Otamatone is a Japanese electric musical instrument (or toy) that produces a theremin-like (Kawaii, as Tosa puts it) sound. It is an electrophone musical instrument that relies on electricity to make sounds. The instrument was designed like a tadpole. However, many people debate that it looks like a music note with a long neck and big note head on the bottom. Otamatone functions like a guitar, to generate the sound, the player must slide on the touchpad (neck), and squeeze the face of the tadpole on the bottom. By opening and closing the month, players can explore different pitches and tones. What’s interesting is that it sounds like a singing chipmunk. The speaker is hidden inside the mouth; players can show vibrato by vibrating the note head. The range of Otamatone is only one octave. However, you can switch the register on the back of the note head (you should definitely use the high register if you want to annoy your neighbor).
What’s surprising is that Otamatone has its entire Otamatone family with 12 other loud and obnoxious members (this loud and obnoxious instrument comes with 12 loud and obnoxious members, WOW! What a loud and obnoxious ensemble!) The size goes from a baby Otamatone to Otamatone DX which comes with a headphone plug-in and cord connection. Otamatone DX includes more extended features such as a volume addresser and a wider variety of sound.
History and Culture of Otamatone
Otamatone was an art project created by Maywa Denki and the CUBE toy company in 1993. This instrument was a part of the Tsukuba Series. The project was spearheaded by Nobumichi Tosa who worked together with the toy company to exhibit and perform this new instrument. During every performance, Tosa and his partners would put on their “pale blue, matching jumpsuits.” This uniform was designed to “symbolize a mid-level enterprise that once powered the economy during its growth period” (Zev). Their energy and creativity brought them enormous popularity. Tosa utilizes Otamatone to emphasize the idea of self-expression and voice, its power of triggering empathy. The Otamatone project has brought enormous joy and happiness to the Japanese community.
Repertoire
Since 1993 Otamatone has become the biggest market in Japan with over 120,000 sales. This “Kawaii” instrument was soon prevalent over Asia and the United States. Everyone was attracted by the cute appearance and sound. Youtubers and players improvise famous tunes to play on Otamatone. For example, Disney soundtracks, Yoshi’s Story theme, Game of Thrones, and The Star-Spangled Banner. Otamatone was capable of playing most of the pop repertoire. Various combinations and Otamatone ensembles were formed to bring laughter and music, there are even Otamatone Metal bands (Sayej). Moreover, Otamatone has become a favorite teaching tool for some of the music educators. The teacher would use Otamatone to illustrate basic music theory concepts. The enormous healing power of Otamatone imbues happiness to the public.
Source:
Zev. “Otamatone.” 21st Century Digital Art, 21st Century Digital Art, 23 May 2016, www.digiart21.org/art/otamatone.
Sayej, Nadja. The Otamatone: The Most Adorable Instrument That Looks Like a Sperm, 9 June 2014, www.vice.com/en/article/rnpewr/otamatone-the-most-adorable-instrument-that-looks-like-a-sperm.
