A sound lab at the University of California, Berkeley, is aiming to make it possible for almost anything to be an instrument – synthetically, of course. “Any object that vibrates and makes sound — like a cymbal or a gong — oscillates for a period of time. These oscillations create complex vibration patterns based on a staggering number of variables, from the flexibility and thickness of the material to the force applied. [The lab’s new] software tackles the problem of predicting sounds by breaking down an object into various imaginary pieces, whose joints represent vibration points.” Then, all the user needs to do is choose which vibration points to “strike,” and voila! An instant instrument is born, regardless of how unlikely it would be in the real world.