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((Primary sources|date=January 2021|talk=Blogs & YouTube used as references))
((Use Australian English|date=January 2024))
((Use dmy dates|date=January 2024|cs1-dates=y))
[[File:Laser harp novaYA (7).jpg|thumb|alt=Bright laser lines propagate upward, with a costumed musician standing behind|NovaYA is the only opera diva in the world who plays the laser harp.]]

A '''laser harp''' is an electronic musical [[user interface]] and [[laser lighting display]]. It projects several [[laser]] beams played by the musician by blocking them to produce sounds, visually reminiscent of a [[harp]]. It was popularised by [[Jean-Michel Jarre]], and has been a high-profile feature of almost all his concerts since 1981.

==Invention==
French composer [[Bernard Szajner]] applied to patent the laser harp in 1981.<ref name="Szajner patent">((cite patent |country=FR |number=2502823A1 |status=patent |title=Laser Control Arrangement for Musical Synthesiser – Uses Mirrors to Reflect Laser Beams to Photocells in Synthesiser Control Circuits for Control by Beam Interruption |pubdate=1 October 1982 |fdate=27 March 1981 |pridate=27 March 1981 |inventor=Bernard Szajner ))</ref> It was granted in 1982, meaning that [[National Institute of Industrial Property (France)|the French patent office]] had found no evidence of another inventor of the same or similar instrument before him.<ref name="Szajner patent" />

However, Australian inventor Geoffrey Rose claims to have taken out a provisional patent with [[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|the United Kingdom's patent office]] in 1975–1976, and his invention may have been shown and used as early as 1976.<ref name="Duino4Projects 2015">((Cite web |last=Ayyub |first=Ibrar |date=4 October 2015 |title=Build Your Own Laser Harp Using Arduino |url=https://duino4projects.com/build-your-own-laser-harp-using-arduino/ |website=Duino4Projects.com |access-date=26 February 2023 ))</ref><ref>((Cite journal |last1=Ravichandra |first1=Aishwarya |last2=Kirtivasan |first2=Kirtana |last3=Mahesh |first3=Adithi |last4=Savanth |first4=Ashwini S. |date=2017 |title=Non-Contact Digital Music Instrument Using Light Sensing Technology |url=https://core.ac.uk/reader/144878330 |journal=International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering |volume=11 |issue=10 |access-date=15 September 2021 ))</ref><ref>((Cite book |title=Space Light: Holography and Laser Spectacular |date=1 June 1982 |isbn=0710092296 |last1=Walton |first1=Paul |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul ))</ref>

==Design==
((More citations needed section|date=February 2023))

===Framed style===
The framed style, which is often created to look like a harp with strings, uses an array of photodiodes or [[photoresistor]]s inside the upper or lower part of the frame to detect blocking of the laser beams. The framed harp built by Geoffrey Rose in 1975–1976 was an octagonal shape with a 5×5 matrix of laser beams.<ref name="Duino4Projects 2015" /> The lasers can be mounted on the 'neck' or upper side of the harp, shining down, or on the body, shining up. Typically, the lasers used are very low-powered 5&nbsp;mW red or green lasers, which are considered safe for public interaction by the FDA. Any number of laser beams can be arranged in this type of laser harp, from as few as one or two, up to 32 or more, depending on the capacity of the MIDI controller(s) and software being used. This style can be built in any size, from a lap-sized harp to a room-sized installation, or larger. In this design, only an analog trigger is created by the breaking of the beam (and the DC circuit made by the beam shining on the optic sensor), which is sufficient to trigger any number of events (musical or otherwise) as determined by the data analyser or software in question. In the MIDI controller, this analog DC current interruption is converted to a digital signal, which is then used to trigger many possible events or actions. Some software comes equipped with full wave file editors and synthesizers, and can also trigger video and still imagery via projection units.

===Unframed style===
This style of laser harp is generally built using a single laser, splitting its beam into an array of beams in parallel or fan arrangement.  Playing the actual sound is usually handled by connecting the laser harp to a [[synthesizer]], [[Sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]] or [[computer]].

