barcode band scans its way to new music

‘barcode band’ by lee ha lim in collaboration with kang woon jin and kim yong duk

korean designer ha lim lee, in collaboration with graphic designer yougduk kim and director woonjin kang, has developed ‘barcode band’ to create instrumentals through the use of programmed barcodes. the project uses a series of scanners to compose music by looping notes to produce melodies. each code corresponds to a specific instrument or set of instruments (included guitar, drums, and cymbals), pre-programmed at a specific beat or tone. by scanning different barcodes one after the other, users can compile together tracks, sampling music in a new way.

‘barcode band‘ video

simultaneous use of scanners

a standard barcode scanner becomes the tool for mixing music, and different bar codes correspond to different instrument samples

programming notes to correspond barcodes

via prostheticknowledge