String Theory Project is an ongoing project that explores the possibilities of creating new sounds and instruments using emerging technologies.



So I personally do not recommend 3-d printing musical instruments nor buying one but one day this tech might get there, maybe even the quality improving very soon but for now I will say a known instrument brand or maker is the choice people still make. On music instrument maybe a lot of the instrument is reputation on quality of sound, it is how it personally feels for a person to play on their own body, precise machine manufactured and hand crafted finish is probably going to continue selling for some time. However if a colony is on Mars, it is expensive to ship even a few grams or a few lbs of any item all the way from Earth. A sound instrument on Mars, speakers, guitar, would it not be better for them to print or make all instruments locally than getting very expensive parts and guitars and string, Picks and Microphone Cable and Guitar Plectrum shipped all the way from another planet.

For now personally my ears tell me 3-d printed music instruments sounds amateur or student or 'plastic' or artificial, however those are my hearing experiences and I have been around artists for many years. Another person might think it sounds 'nice' there is also an unpredictable human thing called 'Psychoacoustics' a persons own unique sound perception and audiology from their own mind, a sound might pull loving child hood memories or an instrument might even be somewhat traumatic and unpleasant because of a difficult childhood upbringing. If you have been around audio engineers or bands or keyboards or musicians you might hear there is something not perfect about the sound of a 3d printed instrument but after a while Mars using local material might develop its own unique sound and qualities, the people of Mars chose their own path that suits the needs of people living inside a Martian Colony. They could 3d bring their own instruments for a stage, maybe print their own orchestra or a big band.

3D-printed flute sounds just like metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlq5R84TlVw

FILOALFA 3d printed bass guitar playing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gSCEnlSZ60

3D Printing The Key To A Bass Clarinet
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/27/3d-prin … -clarinet/

Vid 3D Printed Pan Flute! Sounds like a train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG_YILWmklM

Professional flutist reviews 3D printed fife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvvYCytnqEA

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-10-10 04:48:14)

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB