TEDx
Intuitive interfaces make all the difference when dealing with interactivity. If someone can't quickly, subconsciously grasp how to manipulate the functions of a piece, it's useless. How can we use such a fun interface to bring down the barrier between participant and performer?
Using Max/MSP, Ableton Live, & Touch Designer, we took wireless, USB Guitar Hero Controllers and turned them into an intuitive interface for manipulating audio-visual events during a performance by Matt Davis and Peter Sistrom on 04.12.2011.
![](https://c09bc2.p3cdn2.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NTM-TedxUSC-Screengrab-Edit-1-1024x557.jpg)
We accessed the trigger buttons, gyroscopic accelerometer, and whammy bar so participants could play samples, manipulate them with effects, and move their visual counterparts around by twisting the controllers.
Here’s a look at the Max/MSP control system. It takes USB input from the controllers, as well as OSC from Matt’s iPhone, and converts the data to MIDI:
![](https://c09bc2.p3cdn2.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/max_screenshot.jpeg?time=1721952284)