Keyboard controller players use the Mod Wheel for controlling Volume Level (soft and loud) but it takes quite a bit of effort to learn to do it easily.

It is far more natural to use breath, just as in speaking or singing, and therefore Breath Controllers are the ideal device to allow the Keyboard Controller player to play Virtual Wind & Brass Instruments far more naturally. The first keyboard Breath controller was made by Yamaha to work with their very popular keyboard synth (forgot the name)and it is no longer made.

TEC's USB Breath Controller was designed to work by plugging into your computer, so that it is no longer limited in compatibility to any keyboard. There are other companies that make breath controllers but TEC's is probably the most flexible and lowest cost ($120).

Since the device plugs into the computer it also allows adjusting a lot of parameters including the Velocity Transfer Curve, the shape of which allows you to specify the sensitivity etc.

The newest version now has Breath and Bite control (BBC 2 $200), brings control features well known to Sax and Clarinet players (do double reed players bite?), who use changing jaw pressure on the reed to produce vibrato. In addition, they have added sensors to signal inclination.

I quote:
Four completely independent MIDI streams generate data corresponding to the physical variables sensed by each of the sensors:

The built-in piezoelectric transducer senses breath pressure
The bite sensor senses the the force applied to the mouthpiece by teeth or lips
The integrated accelerometer senses the inclination of the device along two axes (Nod for up/down and Tilt for lateral head movements). The neutral Nod and Tilt positions can also be calibrated as required, even not horizontally.


Please be aware that I have no connection to TEC, and no incentive to promote their stuff, anymore than I love to tell everyone about Band-in-a-Box. It's simply my passion for disseminating information about great stuff.


Here is the link:
http://www.tecontrol.se/products/usb-midi-breath-bite-controller-2

If you already use a TEC please add your experience with this device.

Thanks,

Dan

My soundcloud page using EWI with samplemodeling virtual instruments is found here:
https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Last edited by Dan Tong; 03/28/17 12:55 PM.