Musician strikes high-tech chord with robo-guitar

IT may not be for the purists, but musician Jonathan Crossley hopes to usher in a new style of music with his unusual cyber-guitar.

The 37-year-old musician gave the audience a taste of his hacked Ibanez jazz guitar during a performance at the University of the Witwatersrand last night. He calls his style of music "gestural interfacing". It is a process of influencing the sound of a musical instrument through a variety of body movements that change the tone of the instrument.

Crossley, an established musician and lecturer, is doing his PhD. Last night's performance served as his practical.

Inspired by the classical guitar's ability to change its tone from "harsh and aggressive" to "the most romantic thing" by just a slight shift of hand, Crossley built the TEPP-cyberguitar - "part guitar, part robot" - as part of his PhD requirements while studying the relationship between stringed instruments and technology.

His robo-guitar comprises a standard instrument, some major electronics and a full upperbody exoskeleton. The bodysuit comes with 54 continuous controllers, which he uses to manipulate the tone of the guitar by moving or bending his elbows or wrists .

"Basically the whole body is engaged [in playing the guitar]," he said.

He performed alongside renowned jazz bassist Carlo Mombelli in a "dry run" performance at the Bassline in Newtown, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

Of his avant-garde performance, Crossley said: "If you are into listening to Kurt Darren or Miley Cyrus, this is not a concert for you."