The award-winning Soundbeam sonic MIDI controller system may be unfamiliar to many people, but it's now over a decade old, having first seen the light of day in 1989. It has built a well-established and dedicated user base, with more than 1500 systems now in use worldwide and I am a Soundbeam Artiste.
The Soundbeam (and its earlier incarnation, the original Soundbeam) was designed by Robin Wood and the EMS team for Edward and Judy Williams of The Soundbeam Project and so far it has primarily been used in special schools and in conjunction with children and adults with disabilities or restricted physical movement.
Described somewhat confusingly by The Soundbeam Project as "an invisible expanding keyboard in space", the Soundbeam is not in itself a musical instrument -- it's an alternative way of playing any MIDI-controllable instrument, although saying the SB is just a MIDI controller is a little like saying a Moog modular system is just a synth.
The SB is more than a simple controller; it is a unique and extremely versatile performance instrument, which translates any physical movement into MIDI controller messages.
The Soundbeam is a wonderfully versatile and unique performance instrument capable of allowing outstanding MIDI manipulations and interactions.
It can create music from people who have never played an instrument or create your own performance for dance or theatre.
You become the conductor -the music- the artiste by creating your own music on any instrument the only limit is your own creativity
