Force Feedback Gesture Controlled Physical Modelling Synthesis

A physical modelling music synthesis system known as ‘Cymatic’ is described that enables ‘virtual instruments’ to be controlled in real-time via a force-feedback joystick and a force-feedback mouse. These serve to provide the user with gestural controllers whilst in addition giving tactile feedback to the user. Cymatic virtual instruments are set up via a graphical user interface in a manner that is highly intuitive. Users design and play these virtual instruments by interacting directly with their physical shape and structure in terms of the physical properties of basic objects such as strings, membranes and solids which can be interconnected to form complex structures. The virtual instrument can be excited at any point mass by the following: bowing, plucking, striking, sine/square/sawtooth/random waveform, or an external sound source. Virtual microphones can be placed at any point masses to deliver the acoustic output. This paper describes the underlying structure and principles upon which Cymatic is based, and illustrates its acoustic output.