Audiopad

2003

James Patten (US)
Ben Recht (US)

Try your hand at being a DJ—“Audiopad” lets you experiment with electronic music, develop new tonal variations from samples provided, and create digital effects.

“Audiopad” is a composition and performance instrument for electronic music that tracks the position of objects on a tabletop and renders their movements as music. The user can choose from among a big selection of sound samples, juxtapose recorded tracks with synthetic melodies, mix drum loops to new beats and, at the same time, invoke digital effects right on the table. The installation not only permits spontaneous reinterpretation of musical compositions; it also makes possible a dialog between instrument, artist and audience.

The Audiopad table gives the performer access to three different objects for the creation of sound. A “track” stands for a part of a composition such as the melody or the percussion, whereby each “track” contains numerous sound samples. The volume of each “track” can be regulated with the “microphone”—the ones that are closer to the microphone are louder than those further away. This spatial mixing technique enables the artist to regulate the level of several different “tracks” simultaneously, which is more difficult to do with conventional mixing console instrumentation. With the help of the “modifier,” the user can change the sound of each individual “track,” control digital effects and select new samples for the “tracks.”

Every movement of the objects on the table is depicted graphically. For example, every “track” is surrounded by a rotating colored arc that reflects changes in volume and tempo. Samples that the artist has designated to be related to the one currently running are identified by an arc next to the “track.” In this way, the user can quickly jump from one related sample to the next by simply shifting the “track” between them elsewhere.

“Audiopad” is thus not only an instrument for the playback of a composition; it is also its embodiment. The interaction between the graphic representation, the objects on the table, and the artist provides the audience with a close-up view of the realization of a piece of music.

Audiopad was developed at the MIT Media Lab.