PerForm: Deformable Interface for Exploring Sound through Shapes

Abstract

© 2018 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). UPDATED—22 February 2018. In this paper, we describe a novel electronic musical interface, consisting of a strand-like object that can be physically transformed by bending to create various shapes and signifiers. Users are encouraged to explore a visual language in a musical context, as each new shape portrays a different musical instrument with unique sonic behavior. We apply concepts from research in the area of cross-modal perception as guidance for mapping shapes and signifiers to corresponding sounds.