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The Edinburgh Festival throws up some curious spectacles from busking opera singers in corsets to clowns doing monologues in the Radisson Hotel. The most strange thing yet, however, was the Cybraphon – a musical instrument whose tune changes depending on feedback given on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and the like.

The instrument itself is a converted cabinet with windows and gramaphone speakers on top. Inside are lightbulbs, a self-playing keyboard, an accordion and a drum kit of sorts including a tin cup. The all-important number crunching computers reside in the drawers underneath.

The Cybraphon

The music it plays is produced by a complicated set of algorithms which “read” the comments about the machine and its music online and then convert good reviews into happy music and bad reviews into sad music. The mood of the Cybraphon is indicated by a barometer which ranges from desolation to delirium.

The Cybraphon was developed by a linguistics professor from Edinburgh University who has hobbies in electronics and robotics and was aided by a local musician. You can see it at Inspace Gallery, Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB.