DigiEnsemble | Music 2.0.

App instruments are usually very colorful and sound almost nothing like the actual instruments they imitate. But they make Matthias Krebs smile. Krebs is a music teacher and communication researcher. “The exciting thing about app instruments is that they are so flexible to handle, unlike an actual piano.”

Ever since the first ipads and iphones started arriving at Krebs' music marketing workshop, he has been busily applying them for a unique project: “30 million Germans have a smartphone. Weirdly enough, there is only one app music ensemble so far.” You don't have to be a pro to play an iphone violin – Few members of DigiEnsemble actually play the physical instruments they aim to mimic on their phones.

The idea of using smartphones for musical experiments is actually fairly new. Last year, Björk released the world's first official app album, “Biophilia”, where app owners were able to play around with the tunes of individual songs. The DigiEnsemble uses the ThumbJam app for their classic melodies and contemporary pop songs. Thumbjam is movement sensitive and makes app-instruments sound extremely authentic according to Krebs. “We uploaded samples from real instruments, that's what makes it sound so great!” Sure, there's no comparison to the voluminous sounds of a real orchestra, but connect a pair of speakers to your phone and you'll be positiviely surprised at the outcome.

But how does the DigiEnsemble perform? “That was the big question in 2011” says Krebs. For now, the musicians place themselves in a half circle and primarily communicate by elbowing each other. “We have a lot of ideas in the back of our heads right now. The next five years have already been planned out.” Krebs is currently working on a fugue that is meant to project different tunes into the audience.  

(amd)