This frameless design is more elaborate than the framed style, relying on reflecting the light back to a single [[photodiode]]. The fan of laser beams is actually a single beam scanned into a fan pattern. By matching the timing of the reflected beam, the instrument can determine which beam the player is blocking and sound the corresponding note. Alternative designs use multiple lasers. In these designs, each laser can be independently controlled (pulsed on and off) to ((Clarify|text=simulate playback of prerecorded notes.|date=February 2023|reason=What do you mean 'simulate playback'?))

Several techniques generate more control data, such as a continuous range of values like those in typical MIDI controllers:
* An infrared or [[Ultrasonic transducer|ultrasonic]] [[rangefinder]] attached to the instrument that determines the position of the hand that blocks a beam
* A laser-based rangefinder that determines the distance from the hand to the laser's starting or ending point (and possibly using this laser itself as the string)—or a variation of this that uses the intensity of the sensor signal itself
* A camera that tracks position and motion of the laser dot on the hand, or length of the exposed beam if visible, then calculates a continuous value based upon a reference

The first of these is relatively inexpensive and straightforward to implement, and can use the same [[micro-controller]] that drives the lasers and reads the detectors.

The advantage of a dedicated sensor mechanism is that the instrument can be self-contained, as opposed to requiring a computer to control it with input from an ILDA interface and USB camera. The PC-based approach, however, offers more flexibility and can be constructed with mostly off-the-shelf hardware.

Unframed laser harps benefit from the use of higher-power lasers, as they facilitate easier detection by the sensor system. As the sensor is exposed to all ambient light, it can be swamped by stage lighting behind the artist if the sensitivity is too high. To avoid this, the system can use ambient light sensors to reject ambient light. The player may use white or light-coloured gloves to improve performance by scattering more light off the player's hands to provide the sensor with a higher [[signal-to-noise ratio]] with respect to ambient light. Furthermore, the gloves protect the player's skin from potentially hazardous laser radiation and give audiences a more visual impression of the instrument.

===Unframed style, "image recognition"===
The image recognition laser harp is also an unframed design, but uses a high-speed [[USB]] [[camera]] connected to a laptop computer, instead of a photodiode to detect the reflected light from the hand breaking the beam. The digital picture is analysed by the computer software to determine which beam is broken and send the appropriate MIDI signal back to the synthesizer, which is responsible for creating the sound. The computer also controls the [[laser projector]] via an [[ILDA]] USB laser controller.

===Bicolour===
In 2008, Maurizio Carelli, an Italian software and electronic engineer, had the idea of a red-and-green bicolour laser harp. This device features a configurable full [[octave]] with both [[diatonic and chromatic]] notes. Green beams indicate diatonic notes and red ones mark [[Chromaticism|chromatic notes]].<ref>((Cite AV media |last=Carelli |first=Maurizio |date=18 January 2010 |title='Kromalaser Hymn' Played with Bi-Colour Laser Harp |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDkD1vwZPUg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/GDkD1vwZPUg |archive-date=21 December 2021 |access-date=7 March 2010 |via=[[YouTube]] ))((Cbignore))</ref>

===Multicolour===
[[File:Genesis laser harp beam output.jpg|thumb|left|Multicolour beams at the laser harp controller]]
[[File:LHRC (Laser Harp Remote Control software) demo video.webm|thumb|Clip showing how the software can [[Computer simulation|simulate]] and program the hardware even with visual effects]]

In 2005, a free multicolour laser harp project using an ILDA interface was shared on laser discussion boards and revealed the same year at a German meeting.<ref>((Cite web |date=April 2021 |title=Our References |url=https://www.harpelaser.com/hl-references.php#history_2005 |website=HarpeLaser.com |at=History – 2005 |access-date=25 March 2021 ))</ref>

((Clear))

==Notable uses==

===In Jean-Michel Jarre concerts===
((Multiple image
| align     = left
| direction = vertical
| header    = Jarre's laser harp
| image1    = JMJ Laser Harp.jpg
| image2    = JMJ Laser Harp octave control.jpg
| caption1  = On stage
| caption2  = Foot switches used to switch [[octave]]s
))
[[File:Jarre helsinki 2009.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jean-Michel Jarre]] playing the laser harp]]

