Seen in action above – the Double Slide Controller, winner of the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition –
Developed by composer and researcher Tomás Henriques, the instrument mixes computer music software, sensor technologies and flexible hand/arm gestures to generate rich, complex sounds.
Certainly takes the traditional trombone format well into the digital domain! Check out the Georgia Tech Center’s site for more of the winning projects. [via Synthtopia]
6 thoughts on “The Double Slide music controller”
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I’m sorry but that instrument sounded horrible. It looked like somebody spent many hundreds of hours, maybe even years making this electronic bagpipe/trombone.
I love the form factory allowing the player to rest the instrument on ones shoulder and to sense a musician blowing as if it were a traditional wind instrument. The hand slides would be quite familiar to a trombone player I would guess, but it also has a bagpipe look about it if you ask me.
The only think I didn’t like was the sound. Maybe a different piece of music would have left a better impression on me.
And then the audience, did you see the audience? They looked like captives at a cannibal cooking convention. I’m surprised they clapped, maybe they were just so pleased it was over :P
Sweeeeeeet synth goodness!
As a trombonist, I can officially say “That thing is HOT”. Still not sure (from the limited usage) what the second slide is for, or that I’d take to it, but this rocks :D
I’d have to see what the left-hand slide does. “I need more info” ;)
Gorgeous rich, complex, resonant sound – like a sci-fi orchestra in a single instrument, played in a highly skillful manner. Unlike many novelty instruments, this one produces sound both surprising and familiar, the mixture of which is essential to all great hits. (I’m puzzled by the earlier post which said “sounded horrible” – I suspect that commenter’s sound system was at fault, rather than this melodious instrument.) As a musical performance, the competition’s brightly lit auditorium was incongruous and inappropriate but if it were repeated in a darkened lounge or as background to a sci-fi movie this piece would be amazing, producing live what might take hours to construct on a synth.