This will be a typical CASIO/YAMAHA keyboard with key pad replaced by a flat metalic surface of the same size. To "press a Key" you simply tap/touch on the metalic surface at the right place. Electronics will detect the location of finger and play the sound-note. It should also detect the amount of pressure applied, and increase the volume accordingly to match the pressure applied. e.g. If you hit the drum, harder, it makes larger sound. Something on the similar lines.
Advantage here will be that it will be possible to get a note "between" two standard notes. Also, one can play violine, and smoothly vary (frequency sweep) the tone which is impossible in keyboard.-- VJW, Feb 19 2012 Prior art infinity piano [pocmloc, Feb 19 2012] haken continuum http://www.youtube....watch?v=6m_5E3EQbWwalready exists [metarinka, Feb 26 2012] If there's no tactile feedback, why not just use a horizontally mounted touchscreen ? Then it can be dynamically reconfigured.-- 8th of 7, Feb 19 2012 Touch screen should work. However typical keyboards are quite large compred to LCD displays. Also, display itself is not required.-- VJW, Feb 19 2012 There are iPad apps that work like this now. The Electro-Theremin and Ondes Martenot had a similar concept.
(Though without pressure sensitivity.)-- tatterdemalion, Feb 19 2012 // typical keyboards are quite large compred to LCD displays. //
Disputed. Some such displays are really quite large. The upcoming OLED displays with integrated touchscreens will be flexible, too.
// Also, display itself is not required. //
Er, so how do you know where the keys are ? "Hidden-till-lit" ??-- 8th of 7, Feb 19 2012 // where the keys are?
Keys can be painted on the metalic surface, for beginners. Once got the handle, even thatmay not be required.
//theremin
Theremin, seems like the same concept, I wonder why it never became as popular as other instruments.-- VJW, Feb 19 2012 <link>-- pocmloc, Feb 19 2012 [pocmloc] yes, link has a similar idea.
There is something odd about theremin. The kind of sound notes it generates , always give a mystical, strange, and ghostly feeling. Has anyone else noticed that ? May be because notes are not directly proportional to the physical distance, but may be it is logarithmic scale.-- VJW, Feb 19 2012 //Theremin// Wheremin?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 19 2012 This is baked by... some manufacturer I can't remember right now. I was looking for one myself. They make a MIDI interface with a bunch of already made sensors, instruments to load in the computer and a lot of tools for DIY making other kinds of control surfaces.
IceCube? IceX? No, no, NO, why can't I remember who they are?-- Psalm_97, Feb 19 2012 //Has anyone else noticed that ?// Yes.-- mouseposture, Feb 19 2012 //Has anyone else noticed that ?//
No.-- normzone, Feb 22 2012 [P97] Hakken Continuum.-- FlyingToaster, Feb 23 2012 several keyboards like this exist. I'm sure someone could write an ipad app that does the same thing too. The issue with instruments with no fixed register is that everything tends to sound slurry with no fixed tone. Kind of like a theremin or slide whistle.
They are around, the haken continuum is one, there's several other midi controllers that have similar features-- metarinka, Feb 26 2012 //slurry// software. I think wherever you hit it it treats as "perfect" then a contiguous slide does the bend thing.-- FlyingToaster, Feb 26 2012 random, halfbakery