Sound Synthesis and Sampling, 2nd Edition

7  Controllers

Musical performance is a combination of the instrument and a player. The interaction between the two produces the music, and the interfacing between the player and the instrument involves the control of the instrument. There are many ways that this control can be achieved. In a conventional instrument the control interface is often predetermined by the instrument itself. For example: a guitar has six strings, a fretboard, bridge, etc. and the player can pluck, strum or tap the strings, which may be open or fretted. But for a synthesizer, there is no fixed set of controllers because a synthesizer is not constrained by any physical limitations. The control is thus determined by the flexibility of the synthesis technique and its physical ...