The Continuum Fingerboard

The Continuum Fingerboard was first presented in a one-hour demo at the International Computer Music Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, on September 28, 1997.  The paper we presented was "A Continuous Music Keyboard Controlling Polyphonic Morphing Using Bandwidth-Enhanced Oscillators," by Lippold Haken, Kelly Fitz, Ed Tellman, Patrick Wolfe, and Paul Christensen.
The Continuum Fingerboard is a new type of music performance device that is approximately the same size as a traditional synthesizer keyboard, but it has a continuous playing surface instead of discrete keys.  It tracks independent x, y, and z (pressure) positions for up to 10 simultaneous notes.  The x, y, z position from each finger is used to control bandwith-enhanced oscillators in a polyphonic timbre morph.  Real-time synthesis is based on non-real-time timbral analyses done with Lemur.
Below are a few pictures of our setup.
Our Studio This is where we work in downtown Champaign.  The Continuum Fingerboard can be seen on the left.  Special hardware for the Continuum Fingerboard, such as Symbolic Sound Corporation's Capybara-66, is located in the rack, and a Power Macintosh is used to control the hardware.
Paul Playing the Continuum Fingerboard This is what it looks like to play the Continuum Fingerboard.  Since the Continuum Fingerboard employs new hardware, new analysis techniques, new synthesis algorithms, and a new playing surface, the music it can produce is very different from traditional music.
Lippold Playing the Continuum Fingerboard We've used analyzed sounds from trombone, cello, bassoon, and clarinet for source timbres, but any analyzed sounds can be used.  The input parameters from the fingerboard are used to control a comprehensive interpolational scheme based upon a multidimensional timbre control space.
Inside the Continuum Fingerboard When the cover is taken off, you can see the bars inside the instrument.  Each bar is mounted on a pair of springs, with a magnet at either end.  The hardware detects the vertical position of each end of each bar with respect to its neighboring magnet.
Stretch! The Continuum Fingerboard is long, isn't it?

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