Synthesist Josh Madoff is a fan of the ContinuuMini – one of Haken Audio’s unique expressive synthesizers.
The ContinuuMini, like all of Haken Audio’s instruments, is designed to support very precise performance control. Taking advantage of these capabilities requires practice, so Madoff created this video to demonstrate his approach to building performance techniques for the ContinuuMini.
Here’s what he has to say about the video:
“I made an in depth guide to practicing the Haken ContinuuMini.
There’s a fun intro, with lots of examples of musical performance and sound design. The guide goes over setup, then in-depth tutorials for practicing dynamics, vibrato, scales, and arpeggios.
I wanted to help people unlock the musical potential of their ContinuuMinis and encourage more musicians and hobbyists to try out one of my favorite instruments/sound design tools. (I don’t work for Haken, just a big fan).”
You can find out more about the ContinuuMini at the Haken site.
Very nice and useful video: it also gives a good idea of how versatile de ContinuuMini is. Thanks Josh !
My Pleasure! Glad it can help!
Josh clearly has solid chops has earned his connection to this instrument through some serious hours.
This type of technique video for an “alternative” controller is quite rare. Seems like the assumption is that if you aren’t playing a traditional instrument, you probably don’t have the patience to practice, anyway. But of course, that’s not true. In any case, the controller and the sound engine do require a person to play with control and consistency; and if there aren’t established techniques for that instrument, you may have to find them on your own.
I did put in some hours for sure, but it was really fun. I got my ContinuuMini from the Kickstarter and there wasn’t any established technique out there yet, so it really felt like I was exploring brand new territory. In my own nerdy way, it was very exciting.
This really hammered home to me why I hate playing my Roli Seaboard. I haven’t spent the time playing the scales with different finger combinations. I’m fine playing and then I want to play some kind of run and I’m fumbling all over the place and hitting wildly out of tune notes. I also like how this has pointed out to me how the continua’s level playing surface could be better than the raised keys of the seaboard. Thanks for the tutorial!
Glad it was helpful!