Jim Plamondon

Gentlepersons, Thumtronics Ltd will be announcing the details of its new electronic musical instrument, the Thummer, in early November -- details which may be of particular interest to the concertina community. You may recall a similar posting, some months ago, from Jamatronics, regarding the Jammer; the company and product have been renamed Thumtronics and the Thummer respectively for trademark reasons. Same product, same company, new names. In the meantime, you can find a very detailed discussion of the Thummer's keyboard, and the implications of its characteristics to music theory and music education, in a PowerPoint presentation at www.thumtronics.com/isomorphism.ppt. This presentation requires that PowerPoint be installed. (I am investigating ways of providing this information without requiring a special viewer; Impatica looks good.) The Thummer uses a Wicki/Hayden keyboard layout, for reasons described in the PowerPoint presentation. This layout (and a few closely-related layouts) have very interesting musical properties that go well beyond "having the same fingering in all keys" -- especially when combined with electronic transposition, and when the degrees of the current key's diatonic scale are held in fixed locations. Should the Thummer prove to be popular -- as expert opinion suggests that it should -- members of the concertina-playing community (especially those familair with the Hayden layout) will have a head-start on exploiting this rising demand for their expertise. I hope that you will consider taking advantage of this opportunity. Finally, please let me thank the concertina community for bringing the Wicki/Hayden layout to my attention, and especially thank Brian Hayden for his independent invention of it, which revived it from obscurity. This layout is a powerful embodiment of the principle of isomorphism, and its geometry underlies all of Thumtronics' other innovations. Thanks! :-) Jim Plamondon CEO, Thumtronics Ltd The New Shape of Music www.thumtronics.com P.S.: I asked for beta-testers in a previous posting, and many of you volunteered, which I appreciate. Beta-testing will commence in November.

Competition? Bring it on.

Gentlepersons, Jamatronics is seeking beta-testers of its new electronic musical instrument, the Thummer. Details of the instrument's design are still confidential, however, you can read what others are saying about Jamatronics' musical innovations -- which go well beyond the Thummer itself -- here: www.jamatronics.com. Being comfortable with MIDI is required, and experience with the Hayden layout duet concertina is preferred (although anyone who already plays more than one concertina layout is welcome). Interested in being a beta tester? Please let us know by sending an email to tester(at)jamatronics.com. Thanks! Jim Plamondon CEO, Jamatronics The New Shape of Music