YouHero Making an Expressive Concert Instrument from the GuitarHero Controller

The idea behind the YouHero was two-fold: First, to make an expressive instrument out of the computer game toy guitar controller from the famous game GuitarHero. With its limited amount of control parameters, this was a challenge. Second, we wanted to provide an alternative to the view that you become a hero by perfect imitation of your idols. Instead, play yourself. You are the hero. In this paper, we describe the design of the instrument, including its novel mapping approach based on switched timbre vectors scaled by accelerometer data, unconventional sound engines and the sound and mapping editing features, including manual editing of individual vectors. The instrument is evaluated through its practical applications during the whole project, with workshops with teenagers, a set of state-funded commissions from professional composers, and the development of considerable skill by the key performers.