Virtual instrument crafting and instrumental interaction. A physical approach to digital musical instruments

This paper proposes a reflexion concerning instrumental musical gestures, their nature and how they transpose into the digital world. First, we discuss the fundamental difference in the gesture-sound relationship between acoustic instruments and digital musical instruments, the former being linked by a dynamical physical coupling, the latter by transmission and processing of information and signals. We then present an approach allowing experiencing physical coupling with virtual instruments, using the CORDIS-ANIMA physical modelling system and force feedback devices. In particular, we elaborate on the cohabitation and physical coupling of physical models simulated at different rates. Finally, we present examples of virtual instruments developed with this approach and discuss the relevance of creating such a physical connexion to instruments in the digital context.