Between graduating and starting my position as a PhD student, I worked as an educator and programmer for the art project “Jetzt! 2011”. In the course of this project I programmed three computer applications — keySound, stepSound and flySound. These applications allowed a group of teenagers to create free improvised computer music by playing with game joysticks, stepping on a USB dancing mat or by pressing the keys of a laptop keyboard. As the software was developed for kids and teenagers, I focused on a good balance between simplicity and flexibility. Sound samples can be triggered by pressing keyboard keys, pushing joystick buttons or by jumping on the dancing mat. Furthermore, the playback speed and panning of the samples can be altered by moving the joystick.Samples can be added by simply dragging them onto the application and dropping them on the intended key/button/dancing mat field. The software was developed with Max/MSP and runs on both Windows and Mac OS X. It was iteratively tested and improved throughout the project. If you are interested in using the software for educational purposes, please contact me.
The software was used live on stage both in Jetzt!2011 and in Jetzt!2012. Learn more about the annual Jetzt! projects and Open-Music here: www.open-music.eu
