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Monome is an Upstate New York-based company, founded by Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, that produces sound modules and MIDI controllers. [1] Monome is also the name of their initial product, a grid-based controller that is now sometimes simply referred to as grid.
The Monome has a minimalist design, and has been complimented for its interface design. [2] It is a box with a grid of back-lit buttons, with no labels or icons. No screws are visible on any surface of the Monome. [3] The box that holds the Monome is made entirely of wood, usually walnut, with a clear aluminum top plate. There are three different size options for the Monome: sixteen by sixteen, sixteen by eight, and eight by eight. [4]
Monome devices do not produce any sound on their own; they must be connected to a computer via USB, in which an app affords use to the device. [4] The creators of Monome said: "The wonderful thing about this device is that is doesn't do anything really... It wasn't intended for any specific application. We'll make several applications, and others will make more. We hope to share as many of these as possible." [5] A core design principle of the Monome is that it is not intended for any one specific application — the function of each button and the decision as to which lights are lit are completely up to the software communicating with the device over the Open Sound Control protocol. [5] The Monome is not strictly a musical device. Depending on the software used, the Monome can function as anything from a sample cutter to a math machine. [6]
Since 2006, several models have been produced, with typical sizes ranging from 64 to 256 buttons [7] — plus a very limited run of 512-button devices. [8]
In 2011, the first non-grid controller in the Monome family was introduced, the Monome Arc. [9] The Monome Arc consists of two aluminum knobs mounted on a rectangular walnut box. Each knob is surrounded by a ring of 64 LED lights, and similarly to the Monome, affords function only by USB connection to an application. [9] Some critics of the Arc have said it should be positioned as a complement to the Monome rather than a "complete control paradigm" that can stand alone, and that its overly-simplistic design can be seen as a limiting factor for independent use. [10]
In September 2013, Monome introduced another open-sourced music device, the music computer called Aleph. Aleph was designed and engineered by original Monome creator Brian Crabtree and Ezra Buchla, musician and son of Don Buchla. The Aleph differs greatly from the minimalist Monome and Arc machines. [11] Aleph contains four digital inputs and outputs, four control voltage inputs and outputs, multiple optical encoders, a display screen and USB - all of which can be completely reprogrammed at the software level. Full release and distribution was planned for late Fall 2013. [12]
Several applications provide sample sequencing capabilities. One such application is MLR, an application that allows for live sequencing and re-cutting of samples. There are also many applications that allow for synthesis either via their own internal synthesizers or by sending MIDI/OSC messages to external synthesizers.
Despite being produced irregularly in small quantities since its introduction in 2006, the Monome button-grid controller has had a significant impact on electronic music. [13] [14] Together with the physically similar Yamaha Tenori-On, which was released a year later in 2007, [15] the Monome inspired interest in minimalist, grid-based music controllers throughout the industry. That interest spawned hobbyist projects like the Arduinome and commercial products like the Akai APC40, [16] the Novation Launchpad, [17] and the Livid Instruments Block and Ohm64. GridFest, a festival for Monome enthusiasts, took place in New Mexico in May 2011, following the release of the Monome Arc earlier that year. [18]
MIDI is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and related audio devices for playing, editing, and recording music.
A music sequencer is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Control, and possibly audio and automation data for digital audio workstations (DAWs) and plug-ins.
Microsoft SideWinder was the general name given to the family of digital game controllers developed by Microsoft for PCs. The line was first launched in 1995. Although intended only for use with Microsoft Windows, Microsoft SideWinder game controllers can also be used with macOS, Mac OS 9 with third-party software, and Linux.
The game port is a device port that was found on IBM PC compatible and other computer systems throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was the traditional connector for joystick input, and occasionally MIDI devices, until made obsolete by USB in the late 1990s.
A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles.
Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a British musical equipment manufacturer, founded in 1992 by Ian Jannaway and Mark Thompson as Novation Electronic Music Systems. Today the company specializes in MIDI controllers with and without keyboards, both analog and virtual analog performance synthesizers, grid-based performance controllers, and audio interfaces. At present, Novation products are primarily manufactured in China.
A launch pad is an above-ground platform from which rocket- missiles or space launch vehicles take off vertically.
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They most often use a musical keyboard to send data about the pitch of notes to play, although a MIDI controller may trigger lighting and other effects. A wind controller has a sensor that converts breath pressure to volume information and lip pressure to control pitch. Controllers for percussion and stringed instruments exist, as well as specialized and experimental devices. Some MIDI controllers are used in association with specific digital audio workstation software. The original MIDI specification has been extended to include a greater range of control features.
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which the most common type is the musical keyboard. Another common way of controlling a sound module is through a sequencer, which is computer hardware or software designed to record and playback control information for sound-generating hardware. Connections between sound modules, controllers, and sequencers are generally made with MIDI, which is a standardized interface designed for this purpose.
The Yamaha Tenori-on is an electronic musical instrument designed and created by the Japanese artist Toshio Iwai and Yu Nishibori of the Music and Human Interface Group at the Yamaha Center for Advanced Sound Technology.
Various accessories for the PlayStation 3 video game console have been produced by Sony and third-party companies. These include controllers, audio and video input devices like microphones, video cameras, and cables for better sound and picture quality.
DJ controllers are devices used to help DJs mix music with DJ software using knobs, encoders, jog wheels, faders, backlit buttons, touch strips, and other components.
The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in numerous ways. The contentious M-shaped design of its predecessor was replaced with a more conventional handlebar style controller shape; a second analog stick was added, replacing the C buttons with a C stick and the X and Y face buttons, last seen on the Super Nintendo controller, were reintroduced; the shoulder buttons were changed to hybrid analog triggers. A wireless variant of the GameCube controller known as the WaveBird was released in 2002.
Controllerism is the art and practice of using musical software controllers, e.g. MIDI, Open Sound Control (OSC), joystick, etc., to build upon, mix, scratch, remix, effect, modify, or otherwise create music, usually by a Digital DJ or Live PA performer, often called a controllerist. Controllerism is also a nod to traditional musicianship and instrumental-ism paired with modern computer sequencing software such as Ableton Live and Native Instruments Traktor. However a working knowledge of scales and chords is not necessarily required as the performers typically focus their efforts more on sequencing events, software effect and instrument manipulations using buttons, knobs, faders, keys, foot switches and pedals than on instrumental notes played in real time. With recent developments in music technology, particularly in software instruments, a USB MIDI controller enables musicians almost unlimited possibilities to control a wide variety of sound types.
VRPN is a device-independent, network-based interface for accessing virtual reality peripherals in VR applications. It was originally designed and implemented by Russell M. Taylor II at the Department of Computer Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. VRPN was maintained and supported by Sensics while it was business. It is currently maintained by ReliaSolve and developed in collaboration with a productive community of contributors. It is described more fully at vrpn.orgArchived 2022-07-09 at the Wayback Machine and in VRPN-VRST.
The Novation Launchpad is an electronic music multi-button controller for the popular live control application Ableton Live, featuring a grid of 64 (8x8) brightly illuminated square buttons. Each button can be assigned to a clip,. Additional modes allow Automap control of features and mixer control.
Maschine is a hardware/software digital audio workstation developed by Native Instruments. Maschine consists of a controller that connects to the included sequencing software, which can be installed on any compatible computer or laptop.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) is a video game controller designed by Microsoft for Windows PCs and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S video game consoles. The controller was designed for people with disabilities to help make user input for video games more accessible.