aim/README.md

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# **Towards a universal button grid interface**
## And it's open implementation
Thibaud Keller
[Maynooth University](https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/) - [ossia.io](https://ossia.io)
*made with [marp](https://marp.app)*

![bg right:40%](images/deluge-slider-2.jpg)
![bg](images/UGS.png)
![bg blur:2px](images/monome-gridlab.jpg)

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# An enduring practice

- Thoroughly documented at LMU Munich by Beat Rossmy [[1]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.563bfea9),
with Alexander Wiethoff [[2]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.6a2451e6), Maximilian Rauh[[3]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.db84ecd0)
and Sebastian Unger [[4]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.303223db).

- With a dedicated course at Berklee college of Music
"Grid Controller Studies" ISEL-112 [[5]](https://github.com/stretta/gridlab)

- And an active community of artists and developers [[6]](https://llllllll.co/tag/grid)
Due, in part, to the open source, and open-ended nature of monome's grid

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# The monome way

![w:540](images/monome-gridlab.jpg) ![h:297](images/grids.jpg)
As presented in [Maker Stories [7]](https://stories.maker.co/monome-open-source-tools-for-music-makers).

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# Origins of backlit button grids

![bg vertical right:40% 70%](images/202edited.png)
![bg 70%](images/sp808_gal.jpg)

1998 - SP series (202 & 808)
Performance samplers

The grid allows:
- Sampling and triggering
- Copy and paste
- Step recording

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![bg 67%](images/grid_releases.svg)

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# Notable instruments and sequencers

- 2007 - Tenori-on, Yamaha
- 2014 - BeatStep, Arturia
Circadian Rhythm, Tip Top audio (eurorack)
- 2015 - Circuit, Novation
Pocket operators, Teenage Engineering (hand held)
- 2016 - Deluge, Synthstrom (open source)
- 2017 - Seq, Polyend (wide)
- 2019 - Zoia, Empress (nodal patcher)
- 2023 - Push 3, Ableton (export to and from a PC)

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# Notable controllers

- 2006 - 40h, monome (open source)
- 2009 - launchpad, Novation
- 2013 - Push, Ableton
- 2014 - Untztrument, Adafruit (open source)
- 2015 - Linstrument, Roger Lynn (continuous surface)
- 2019 - Grid, Intech Studio (modular)
- 2020 - Mine S, Special Waves (modular)

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Interesting, but Idealy, a library should work with any controller out of the box-->

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# Notable libraries

- [libmonome](https://github.com/monome/libmonome/tree/main)
- [mixxx](https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/tree/main/res/controllers)
- [AbletonLive12_MIDIRemoteScripts](https://github.com/gluon/AbletonLive12_MIDIRemoteScripts)
- [DrivenByMoss](https://github.com/git-moss/DrivenByMoss)
- [OpenAV-Ctrla](https://github.com/openAVproductions/openAV-Ctlra)
- [SDL_GameControllerDB](https://github.com/mdqinc/SDL_GameControllerDB)

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# Problem

- A majority of closed source, proprietary hardware.
- Either a blank slate (monome), or overly standardized practices
- Software specific libraries, with divergent approaches
- Many overlapping features

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# The issue with menus

The case of the
Yamaha FS1R [[8]](https://fs1r.skerjanc.de/)
and the dread of
"menu diving"

![bg right:50% 105%](images/controller-b-fur-yamaha-fs1r-730x548.jpg)

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# Button grids can be:

- Keyboards / drum pads
- Step sequencers
- "Clip" launchers (Ardour (Ableton))
- Arangement views (Deluge)
- Routing matrixes (Deluge)
- Rudimentary waveform cropers (Deluge)
- Text displays (Launchapd)
- Basic spin boxes (Circuit)
- Nodal patchers (Zoia) ...

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# Tangible timelines

![w:540](images/UGS.png) ![w:540](images/superbrain.jpg)
Samuel J. Hunt's [UGS](https://iv.nboeck.de/watch?v=KHFJPfa38wY) [[9]](https://doi.org/10.1145/3411109.3411122) & Beat Rossmy's [SuperBrain](https://vimeo.com/546873594)

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# Byond

![w:540](images/UGS.png) ![w:540](images/superbrain.jpg)
Beat Rossmy's [COMB](https://vimeo.com/231299236) & Beat Rossmy's [COMB](https://vimeo.com/231299236)

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# Honorable mentiones

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# Chalenge

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# Aproche

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# Implementation

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# Bibliographie

[[1]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.563bfea9) Rossmy, B. “Buttons, Sliders, and Keys – A Survey on Musical Grid Interface Standards.” In International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2022.

[[2]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.6a2451e6) Rossmy, B., & Wiethoff, A. “Musical Grid Interfaces: Past, Present, and Future Directions.” In International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2021.

[[3]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.db84ecd0) Rossmy, B., Rauh, M., & Wiethoff, A. “Towards User Interface Guidelines for Musical Grid Interfaces.” In International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2022.

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[[4]](https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.db84ecd0) Rossmy, B., Unger, S., & Wiethoff, A. “TouchGrid – Combining Touch Interaction with Musical Grid Interfaces.” In International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2021.

[[5]](https://github.com/stretta/gridlab) Matthew Davidson, aka stretta, gridalb patches repository, June 21, 2024. https://github.com/stretta/gridlab.

[[6]](https://llllllll.co/tag/grid) Lines “Latest Grid Topics”. The monome comunity forum. https://llllllll.co/tag/grid.

[[7]](https://stories.maker.co/monome-open-source-tools-for-music-makers) Maker Stories. “Monome / Open Source Tools for Music Makers.” https://stories.maker.co/monome-open-source-tools-for-music-makers.

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[[8]](https://fs1r.skerjanc.de/) Robert Skerjanc, “HARDWARE-CONTROLLER FOR YAMAHA FS1R,” August 26, 2023. https://fs1r.skerjanc.de/.

[[9]](https://doi.org/10.1145/3411109.3411122) Hunt, Samuel J. “Exploring Polyrhythms, Polymeters, and Polytempi with the Universal Grid Sequencer Framework.” In Proceedings of the 15th International Audio Mostly Conference, 101–6. AM ’20. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2020.