User:Tfbt/Monome



Monome is a family of interface devices for computers, made by a Pennsylvania company of the same name. Despite being produced irregularly in small quantities since its introduction in 2006, the Monome button-grid controller has had a significant impact on electronic music. Together with the physically similar Yamaha Tenori-On, which was released a year later in 2007, the monome inspired interest in minimalist, grid-based music controllers throughout the industry, which resulted in hobbyist projects like the Arduinome and commercial products like the Akai APC40 , the Novation Launchpad , and the Livid Instruments Block and Ohm64.

Monome devices do not produce any sound on their own; they must be connected to a computer. A core design principle of the Monome is that it is not intended for any one specific application. The function of each button and which lights are lit are completely up to the software communicating with the device with the Open Sound Control protocol. Since 2006, several models have been produced, with typical sizes ranging from 64 to 256 buttons -- plus a very limited run of 512-button devices. In 2011, the first non-grid controller in the Monome family was introduced, the Monome Arc.

On August 31, 2009, singer Imogen Heap performed on the David Letterman show with a Monome atop her grand piano. Letterman was intrigued by the device, and, while playing with it, joked that he was using it "to Twitter Ashton Kutcher."