I am listening to a MIDI music file right now. Most midi files have nothing coded into them but the notes and the timbres of the "instruments". With no dynamics, crescendos, or musical expression, they are often boring to listen to.

This is a perfect time to try out my You Be The Conductor! musical conducting gloves! I just slip them on, participate in a quick and enjoyable Windows driver installation process, and I'm ready to go!

Computer sensors sense whether I'm making bigger hand movements to bring out more sound (forte), "shushing" movements to quell the sound (diminuendo), or "cuing" movements to bring out a particular melody above the others.

Other, more expensive computer sensors watch to see if I'm giving the beat as part of my conducting, and prepare to speed up the tempo or bring out a beautiful rubato ritardando at my command.

The music plays without influence if I return my hands to the keyboard to type while continuing to listen.

Here's the swell part: I can SAVE the recording of my midi file, conducted the way I like it. In fact, what's saved is the midi file plus a .cdp (conductor's direction protocol) file which contains the movements I made. So next time, I can work straight through and the orchestra will remember everything I've told it. I'll bet real conductors wish they could say that!

Program settings let me choose the sensitivity (maestrocity) of my conducting movements. Midi files will want high sensitivity. However, my You Be The Conductor! suite also comes with special software to handle CD recordings. Remember when I bought that recording of Brahms's Symphony #3 and it sucked? The orchestra played too slow and the dynamics were all wrong? I just put it into my CD drive, played it, and "annotated" the performance with my own interpretation. It is now one of my favorite recordings.
-- phundug, May 08 2005

Conductor's Theremin Conductor_27s_20Theremin
See "radio baton" link within. [csea, May 09 2005]

See link, and "radio button" link within.
-- csea, May 09 2005


A practical way to get this going would be to make a program that uses the mouse/keyboard:

Something like the Sveers game, that would show the next notes (better to use "piano block grid" annotation) and a pad (or keyboard keys) to express what is done with next note, and when it should come in, and how (louder, trumpet, with extra vibes, harmonized, etc.)

This could be done with existing hw/sw and would probably become a "grand hit" popular program. Next stage develop a new input device correct for this app. Something like the Digi Drum Keyboard proposed on halfbakery, some time ago.

Finally, develop the camera-input and become a bestseller in Japan (multi billion market for karaoke apps)
-- pashute, Jan 27 2006


Why isn't this a Wii app? (Or maybe it is by now?)
-- csea, Jan 04 2013



random, halfbakery