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From: mjn@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.music.synth
Subject: Synthesizer Controlers:  A New One?
Message-ID: <1586@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Nov-85 09:27:04 EST
Article-I.D.: teddy.1586
Posted: Tue Nov  5 09:27:04 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 06:39:13 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 38

I've been doing some thinking lately on non-keyboard controllers for
music synthesis (no doubt a common musing for some of you as well).  I've
seen or tried such things as capacitance strips, PPC controls, breath 
controllers, pedals, joysticks, etc.  Another common control device is
to put a pickup on another instrument, such as guitar, drums, etc.  I
had an intresting thought on another instrument to try as a controler,
which seems quite natural to me.

Many years ago (1930's ?) there was an instrument developed called the
theramin.  This device sensed the position of the musician's hands in
relation to probe sets.  These are usually set at right angles to 
eachother.  By moving your hands through the air, one could control a
VCO with one hand and a VCA with the other.  AHA!  This gadget is 
nothing more than a crude synth in its own right!

Now suppose that we take the output of the positions sensors and use
them directly as control signals to a modern synthesizer.  Better still,
convert the output to MIDI, channel selectable, so that it can be 
integrated into a digital synth setup.

What does this give us?  A modern theramin.  One which can be programmed
for voices, one which can be used to control other parameters than merely
frequency or amplitude (filtering, harmonic content, feedback, noise, etc).
The theramin, once properly learned, can be an expressive instrument.  It
was used to good effect in many of Led Zeppelin's albums.

One last thought.  The original theramin used some sort of electromagnetic
field to sense hand position (capacitance? radar?).  A more modern (and
probably cheaper) construction could involve distance or motion sensors
similar to the ones marketed by Polaroid.  These are often used in
robotics to sense obstacles and walls in its path.  These are ultrasonic
in nature, and may be more accurate that older methods.  Anyone have ideas
on building such a thing?

-- 
		Mark J. Norton
		{decvax,linus,wjh12,mit-eddie,cbosgd,masscomp}!genrad!panda!mjn
		mjn@sunspot