ABSTRACT
Tangible interfaces have frequently captured the interest of those in search of more natural interactions between humans and computers. Building on the long-standing tradition of manipulable objects to aid young children’s learning of mathematical and spatial concepts, a whole new generation of computational objects has come into being to extend this kindergarten style of interaction into the adult world. The abstract nature of musical structure, coupled with the visceral experience of music itself, make it no surprise that the design of tangible interfaces for computer-mediated music making has also become popular. Tangible musical interfaces offer intuitive ways to create and manipulate musical patterns and create new timbres, especially in an improvisation or performance setting where physical objects can act as live controls for various musical parameters. In addition, each object can represent some aspect of the music itself, be it an individual note or perhaps a component in a sound synthesis system. When music is represented in tangible form, it is possible to see and feel relationships between the objects that might not otherwise be apparent.
