Re: [linux-audio-dev] Alternate MIDI controller idea (patent fodder?)

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Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Alternate MIDI controller idea (patent fodder?)
From: Paul Winkler (slinkp23_AT_yahoo.com)
Date: Fri May 05 2000 - 21:22:02 EEST


David Slomin wrote:
> musical. I wonder if this is true of musicians in general;
> I'm having trouble thinking of any examples of musical instruments
> other than the notoriously difficult theremin that have
> multidimensional interfaces. Drum kit and harp?

Yes, those. But also instruments in the marimba family come to mind:
one dimension controls pitch, the other affects timbre. And these
are in fact fairly simple instruments.

In fact many physical instruments have more than one "dimension" of
control. When you play guitar, each sound you make is determined by
a complex interaction of:

- which strings you pluck
- how close to the bridge you pluck
- how hard you pluck
- what you pluck with (fingers, nails, plastic pick, a quarter, a
toothbrush...)

- which strings you fret, at which frets
- pressure applied to strings across the fretboard (bending)

Aditionally, you may be playing with footpedals and / or a whammy
bar at the same time. Oh yeah, you might be using a slide too.

Wind instruments too. You might think of them as "one-dimensional"
but what about the action of your mouth?

All these instruments take years to master. It's worth remembering
that before deciding that an experimental controller is "hard to
play"!

................ paul winkler ..................
slinkP arts: music, sound, illustration, design, etc.
A member of ARMS -----> http://www.reacharms.com
or http://www.mp3.com/arms or http://www.amp3.net/arms
personal page ----> http://www.ulster.net/~abigoo


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