A Modular Feedback Keyboard Design
Résumé
The modular feedback keyboard (MFK) design that we describe in this article was conceived and constructed at ACROE. It was first presented to the public on 17 October, 1989 in Grenoble at the opening celebration of our center's new studio. The system we present is the prototype of a more general device, and its construction is the result of research into the relationship between instrument and performer within the framework of a system for realtime sound synthesis and computer-assisted musical creation. The first feature of this device is that it is a gestural control system with feedback for the tactile senses-it enables actual fingering of a physical instrument to be simulated. The second important feature is that this is a modular system: the piano- or organ-type keyboard is its nominal form, but its mechanical morphology can be modified and easily configured for other applications or types of performance interfaces.