California Area High School offering students unique 3-D musical program

By JOSE NEGRON
jnegron@yourmvi.com
A unique experience will soon be offered to students in the California Area School District who are interested in music.
California Area music teacher David Young was joined by new superintendent Dr. Laura Jacob in introducing the district’s first-ever 3-D printed orchestra via a YouTube video posted Monday.
“You are going to learn how to 3-D print a violin, how to string a violin and also how to play a violin,” Jacob explained in the video, which was also shared on the district’s Facebook page. “We encourage you to be a part of our group. The only requirement is that your arm length is 23 inches, and that’s just because we want you to be able to reach the strings and be able to play it well without getting frustrated.”
Jacob, who took over as California Area superintendent last month, said the “What Color Do You Hear?” project is inspired by the Ottawa Symphony 3-D String Theory and the work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with light and sound therapy.
“The Ottawa Symphony 3-D String Theory is the first known orchestra to play 3-D-printed instruments in a performance. The all-female ensemble spent months creating the instruments and sought to showcase what digital manufacturing can accomplish when combined with traditional instrumentation,” Jacob said. “A team at MIT found that the combination of light and sound therapy can have a significant effect on improving the cognitive functioning in mice.
“This project seeks to combine the STEAM concepts by enabling students to 3-D print their violins, build their violins, learn to play their violins, perform on their violins, and program their violins to illuminate based on the notes they are playing.”
According to Young, the program benefits all students who participate as it provides them with an opportunity for string education.

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