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Re: Looping Setup



> Thunder is basically a control surface, with various areas that respond 
>to
> the position, velocity, and pressure of the musician's fingers by sending
> out appropriate midi data. I've seen people using it for electronic and
> ambient music, and it was quite cool.

I had the good fortune of attending a conference featuring Dr. Emil
Tobenfield(sp?), probably better known as Dr. T of Dr. T's music software.
He is a big fan of the Thunder - it's a central component of his personal
setup. 
 
> Lightning is a pair of wands that transmit midi data based on their
> position and velocity in a space. The communicate with the main unit
> through infrared beams and sensors. Its sort of like playing percussion,
> but with invisible drums. You can program the space anyway you like, so 
>you
> mighe have vibraphone in front of you, violin synth pads to your right,
> effects controllers up in the front, loop triggers to the left....

I've seen the Lighting in use at UCSD music department performances; never
fails to get a laugh from the audience.  I happen to study Filipino fencing
myself - now you've got me interested in seeing how my strikes and counters
would sound as translated into music!

When David Jaffe was guest-teaching down here, he brought over his friend 
who plays Max Matthews' Radio Drum; a drum that senses position, velocity,
and possibly acceleration in the space over it for a pair of wired 
mallets. 
I think they only make this instrument on a per-order basis though.
 
> I talked with David Torn about similar ideas once, about the need for 
>loop
> devices to have interesting interfaces that are musically useful and are
> also interesting to watch for the audience. People get confused if they
> don't see you making motions that correspond to the sounds they hear, 
>which
> is a problem for loopers. Various midi controllers out there can probably
> serve this purpose in interesting ways. I challenge you all to look into
> it....

It might be an interesting project to get two wand-type controllers, hand
each to a fencer, Japanese kendoka, or Filipino escrimador, and have them
mock fight.
 

Paolo Valladolid
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