Tquencer: A Tangible Musical Sequencer Using Overlays

This article discusses the design and implementation of the Tquencer, a tangible musical sequencer device. The tangible interaction paradigm for musical sequencers has been explored previously trough the arrangement of simple tangible tokens within time-based physical constraints. While this initial approach allows for the creation of basic rhythmic or melodic loops, it sometimes lacks the musical depth required for professional live performance. Therefore we introduce several additional physical design elements that allow the development of musical complexity, while maintaining the overall simplicity of tangible interaction. These tangible elements include single-step, multi-step and resizable tokens, which can be arranged to trigger musical events, multi-step sound effects and more complex sequence patterns. Furthermore the device also allows the dynamic assignment of the content and behavior of physical tokens through dedicated configuration tokens. We also introduce tangible overlays, which allow the handling and arrangement of multiple musical configurations in various layers. This token configuration and layer management is facilitated by an additional control step, which allows for the overall tangible configuration of a musical setup. Apart from its primary musical application scenario, the Tquencer also provides a generic tangible controller platform for time-based sequencing applications.