Otamatone

Junrou Jin 8 White Year 8 Materials and Technology Assignment

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2009

The Otamatone is a toy instrument made out of plastic and is battery operated. It comes in 5 different colours (as shown in picture above) and is shaped like a musical note (or like a tadpole). It has many sizes; from guitarlike sized, to tiny ones that are similar in sizes to a keyring. Not to mention, it has an adorable face! It is made in Japan invented by a man called Novmichi Tosa and is developed by the Cube Works Company. It has spread to almost all of the countries due to the popularity although it is only available from Japan and has to be ordered online if wanted from the states or anywhere else. It is popular because of its unique shape and the way it is played. It is played by squeezing the mouth (or also known as the head) of the instrument while tapping or sliding on the long stem. You can also adjust the pitch by squeezing the mouth. You can create a vibrato-like effect by squeezing the mouth continuously. It makes a sound similar to a theremin and a synthesizer.

History
3rd of May 2010 was the date Otamatone was created. During these few years, they havent changed much of the instrument. What they have done is that they created a much smaller version of it that is able to hang on a bag, phone or anything similar. LIST OF CHANGES: Different size ranges. (Big, medium and small) More colours. Different ways of playing. I think these changes have occurred to the Otamatone is because they want people to enjoy this toy without fussing over the cost and size. Also, it seems to be more attractive and you can boast about it to your friends that have never heard nor seen this peculiar toy. I also think these changes have improved the product because it seems to have made more people buy this toy/instrument due to the different ranges of size and colour. It has also become a great way to help people pass the time and get distracted from websites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace etc.