The Radiodrum or radio-baton is a
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
played in three-dimensional space using two mallets (snare drum sticks with wires). It was developed at
Bell Labs
Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...
in the 1980s (and patented), originally to be a three-dimensional
computer mouse
A computer mouse (plural mice; also mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of the Cursor (user interface)#Po ...
. Currently it is used as a musical instrument similar to a
MIDI controller
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
in the sense that it has no inherent sound or effect, but rather produces control signals that can be used to control sound-production (or other effect.) As such, it can be thought of as a general
telepresence
Telepresence is the appearance or sensation of a person being present at a place other than their true location, via telerobotics or video.
Telepresence requires that the users' senses interact with specific stimuli in order to provide the feeli ...
input device. The radiodrum works in a similar way to the
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...
, which uses
magnetic capacitance to locate the position of the drumsticks. The two mallets act as antennas transmitting on slightly different frequencies and the drum surface acts as a set of antennas. The combination of the antenna signals is used to derive X, Y and Z.
The radiodrum was designed by
Bob Boie.
Max Mathews
Max Vernon Mathews (November 13, 1926 – April 21, 2011) was an American pioneer of computer music.
Biography
Max Vernon Mathews was born in Columbus, Nebraska, to two science schoolteachers. His father in particular taught physics, chemistry ...
recognized its musical potential, mainly focusing on a conducting paradigm, and developed several other versions of it.
Andrew Schloss pioneered its use as a percussion device and further developed its software and hardware. The radiodrum has been used to control visual effects, and even robotic acoustic instruments like the Yamaha Disklavier and
Trimpin
Trimpin (born Gerhard Trimpin)
FutureMusic.com, June 21, 2006. Accessed online 6 October 2007.
instruments.
The latest version (as of 2013) of the radiodrum was developed by Bob Boie and Andrew Schloss. In addition to X, Y and Z, there is an output for the derivative of Z, which is used to detect changes of direction of the mallets, enabling fine control over snare-drum rolls and other nuanced percussive techniques.
In addition to works by Andrew Schloss, the instrument has been used extensively by composer
David A. Jaffe
David Aaron Jaffe (born April 29, 1955) is an American composer and electronic music researcher. His work spans orchestral, choral, chamber, and electroacoustic music, and he has composed over ninety pieces across these forms. Jaffe is known ...
, with Schloss as soloist, in works including:
* "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," a 70-minute seven-movement concerto for radiodrum-controlled Yamaha Disklavier piano and an orchestra of plucked strings and percussion instruments
* "Racing Against Time," for radiodrum-controlled computer physical models (electronic sound), with two violins, two saxophones and piano
* "The Space Between Us," for radiodrum-controlled Trimpin percussion instruments and eight strings distributed around the concert hall
* "Underground Economy," an Afro-Cuban improvisational work for radiodrum-controlled electronics, violin and piano
Other works include
Richard Boulanger's "Solemn Song for Evening", using the
Bohlen-Pierce scale.
See also
*
List of music software
This is a list of software for creating, performing, learning, analyzing, researching, broadcasting and editing music. This article only includes software, not services.
For streaming services such as iHeartRadio, Pandora (service), Pandora, Prime ...
References
External links
Max Mathews demonstrates Radio Baton in 2010 (Computer History Museum)Pictures of radiodrumInformation on David A. Jaffe's music
Electronic musical instruments
Human–computer interaction
Musical instrument parts and accessories
Music software
Articles containing video clips
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