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Wind controller

A wind controller, sometimes referred to as a wind synthesizer, is an electronic wind instrument. It is usually a MIDI controller associated with one or more music synthesizers.[1] Wind controllers are most commonly played and fingered like a woodwind instrument, usually the saxophone, with the next most common being brass fingering, particularly the trumpet. Models have been produced that play and finger like other acoustic instruments such as the recorder or the tin whistle. The most common form of wind controller uses electronic sensors to convert fingering, breath pressure, bite pressure, finger pressure, and other gesture or action information into control signals that affect musical sounds. The control signals or MIDI messages generated by the wind controller are used to control internal or external devices such as analog synthesizers or MIDI-compatible synthesizers, synth modules, softsynths, sequencers, or even non-instruments such as lighting systems.

Simpler breath controllers are also available. Unlike wind controllers, they do not trigger notes and are intended for use in conjunction with a keyboard or synthesizer.[2] A breath controller can be used with a keyboard MIDI controller to add articulation and expression to notes sounded on the keyboard. For example, a performer who has pressed a long-held note on the keyboard with a sustained sound, such as a string pad, could blow harder into the breath controller set to control volume to make this note crescendo or gradually blow more and more gently to make the volume die away.


Some wind controllers contain a built-in sound generator and can be connected directly to an amplifier or a set of headphones. Some even include small built-in speakers such as the Roland Aerophone series and the Akai EWI SOLO, however their small speaker systems cannot reproduce bass notes correctly or provide adequate sound levels for serious live performance, so these built in sound systems are strictly for home practice at modest playback levels. Some wind controllers such as EWI USB, Berglund NuEVI, and NuRAD are strictly "controllers" and do not make a sound on their own, and thus must be connected via MIDI or USB to a sound generating device (or a soft synth). For this reason, a wind controller can sound like almost anything (depending on the capabilities of its sound generator). Wind controller models such as the Akai EWI5000, EWI SOLO, and Roland Aerophones have built-in onboard sample sounds, as well as the MIDI and/or USB outputs. The now discontinued EWI 4000s had a DSP subtractive synthesizer built in rather than sampled instruments and so remains popular on the second hand market.


The fingering and shape of the wind controller put no acoustic limitations on how the wind controller actually sounds. For example, a wind controller can be made to sound like a trumpet, saxophone, violin, piano, pipe organ, choir, synthesizers or even a barnyard rooster. Whether designed primarily to appeal to woodwind, brass, or harmonica players, controllers can produce any virtual instrument sound. Some virtual instruments and hardware synthesizers are better suited to adaption for wind controller performance than others. A hardware or software synthesizer's suitability is largely dependent on the control options available. MIDI CC mapping options allow the player to control elements like the filter cut off via breath control for expressive dynamics. Custom patches (or presets) are required for optimal expressivity, to take advantage of the considerable benefits of wind control.

History[edit]

Predecessors[edit]

Already in the 1930s Benjamin F. Miessner was working on various electroacoustic instruments. Among these was an electroacoustic clarinet, that featured an electromagnetic pickup for the reed vibration and was connected to a variety of electronic filters. Miessner's patent from 1938[3][4] marks the birth of the electronic wind instrument family.[5]


Early experiments with fully electronic instruments started in the 1940s. Leo F. J. Arnold invented an electronic clarinet that featured an on/off-switch controlled by the human breath. This instrument is documented in Arnold's patent from 1942.[6][7][5]


The Frenchman Georges Jenny and the German engineer Ernst Zacharias played an essential role in the development of the first analog wind controllers in the 1950s. Jenny received his patent for an electronic wind instrument in 1954.[8][9] It features a breath transducer for variable volume control, that works with a piezo element. The prototypes of Zacharias, who started to work on electronic wind instruments in 1956, lead to the first commercially produced wind synthesizer – the Hohner Electra-Melodica, released in 1967.[5]

Range of expression[edit]

Due in part to their fast and sensitive key switching and breath sensing systems both the hardware and software based wind controllers put precise demands on a player who hopes to play with technical mastery. An accomplished woodwind or brass player may find that a hardware or software based wind controller will produce an unwanted note (called a "glitch") even at the slightest imperfection in fingering or articulation technique. As the better recordings show, these difficulties can be overcome with practice.


