Musical Tableware - needing advice on where to start!

Hello lovely community,

Relative beginner here. I'm embarking on a project inspired by the clinking of wine or beer glasses during a toast. I'm imagining that each of the cups has its own musical property, and when each one contacts another one, a tone or rhythm is added to the mix.

How would I begin? I'm thinking NFC or RFID might be involved, but is there any way those tags can communicate with one another in addition to whatever is producing the tones (smart phone, laptop?). Or do I need to look at other motion/proximity sensors in addition to bluetooth or wireless modules?

Essentially I want to have a bunch of child units playing with one another, and a parent unit that receives their data and plays music accordingly.

Finally, does anyone have any input on the best (cheapest, simplest?) way to take that data and turn it into music? Is it Max MSP, or Arduino, or Processing, or...?

I am eternally grateful for any advice as I start my work!

Thanks,

boobakiki

Interesting project.

No, RFID tags can not communicate with each other. I can't think of any way, without wires, that you could do this.