Sometimes a keyboard for control is not enough, you require a tangible interface to communicate with your parameters. Recently the importance of the midi controller with generative systems has been proven, but a new kid on the block is the Wii controller (Wiimote). Designed for gaming but easily hackable to control your favourite software – be it Processing, Max/Msp or VVVV. Its motion sensing capability in 3D space is perfect for mapping into your X, Y and Z’s resulting in a fun and novel way of controlling your animations

Bringing together 3 Software’s - VVVV, Max/MSP and Reason the WiiWiiWiiWii thesis project provides a system allowing for a set of Wiimotes to become a syneasthetic musical instruments. Continue reading

We see all kinds of novel controllers and input devices for music on CDM, but don’t always get the chance to see how these are used in actual music making. Uraguay-based Gustavo Bravetti is a master of live laptop performance with alternative controllers. (See previous video of him from Colombia.) He talks to Liz (aka Quantazelle, a laptop virtuoso herself) about the scene on the other side of the Americas and how he’s able to fire up crowds with unusual performance techniques, via three-axis light control and the P5 interactive glove. And, really, we didn’t put him up to all the plugs for this site — I’m much more excited to find out how people are able to use some of these resources in front of an audience! So, Gustavo, we’re thrilled to learn about what you’re doing.” Read Interview: Gustavo Bravetti, Playing Music with Light and Interactive Gloves by Liz McLean Knight, Create Digital Music.

Sphere Of Influence - The Ball Project: Music, chance and games by Jon Rose.

Best known for his work on, around and about the violin, Jon Rose is a global performer, presenting his group and solo projects regularly in over 30 countries. He brings over 25 years experience pioneering the use of digital technology in live music performance to the Ball Project and this Festival outcome Sphere of Influence. The ball as symbol is universally recognised. A ball flying through space has an inherent mystery; it replicates our lonely and insecure position in the universe. To sport fans, the ball verges on being a sacred object. Ball games, especially in this sport-obsessed city, are nearly a religious rite. The earth is our favourite ball - our future on it less than certain. Continue reading

Ztretch - Stretchy Fabric as a Music Controller by Angela Chang: There has been much prior research on integrating electronics into textiles. However, I felt that many of these projects did not take into account the usability and interactivity of the fabric. Much of the prior work is focused on rigid, exact places for touching the fabric, rather than supporting the many actions our hands and bodies can create. Thus, I wanted to make a device that could capture the richness of active touch interactions. These haptic interactions could be used to create expressive music. Here is are 2 videos of a performance fabric.avi (100Mb) and fabric2.avi (100Mb download).

“ABSTRACT: We present Zstretch, a textile music controller that supports expressive haptic interactions. The musical controller takes advantage of the fabric’s topological constraints to enable proportional control of musical parameters. Continue reading

The hyperbow is a custom music controller first designed for use in violin performance by a Ph.D. candidate in the Hyperinstruments Group of the MIT Media Lab, Diana Young.

Young developed a new electronic gesture sensing system to measure minute changes in the position, acceleration and strain of a violin bow.The system can be used to evaluate different bowing techniques and may expand the expressive possibilities of the violin by electronic means. Continue reading

James Patten is the founder and principal of Patten Studio. Patten earned his doctorate at the MIT Media Lab where he studied in the Tangible Media Group under Hiroshi Ishii. During his time at the Media Lab, Patten developed a series of interactive tables for a diverse set of applications. Continue reading

According to several recent articles, and even video posts on YouTube, Björk has incorporated the reacTable interface into her “Volta” world tour.

This was actually announced on the reacTable site in late April, but only picked up by Wired and other sources more recently. The reacTable, developed by a team under the direction of Dr. Sergi Jordá at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, has been mentioned several times on this blog as it is part of a larger developmental trend for tangible musical interfaces.

Most of the general public rarely sees or is even aware of the development of alternative controllers and musical interfaces, so it is particularly interesting to read some of the comments on the YouTube video showing the reacTable’s use in Björk’s performance.

Linux Audio and Live Impro by Ixi Software and GOTO10 Workshop :: Teachers: Enrike Hurtado, Aymeric Mansoux and Marloes de Valk :: July 18-20, 2007 :: 11:00 - 17:00 :: Arteleku, San Sebastian, Basque country, Spain :: FREE.

A three day course exploring free and open source software available for live improvisation purposes such as real-time audio effects, controllers, audio and midi processing, as well as the creative possibilities of Pure Data in a live setup. The workshop is an introduction to GNU/Linux and audio for instrumentalists. Continue reading

Scot Gresham-Lancaster is a composer, performer, instrument builder and educator. He is dedicated to research and performance using the expanding capabilities of computer networks for musical and cross discipline expression. He studied with Philip Ianni, Roy Harris, Darius Milhaud, John Chowning, Robert Ashley, Terry Riley, “Blue” Gene Tyranny and Jack Jarret, among others. Gresham-Lancaster has been a composer in residence at Mills College and he has been developing new families of controllers at STEIM, Amsterdam. He has toured and recorded as a member of the HUB and has performed the music of Alvin Curran, Pauline Oliveros, John Zorn, and John Cage, under their direction. Gresham-Lancaster has also worked as a technical assistant to Lou Harrison, Iannis Xenakis, David Tudor among many others. http://o-art.org/Scot; http://myspace.com/scotgl; blog: http://scotgl.blogspot.com/.

Helen Thorington: Welcome Scot. You were a member of the computer network band, the HUB, and an early pioneer of computer networked music. Tell us about the HUB and the kind of work you, John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone did at that time. Continue reading

LEMUR’s Summer Art & Technology classes start in July :: Max Intensive: A Multifaceted Multimedia Approach: July 14-15, 12:00-4:30 pm :: Instructor: Dana Karwas - This class will focus on the basics of Max/MSP and is intended for anyone interested in incorporating Max/MSP into his or her work. No prior experience with Max/MSP/Jitter or computer programming is required. The class will feature an overview of digital sound processing, sampling, basic digital sound synthesis, software techniques for communicating with external devices, and interfacing with larger physical and aural environments. The structure of the class will follow a two-fold approach, aiming to provide a sufficient level of programming skills while emphasizing concept by deconstructing representative real word examples. Cost: $300 Continue reading