The ThumMusic System (a) abstracts the display and control of musical information to the level at which music theory operates — intervals — and (b) anchors this display in the concrete geometry of the Thummer’s keyboard.
http://www.thummer.com/blog/2007/09/thummusic-system.html

The result is to music what the Periodic Table of the Elements is to chemistry. Just as the invention of the Periodic Table led to the discovery of new facts about chemistry, so has the invention of the Thummer led to new discoveries in music. One of these, “tuning invariance,” has recently been described in the cover article of the Winter 2007 edition of MIT Press’ peer-reviewed Computer Music Journal:
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2007.31.4.15

Tuning invariance, coupled with the expressive power of the Thummer’s thumb-operated joysticks and internal motion sensors, enables the expansion of the frameork of tonal harmony to include wide new frontiers for creative exploration. This expansion is accomplished through novel musical effects — such as polyphonic tuning bends, new chord progressions, and temperament modulations — that deliver entirely new musical possibilities, while retaining the simple diatonic structure demanded by the mainstream marketplace.

Best of all, these new effects are brain-dead simple to control. You just wiggle a joystick, and cool new effects happen. No music theory required. The geometry of the Thummer’s keyboard “knows” music theory, so you don’t have to.

In short, the Thummer is not just another curious new keyboard. It is part of a systematic effort to grow the market by increasing the rate at which novices gain the knowledge and skills needed for music-making.
http://www.thummer.com/blog/2007/10/growing-market.html

Jim Plamondon
CEO, Thumtronics Inc
The New Shape of Music(tm)
http://www.thummer.com