electronic instrument design that emulates traditional instrument design must be wary of the fact that traditional instruments have been created through a mixture of psychoacoustic analysis of the most aesthetic shape of a phsyical object, performer usability, and happenstance. the third being in some cases playing a very significant role in how the performer relates to the instrument. the violin is a very good example. if you put it on a stick and stuck it the ground, it would be an entirely different playing experience with different gestures and different companion gestures. in fact the design of the instrument over time would have evolved differently. obviously in many cases the design of traditional instruments is the result of a great history of research and development but in some cases, it is very feasible to see where things could have gone differently. i don't want to do the research.

that being said. bahn and hahn and trueman give a very clear and compelling argument for the design of "composed" instruments that mimic the designs of tradition. however should we not be looking further (which they do to a degree) into the shapes of our bodies and our minds to create new instruments that fit us like the proverbial glove?

this brings up the point that is tantamount to my personal research, that being. when we can choose to design instruments that fit us perfectly where to we DECIDE the line is drawn between ease of use and a standard of proficiency?

do we create things that allow children to express whatever comes to mind with the utmost "ease of use" or do we traipse off into uncharted waters of redefining a level of difficulty for a new expressive tool?

the continuum:

easy as breathing -------------------------------> hard as doing timed calculus problems in your head?

what is culturally common knowledge that is difficult. subjectivity aside. translation is hard. speaking different languages. seeing things from a multifarce of perspectives. what else...

endurance... physically sustaining situations. such as 5 hour classes. or 3 hour classes with people that don't know how to teach. ok. gottago.