Jean-Michel Jarre uses the laser harp in almost every concert, with the exception of [[List of Jean-Michel Jarre concerts#Aero - Tribute to the Wind|Aero]] and the Oxygene 30th Anniversary Tour. He almost always uses it in the third part of ''[[Rendez-Vous (Jean Michel Jarre album)|Second Rendez-Vous]]'', but has also used it for tracks like ''Third Rendez-Vous'', ''Chronologie 3'', ''Calypso 2'', '' Oxygene 7'' and ''Time Machine''. The characteristic sound of the laser harp in Jean-Michel Jarre's performances comes from a factory preset on the [[Elka Synthex]] synthesizer.<ref>((Cite AV media |date=1 April 2009 |title=Elka Synthex Sounds |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EmNBrIt_CE |publisher=JMPSynth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/7EmNBrIt_CE |archive-date=21 March 2021 |access-date=1 April 2009 |via=YouTube ))((Cbignore))</ref><ref>((Cite AV media |date=27 February 2011 |title=Elka Synthex Laser Harp |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLOq-BUtjFQ&feature |publisher=Wavebox2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/zLOq-BUtjFQ |archive-date=21 December 2021 |access-date=27 February 2011 |via=YouTube ))((Cbignore))</ref>

During Jarre's 2009 [[List of Jean Michel Jarre concerts#World In-Doors Arena Tour|In-Doors Arena Tour]], he commented on his blog that he "should make a few intentional mistakes for people to really understand that it is live".<ref>((Cite web |last=Jarre |first=Jean-Michel |author-link=Jean-Michel Jarre |date=16 May 2009 |title=Scandinavian Ellipsis |url=http://aerojarre.blogspot.com/2009/05/scandinavian-ellipsis.html |access-date=25 May 2009 ))</ref>  Later the same day, at a concert in Helsinki, the harp "suddenly froze in ''Rendez Vous 2'' for unknown reasons".<ref>((Cite web |last=Jarre |first=Jean-Michel |date=17 May 2009 |title=Flash Back |url=http://aerojarre.blogspot.com/2009/05/flash-back.html |access-date=25 May 2009 ))</ref><ref>((Cite AV media |last=Jarre |first=Jean-Michel |date=26 May 2009 |title=Freezing Laserharp @1:08 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxa8ZctOsBU&feature=channel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wxa8ZctOsBU |archive-date=21 December 2021 |via=YouTube ))((Cbignore))</ref>

===In art===
Laser harps have appeared in a number of designs. They have also been used in public art installations, such as those by [[Jen Lewin]] at the [[Lincoln Center]] in 2000 and at [[Burning Man]] in 2005 and 2012,<ref>((Cite web |title=Burning Man 2012 Honorarium Art Projects |date=May 2012 |url=http://blog.burningman.com/2012/05/news/burning-man-2012-honorarium-art-projects-announced/))</ref><ref>((Cite web |title=Jen Lewin Studio Art Exhibits |url=http://jenlewinstudio.com/contact/about/ |website=JenLewinStudio.com ))</ref> as well as those created by [[Johnny Dwork]] at the Harmony Festival in 2011, at the [[Portland Art Museum]] in 2012, at [[The Tech Museum of Innovation]] in 2014, and at the [[Oregon Museum of Science and Industry]] in 2015.<ref>((Cite web |title=L'Ha Laser Harp Alembic |url=http://laserharp.cc/ |at=Evolution |website=LaserHarp.cc |publisher=Peak Experience Productions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020132934/http://laserharp.cc/ |date=2012 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |access-date=26 February 2023 ))</ref>

==See also==
* [[Beamz]]
* [[Laser safety]]

((Clear))

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
* ((Commons category-inline|Laser harps))

((Electronic music))
((Electrophones))
((Authority control))

[[Category:Electronic musical instruments]]
[[Category:Harps]]
[[Category:Laser art]]

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