Wind controller

A wind controller, sometimes referred to as a "wind synth", or "wind synthesizer", is a wind instrument capable of controlling one or more music synthesizers or other devices. 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. One form of wind controller, the hardware-based variety, uses electronic sensors to convert fingering, breath pressure, bite pressure, finger pressure, and other gesture information into control signals. Another form of wind controller uses software to convert the acoustic sound of an unmodified wind instrument directly into MIDI messages. In either case, 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, softsynths, sequencers, or even lighting systems.

Since a wind controller usually does not make a sound on its own, it must be connected to a sound generating device such as a MIDI or analog synthesizer which is connected to an amplifier. For this reason, a wind controller can sound like almost anything depending on the capabilities of the connected sound generator. However, EWI models like the Akai 4000S have a true sound output, as well as a Midi output. The fingering and shape of the controller put no acoustic limitations on how the wind controller sounds. For example, a wind controller can be made to sound like a trumpet, saxophone, violin, piano, pipe organ, choir, or even a barnyard rooster.

The first widely played wind controller was the Lyricon from Computone which was designed around 1971 by Bill Bernardi with Roger Noble. The Lyricon was based on the fingerings of the saxophone and used a similar mouthpiece. It set the standard for hardware-based wind controllers with a number of features that have been preserved in today's MIDI wind controllers, including the ability to correctly interpret the expressive use of reed articulation, breath-controlled dynamics, and embouchure-controlled pitch variation. The Lyricon also expanded the playing range several octaves beyond the accustomed range for woodwind players. Tone generation on the Lyricon was limited to a dedicated analog synthesizer designed specifically to interpret various wired analog outputs from the instrument. The original version synth was a unique design, offering control of individual partials. Later, they produced the Lyricon II - a more conventional 2 VCO synth - and the Wind Driver controller, a voiceless controller to control other synths. Notable early recording artists on the Lyricon include Roland Kirk and Tom Scott. Third-party adaptations would later bring the Lyricon into the MIDI era.

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