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Ongoing Project · Virtual Musical Sequencer

SynOrbit

A Spatial Instrument for Composing with Time

Sunshiyu Wang, Changda Ma, Canting Zhu and Henrik von Coler

Head-mounted displays prepared for the SynOrbit performance
Selected documentation · 02
01Virtual

Musical sequencer

02Time

Manipulable musical dimension

03Ongoing

Research and development

01

Project Overview

SynOrbit is an ongoing virtual musical instrument project that reimagines the sequencer as a spatial, time-based environment. Instead of arranging events along a flat timeline, musical patterns are mapped onto rotating orbital structures: their positions determine when sounds occur, while rotation makes the passage of time visible, audible, and performable.

Hand gestures let performers create, move, and reshape these orbiting sequences in real time. The project explores how temporal structure can become a manipulable dimension of musical interaction—something a performer can see, reach into, and reorganize—opening new possibilities for improvisation, layered rhythm, and collaborative performance.

02

Presentation

We presented this project on May 2, 2026, at Georgia Tech West Village 175 as part of GTCMT Seed Grant Presents: Prism Pt. 1 – Sound Through a New Lens. The project was supported by the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology (GTCMT) Seed Grant.

DOCUMENTATION

Process & Place

SynOrbit · live virtual musical sequencer demonstration
SynOrbit interface with colored orbital sequencer rings in mixed reality
Orbital sequencer · ring arrangement
SynOrbit interface showing stacked colored rings and ball controls
Orbital sequencer · ball pattern controls

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