A real-time digital signal processing system for bioelectric control of music

A new approach to creating music is described in which bioelectric signals detected by small disk electrodes placed on the skin are digitally processed and subsequently used to generate musical control sequences in the form of standard musical instrument digital interface, (MIDI) code. Several algorithms for the TMS320C25 are described in which signals from the muscles, the eyes, and the brain are processed and then used to control sound generation, localization, and timbre. Algorithm design focuses on extracting appropriate properties of the bioelectric signal to afford the user maximum control over the desired musical outcome. As a consequence, properties such as the long-term spectral content and the overall amplitude envelope of the signals are found to be more important than the stochastic short-term amplitude information. Applications of this device are discussed