Yonatan Rozin

Interactive Technologist

The Contour Synthesizer

A table with a small MIDI keyboard, a laptop, a document camera and a flat plastic surface. A long plastic object is being held against the flat surface. In the background, a projected image of a piano keyboard with 4 pressed keys highlighted in pink.

This experimental interface/instrument uses the contours of flat objects placed on top of it as expressive parameters for real-time performance. Primarily, the edge of the object is played as a repeating waveform, creating pitches whose timbre is directly dependent on the shape of the object. Rounder objects result in smoother timbres while objects with sharp corners or otherwise jagged edges create harsher sounds.