This controller began to be developed in 2006 by Jaime Oliver in collaboration with percussionist Matthew Jenkins as a percussion controller, thought to be hit by mallets within a percussion setup; hence the look of a drum and the name Silent Drum. However, through further experimentation and development, a hand technique was revealed possible.

The Silent Drum Controller is a transparent drum shell with an elastic head. As one presses it, the head deforms and a variety of shapes with peaks are created reflecting the shape of the mallet or hand. These shapes are captured by a video camera that sends these images to the computer, which analyzes them and outputs the tracked parameters.

On Feb-28 2009, it received the 1st prize in the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology (GTCMT).

Click here to download the ICMC08 publication.

Click here to download the source code and help patch for pix_drum.

Click here to see the notation strategy.

Click here to see the tracked parameters.

Here is a demo video of some of the drum's features and a few mappings.

(good speakers will help)

For videos of works using the drum check ``Silent Construction I'' (2009), ``Flotante'' (2007-8) and ``For Michel Waisvisz - domeyer366'' (2008) in recent work.

This is the latest piece done with the drum:``Silent Construction I'' (2009), this is a work in process:

These are links to comments on this work:

http://www.philippemanoury.com/?page_id=2354

The following are links to press reviews of the drum and the contest: English: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS127889+09-Mar-2009+PRN20090309 http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/11/jaime-olivers-silent-drum-rocks-the-guthman-musical-instrument/ http://www.gizmag.com/silent-drum-musical-instrument/11205/ http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mods/multimedia/2009/03/gallery_instruments?slide=2&slideView=2 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10193278-1.html http://www.whistle.gatech.edu/archives/09/mar/9/guthman.shtml http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/jaime-oliver-cooks-up-prize-winning-silent-drum-199799?cpn=RSS&source=MRNEWS Castellano: http://www.larepublica.pe/fama/15/03/2009/peruano-invento-el-tambor-silencioso http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/noticia/258619/premian-peruano-que-logro-controlar-sonido-electronico-movimiento-manos http://www.webdelhombre.com/2009/03/video-silent-drum-un-tambor-digital-que-no-usa-baquetas-sino-tu-dedo

 

Below are a diagram and some photographs, to see larger versions click on the images or contact me

_Photos Silent ConPstPphotouction I - Fotos Construción Silenciosa I

photos above: Diego Oliver: fotos arriba

Photos below: Jaime Oliver / Matt Jenkins : fotos debajo