Back in the 90’s Leonello Tarabella moved his first steps with gesture control technology in the Lab of Signal and Images at National Council of Research in Italy, continuing the work of his maestro Pietro Grossi who is considered the italian pioneer of electronic and computer music.
The interactive devices through which Tarabella performs computer music are two:
the first one is called Palm Driver and is based on infrared beams getting information on heights and rotations of the hands.
the second one is called Handel and is based on real-time processing of grabbed video images; a video projector creates background scenarios where the performer places and moves his hands.
In both the systems the information produced is sent to a computer creating an interactive computer music performance by controlling sound processing and sound synthesis both affecting melody, timber or effects.