X_System

Milne, Andrew; Sethares, William A. and Plamondon, James (2006). X_System. Thumtronics Inc., Austin, Texas, USA.

URL: http://www.thummer.com/ThumTone/X_System.pdf

Abstract

The X_System makes the playing, writing, and learning of music – even when using unconventional tunings – more intuitive, more logical, more expressive, and better sounding.
The X_System allows for:
• different temperaments to be chosen at the flick of a switch;
• tunings to be dynamically altered at the push of a lever;
• the use of a special hexagonal button-field that allows for any given interval or chord always to have the same shape on that button-field;
• consonant chords to have their consonance maximised, whatever the tuning actually chosen;
• radical changes to be made to the timbral character of tones using a minimal number of controls;
• a choice of keyboard mappings, which enable for the balance between number of intervals and octaves to be altered.

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