The Tumbtronics Thummer Jammer MIDI keyboard

With a name like Thummer Jammer you know it's gunna be good, but the PR from Thumbtronics seems just a tad over the top, with claims like the device will change the world of music as much as the piano, and that the Thummer will benefit all Australians. It's basically just an oddly set-up MIDI keyboard, with small joysticks for modding the noise, and lots of tiny keys to pump out the tunes. Seems like there would be quite the learning curve to make any sensible music with this thing, but we guess the same could be said for the piano, so it's got that going for it.

[Via Music Thing]

[Jim Plamondon @ Jan 10th 2006 6:23AM]

Dear Mr. Miller,



I appreciate your mentioning Thumtronics' new Thummer(tm)-brand jammer on engadget.com.



You mentioned that Thumtronics' claim that "the jammer could change the world of music as much as the piano" seemed just a tad over the top. I suppose that the same criticism could have been laid against Cristofori's claim that being able to play both "soft and loud" (piano and forte) could be a significant improvement over the harpsichord and organ. Yet the jammer provides a greater increase in expressive potential over the piano-style keyboard than the piano-style keyboard provided over the harpsichord or organ.



You also mentioned that "Seems like there would be quite the learning curve to make any sensible music with this thing." Although there is a learning curve with all musical instruments, the jammer has the potential to be easier to learn than most other instruments, due to the consistency of its note-layout (see http://www.thummer.com/thummusic3.asp). Indeed, many experienced music educators are saying that the jammer's ease-of-learning could be significant step forward in music education (see http://www.thummer.com/reviews.asp).



The piano also made an impact in part because its duller tone was better-suited to equal-temperament than the brighter tone of the harpsichord, making equal temperament -- and therefore key modulations -- more appealing on the piano. This ability to sound (relatively) good in equal-temperament expanded the musical horizons of piano players relative to harpsichord players. Yet the jammer offers a an even greater expansion of musical horizons, through its consistent fingering in all tunings in the meantone family and ability to affect that tuning on the fly as a compositional and/or expressive effect.



In all three of these issues -- expressive power, expansion of musical horizons, and especially ease of learning -- the jammer has a wider lead over the piano-style keyboard than the piano had over the harpsichord.



Therefore, it is entirely reasonably to conclude that the jammer has the potential to change the world of music as much as -- or even more than -- the piano.



I hope that the readers of this forum will take the opportunity to visit http://www.thummer.com, read about the jammer, view demos of it in action, and make up their own minds about its potential.



Thanks! :-)



Jim Plamondon

CEO, Thumtronics Ltd

The New Shape of Music(tm)