The MSCI Platform: A Framework for the Design and Simulation of Multisensory Virtual Musical Instruments

Abstract

This chapter presents recent work concerning physically modelled virtual musical instruments and force feedback. Firstly, we discuss fundamental differences in the gesture–sound relationship between acoustic instruments and digital musical instruments, the former being linked by dynamic physical coupling, the latter by transmission and processing of information and control signals. We then present an approach that allows experiencing physical coupling with virtual instruments, using the CORDIS-ANIMA physical modelling formalism, synchronous computation and force-feedback devices. To this end, we introduce a framework for the creation and manipulation of multisensory virtual instruments, called the MSCI platform. In particular, we elaborate on the cohabitation, within a single physical model, of sections simulated at different rates. Finally, we discuss the relevance of creating virtual musical instruments in this manner, and we consider their use in live performance.