Abstract:

In this paper we present a new general approach to the use of multi-touch screens as musical controllers. In our approach the surface acts as a large hierarchically structured state-space map through which a musician can navigate a path. We discuss our motivations for this approach, which include the possibility of representing large amounts of musical data such as an entire live set in a common visually mnemonic space rather like a map, and the potential for a rich dynamic and non-symbolic approach to live algorithm generation. We describe our initial implementation of the system and present some initial examples of its use in musical contexts.