The Radio Baton as configurable musical instrument and controller

• The Max Mathews radio baton (RB) has been produced in about 40 pieces until today. It has usually been applied as an orchestra conducting system, as interactive music composition controller using typical percussionist gestures, and as a controller for sound synthesis models. In the framework of the Sounding Object EU founded project, the RB has found new applications scenarios. Three applications were based on this controller. This was achieved by changing the gesture controls. Instead of the default batons, a new radio sender that fits the fingertips was developed. This new radio sender allows musicians’ interaction based on hand gestures and it can also fit different devices. A Pd model of DJ scratching techniques (submitted to SMAC03) was controlled with the RB and the fingertip radio sender. This controller allows DJs a direct control of sampled sounds maintaining hand gestures similar to those used on vinyl. The sound model of a bodhran (submitted to SMAC03) was controlled with a traditional playing approach. The RB was controlled with a traditional bodhran double beater with one fingertip radio sender at each end. This allowed detection of the beater position on the RB surface, the surfaced corresponding to the membrane in the sound model. In a third application the fingertip controller was used to move a virtual ball rolling along the elastic surface of a box placed over the surface of the RB. The DJ console and the virtual bodhran were played in concerts.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Människa-datorinteraktion (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Human Computer Interaction (hsv//eng)

Keyword

gestural controllers

haptic feedback

multi-modal

non-haptic feedback

scratching

physics-based modeling

pure data

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)