In contrast to live performance with a wind controller, and in response to these technical challenges, some "performances" in recordings are achieved through careful post-processing or note-by-note insertion and editing using a notation or sequencer program.


Virtually all current synthesizers and their sound libraries are designed to be played primarily with a keyboard controller, whereby the player often reserves one hand to manipulate the many real-time controls to determine how the instrument sounds, perhaps using a foot to manipulate an expression pedal.


Wind controller players do not have access to as many of these controls and thus are often limited in exploiting all of the potential voicings and articulation changes of their synthesizers, but the technologies of physical modeling (Yamaha VL70-m), sample modeling and hybrid technologies (SWAM engine) promise more expression control for wind controller players. Furthermore, sound designers are paying more attention to the different playing idioms in which their sounds will be used. For example, certain percussion sounds do not work well with a wind controller simply because playing a struck instrument it is not idiomatic to the woodwind, whereas synthesized instruments that model the acoustic properties of a woodwind will seem fitting and natural to a wind controller player.


A few of the many hardware (Yamaha, Roland, Akai, Kurzweill, Aodyo) and software (Native Instruments, Garritan, SampleModeling, Sample Logic, LinPlug, Audio Modeling) synthesizers provide specific support for wind controllers, and they vary widely with respect to how well they emulate acoustic wind, brass, and string instruments. The SWAM technology, devised by Audio Modeling, has specific settings for Yamaha, EWI, Sylphyo and Aerophone wind controllers and has succeeded in producing very rapid natural responsiveness with their woodwinds and bowed strings virtual instruments. Also Samplemodeling has specific settings for wind controllers on their Kontakt-based brass. That said, virtually all current synthesizers respond to MIDI continuous controllers and the data provided by wind controller breath and lip input can usually be routed to them in an expressive way.


An example of a hardware synthesizer with wind controller support is the Yamaha VL70-m which uses physical modeling synthesis. Physical modeling allows for a unique level of responsiveness to the control signals sent from a wind controller. The emulation of acoustic instrument sounds varies in quality. The VL70-m is able to connect directly to the Yamaha WX series of controllers and via MIDI to the Akai and other wind controllers. Similarly, an example of a software synthesizer with support for wind controller playing is the Zebra synthesizer from Urs Heckmann, Apple's ES2 softsynth, Korg's Mono/Poly softsynth, Audio Modeling's SWAM instruments, and many others. It is important to note that whatever synth is used, it will need to be set up with specially designed breath responsive patches for optimal response to a wind controller.

Wind controllers with saxophone fingerings[edit]

Synthophone[edit]

The Synthophone is a Wind Controller synthesizer. It is a MIDI sax offering real sax fingerings and a standard sax embouchure. The MIDI hardware allows the key action as well as breath and lip pressure to be read as MIDI data. Since it is a saxophone, the fingerings are the same with some additions - Several combinations allow real-time editing of patches and harmony. The instrument has made several appearances at the NAMM Show, including in 1997.[10]

Others[edit]

After the Synthophone, several other MIDI saxes have been released that offer real sax fingerings: in 2019 the Travel Sax by Odisei Music,[11] in 2020 the YDS-150 digital saxophone by Yamaha[12] and also in 2020 the Emeo.[13] These MIDI saxes have sensors for breath pressure to adjust the volume, but they do not read lip pressure and thus do not allow the pitch to be controlled by the embouchure or by the manner of breathing. With the YDS-150, pitch bend can be achieved using a separate input on the instrument. The Travel Sax, the YDS-150 and the Emeo provide for settings customisation using a Bluetooth-connected mobile app.

Akai EWI

Eigenharp

Lyricon

Variophon

Yamaha WX5

Wind Controller FAQ

TEControl USB MIDI Breath Controller

Breath Controller Demonstration Video

Breath Controllers

Softwind Instruments