Modern music-making tools such as synthesizers give musicians many options to create any sound they want. However, these tools can be hard to understand for people without prior musical experience because of their complex features. I believe that tangible user interfaces and embodied interaction create an opportunity for making easy-to-understand interfaces. Music-making devices often use the same interaction for multiple functions, such as sliding or twisting, but designing specific interactions allows the form to explain the function inherently.

In this project, I explored the potential of tangible interfaces in electronic music-making by making many prototypes and comparing them. TACT brings these interactions together into one prototype. It allows its user to compose a simple melody and set other musical parameters through a tangible interface.

With this project, I broadened my perspective on how tangible and embodied interaction can be applied to music making. This project was done in collaboration with Dato Musical Instruments, the functionality of TACT is heavily based on their Dato DUO synthesizer. This collaboration taught me more about designing for manufacturing and the implementation of sound in prototypes, and about how designers work in companies, which was a valuable experience for me.