Hacking a USB mouse and turning it into an instrument was not only super fun, but also made me ask questions about how we create melodies.
CD MIDI controller is actually made of a usb mouse taped backwards to a plastic tupperware. It is the software what makes it such a cool instrument to play with. The input from CD MIDI is translated into MIDI using the amazing software Controller Mate with a custom patch, so that when the performer spins the disc, the note value changes, and when the performer presses a button, it sends a note on-off message of the selected value. Two buttons send MIDI note on-off messages for the performer to be able to use the glide function of softsynths.
CDMIDI controller was used in Interactive Music Experiments to trigger the piano loops and to play an improvised solo. The performer only has to decide whether they want to go up or down in the melody they are creating on the fly. To be able to do so, they have to spin the disc and press a button to play the selected note -which is already mapped to the scale of the song so that the user can not play a WRONG note-.
Being an extremely fun toy the instrument also made me think about the way we play instruments.
Redbullinator!
At Red Bull Music Academy London in 2010, I created a similar version of this instrument using empty Red Bull cans as a case and a fellow participant, great thereminist May Roosevelt played it on our performance at the Queen of Hoxton. You can listen to the performance below.
