The [hid] toolkit is a set of software objects for designing computer-based gestural instruments. All too frequently, computer-based performers are tied to the keyboard-mouse-monitor model, narrowly constraining the range of possible gestures. A multitude of gestural input devices are readily available, making it easy to utilize a broader range of gestures. Human Interface Devices (HIDs) such as joysticks, tablets, and gamepads are cheap and can be good musical controllers. Some even provide haptic feedback. The [hid] toolkit provides a unified, consistent framework for getting gestural data from these devices, controlling the feedback, and mapping this data to the desired output. The [hid] toolkit is built in Pd, which provides an ideal platform for this work, combining the ability to synthesize and control audio and video. The addition of easy access to gestural data allows for rapid prototypes. A usable environment also makes computer music instrument design accessible to novices.

Computer music performance environments have evolved greatly in recent years, allowing complex control and interaction with sound in real time. But the interaction has too frequently been tied to the keyboard-mouse-monitor model, narrowly constraining the range of possible gestures the performer can use. The range of human interface devices has also greatly increased, making it much easier for the computer musician to capture a broader range of gestures. Pd provides an ideal platform for this work, combining sound and visual synthesis and control with easy access to many external devices for interfacing with humans. Pd is a high level programming language, making it usable by people of varying technical skill. This paper provides an overview of the numerous methods of interfaces with humans using Pd.

StickMusic is an instrument comprised of two haptic devices, a joystick and a mouse, which control a phase vocoder in real time. The purpose is to experiment with ideas of how to apply haptic feedback when controlling synthesis algorithms that have no direct analogy to methods of generating sound in the physical world.