Laser Harp Cover: Third Rendez-vous by Jean Michel Jarre

Copyright recordings and music reproduced by kind permission of Francis Dreyfus Music and Jean Michel Jarre.


Ever since I watched Jean Michel Jarre play the Laser Harp at the Rendez-vous Houston concert in 1986, I've had a dream of playing a Laser Harp one day.

That day has come. :o) I've had a hobby project going on for a while now, and it's finally finished and fully functional. The Laser Harp is still in a prototype state at the moment, with parts scattered around on the floor. The plan is to build a wooden box that will contain all the parts.

It is an unframed Laser Harp. This means that there are no sensors in the ceiling, and it would function just as well outdoors or in a large room. The beams would go on and on until they hit something. All of the Laser Harp's parts are located on the floor.

As no laser harp can make any sound itself, I use my Korg M3 synth as a sound source. Whenever a beam is interrupted, MIDI signals are sent to the synth, which makes the sound.

Sorry, I can't provide any construction plans at the moment, as this would require distribution of my specially programmed control software. This software, which is the "brain" of the Laser Harp is also in a "prototype" state and not ready for end users.

Thanks to my brother Yngve Foshaug for filming this performance.

This is a 100% real working Laser Harp, being played 100% live.

:o)