MusicRadar

Multitouch control of your music software could soon be a reality.

View in gallery

It would be hard to dispute the fact that software has forever changed the way we make music, but the one area in which it has always fallen short of old-school gear is that of hands-on control.

In terms of functionality, software can do everything that hardware did and much more, but there's no getting away from the fact that the knobs and faders you see on your screen aren't actually real.

Manufacturers have attempted to get around this limitation by producing hardware devices featuring controls that mirror those we look at on our displays, and to an extent, they've been pretty successful. Being able to actually push and grab controls – sometimes more than one at a time – has certainly helped to make the computer music making experience more satisfying, and integration is ever-improving.

Novation's Automap technology, for example, takes much of the tedium out of assigning controllers, but while it's about as good as it gets right now, it's still not the 'perfect' solution that musicians dream of. Yes, it's great to get a sense that the software is at your fingertips, but it's not the same as being able to reach out and touch your DAW and plug-ins for real.

However, this idea is starting to become a reality, for it seems that we are at last entering the era of the multitouch interface, with new technology giving users hands-on control over several on-screen parameters at once.

What is it?

For the unfamiliar, a multitouch display is a touchscreen that can interpret more than one finger-press at once. This allows for such neat tricks as using two fingers to 'pinch' on-screen items, or zooming by sliding fingers apart, as seen on Apple's iPhone. Over the next few years, this technology is set to take off in a big way, and its impact on computer music could be huge.

JazzMutant is the best-known bearer of the computer music multitouch torch, thanks to its Lemur and Dexter devices. JazzMutant's Communications Consultant Gareth Williams sees big advantages to multitouch, and touchscreens in general.

"Touchscreens are completely dynamic, which means that only the controls you need at any one time are presented to you," he says. "With touchscreens, you can have several interfaces in one box. If you want a whole interface dedicated to the plug-ins on the effects return, then you can. And you don't have to go and buy another controller to do so."

In addition, Williams also believes that the Lemur gives the user more creative options. "The control objects are not limited by real world physics, so there's no reason to follow the traditional rules," he reckons. "If you want controllers that can move and oscillate as if free of gravity and friction, then you can have them. These new control paradigms and ways of interacting with sound can generate very fluid, organic live automation."

Around the web: