A Physically Intuitive Haptic Drumstick

We motivate and discuss the design of a physically intu-itive haptic drumstick. A new musical instrument is phys-ically intuitive if the physics of haptic interaction are simi-lar to those supported by a traditional musical instrument. We suggest that physically intuitive new musical instru-ments may help performers transfer motor skills from fa-miliar, traditional musical instruments. Both actively con-trolled acoustic instruments and many haptic instruments are physically intuitive. We design a physically intuitive haptic drumstick. Simple models of drumstick dynam-ics and drumstick/membrane collisions are explained and implemented on a high-resolution haptic device. Next, we create a new musical instrument by altering the hap-tic drumstick dynamics in a physically intuitive manner. We focus on drum rolls. In particular, we alter the haptic drumstick dynamics to assist performers in playing single-handed drum rolls. Finally, we analyze the stability of the altered system dynamics using a Poincare ́ map. 1