A wind controller, also called a wind synthesizer, is an electronic wind instrument. It is often a MIDI controller that works with one or more music synthesizers. Wind controllers are usually played and fingered like a woodwind instrument, such as a saxophone. Brass fingering, like that of a trumpet, is also common. Some models can be played like other acoustic instruments, such as a recorder or tin whistle. Most wind controllers use electronic sensors to change how you press keys, blow, or use your mouth into control signals that affect musical sounds. These signals, called MIDI messages, control devices like synthesizers, softsynths, or even lighting systems.
Simpler breath controllers are also available. Unlike wind controllers, they do not play notes on their own and are used with a keyboard or synthesizer. A breath controller can be used with a keyboard to add expression to notes. For example, if a musician holds a note on a keyboard, they can blow harder into the breath controller to make the note louder or blow more gently to make it softer.
Some wind controllers have built-in sound generators and can be connected directly to an amplifier or headphones. A few models, like the Roland Aerophone series and Akai EWI SOLO, include small speakers. However, these speakers cannot produce deep bass notes or enough sound for live performances, so they are only for home practice. Other models, such as the EWI USB, Berglund NuEVI, and NuRAD, do not make sound on their own and must be connected to a sound-generating device. Because of this, wind controllers can sound like almost any instrument, depending on the sound generator they use. Models like the Akai EWI5000 and Roland Aerophones have built-in sounds and MIDI/USB outputs. The EWI 4000s, now discontinued, had a built-in synthesizer instead of sampled sounds and is still popular for resale.
The way wind controllers are shaped and fingered does not limit the sounds they can make. For example, a wind controller can sound like a trumpet, saxophone, violin, piano, pipe organ, choir, or even a rooster. Whether designed for woodwind, brass, or harmonica players, wind controllers can produce any virtual instrument sound. Some synthesizers or virtual instruments work better with wind controllers than others. The ability to control features like filter cutoff using breath pressure depends on the options available in the synthesizer. Custom settings, called patches or presets, are needed to fully use the expressive features of wind controllers.
History
In the 1930s, Benjamin F. Miessner worked on early electroacoustic instruments. One of these was an electroacoustic clarinet that used an electromagnetic pickup to capture vibrations from the reed and connected to electronic filters. Miessner’s 1938 patent marked the beginning of the electronic wind instrument family.
In the 1940s, early experiments with fully electronic instruments began. Leo F. J. Arnold invented an electronic clarinet with an on/off switch controlled by breath pressure. This invention was described in Arnold’s 1942 patent.
In the 1950s, Georges Jenny of France and Ernst Zacharias of Germany helped develop the first analog wind controllers. Jenny received a patent in 1954 for an instrument with a breath transducer that used a piezo element to control volume. Zacharias, who began work in 1956, created prototypes that led to the first commercially produced wind synthesizer, the Hohner Electra-Melodica, released in 1967.
The Lyricon, made by Computone in the 1970s, was the first widely used wind controller. It used saxophone-like fingerings and a similar mouthpiece. It set standards for hardware-based wind controllers, including features like breath-controlled dynamics, embouchure-controlled pitch variation, and reed articulation. The Lyricon expanded the playing range for woodwind players and used an analog synthesizer to generate sound. Early users included musicians Roland Kirk and Tom Scott. Later, third-party adaptations connected the Lyricon to MIDI systems.
In the late 1960s, Nyle Steiner developed the brass-style Steiner EVI, an electronic valve instrument for brass players, and the EWI for woodwind players. His early EVI (1975) sent control voltages to analog synthesizers but had a basic on/off breath sensor. Steiner improved the design over time, adding features like proportional breath sensors, tonguing velocity, vibrato levers, and pitch bend sensors. His systems eventually included self-contained analog synthesizers, such as the Steinerphone. Steiner’s EVI was used in the film Apocalypse Now. After requests from woodwind players, he created the EWI, which became famous in the 1980s through musician Michael Brecker. In 1985, Steiner added a MIDI interface to his instruments. Akai later released the EVI1000 and EWI1000, paired with the EWV2000 sound module, which used analog-to-digital conversion to control synthesizers.
With the rise of MIDI and digital samplers in the 1980s, new controllers like MIDI wind instruments became popular. These allowed musicians without keyboards to play synthesizers. Guitarist Pat Metheny and saxophonist Michael Brecker demonstrated the potential of these tools through their music.
Today, widely used digital wind controllers include the Yamaha WX series and Akai EWI series. These instruments generate MIDI data, allowing them to control any MIDI-compatible device. They resemble clarinets with saxophone-like key layouts and can recognize fingerings for woodwinds and brass. Yamaha’s WX series uses moving keys like saxophones, while Akai’s EWI series uses touch-sensitive, immovable keys.
The Casio DH series, introduced in the 1980s, were toy-like wind controllers with built-in speakers and MIDI capabilities.
A newer instrument, the Synthophone, is an electronic wind controller shaped like an alto saxophone. It cannot be played acoustically but mimics the appearance of a real saxophone for familiarity.
Keyboard-based breath controllers, like Yamaha’s BC series, modulate keyboards and computers using breath pressure, similar to a pump organ.
Range of expression
Wind controllers, whether hardware or software-based, require players to use precise finger movements and breath control to produce accurate sounds. These devices are designed to be highly sensitive, which means even small mistakes in how a player uses their fingers or breath can cause unexpected notes, called "glitches." Better recordings show that with practice, these issues can be avoided.
In recordings, some performances are created by editing sounds after they are played, rather than relying only on live playing. This is often done using music software that allows notes to be added or changed individually.
Most synthesizers and their sound libraries are designed to be played with a keyboard. When using a keyboard, one hand is often used to adjust controls that change the sound, and a foot might be used to control an expression pedal. Wind controller players have fewer of these controls available, which can limit their ability to fully use the sounds and effects of their synthesizers. However, new technologies like physical modeling (used in the Yamaha VL70-m), sample modeling, and hybrid systems (like the SWAM engine) are helping wind controller players have more control over their instruments. Sound designers are also creating sounds that match the way wind controller players naturally perform, such as woodwind-like sounds, which work well with wind controllers.
Some hardware (Yamaha, Roland, Akai, Kurzweill, Aodyo) and software (Native Instruments, Garritan, SampleModeling, Sample Logic, LinPlug, Audio Modeling) synthesizers support wind controllers. These synthesizers vary in how well they copy the sounds of real wind, brass, and string instruments. The SWAM technology, developed by Audio Modeling, has special settings for wind controllers like the Yamaha, EWI, Sylphyo, and Aerophone. It allows for fast and natural responses when playing virtual woodwinds and bowed strings. SampleModeling also provides wind controller settings for their brass instruments in Kontakt. Most synthesizers can use MIDI continuous controllers, and the breath and lip input from wind controllers can usually be connected to them in a way that allows for expressive playing.
An example of a hardware synthesizer that works with wind controllers is the Yamaha VL70-m, which uses physical modeling. This method allows the synthesizer to respond quickly to signals from the wind controller. The quality of how well it copies real instrument sounds varies. The VL70-m can connect directly to Yamaha WX controllers and via MIDI to Akai and other wind controllers. A software synthesizer that supports wind controllers is the Zebra synthesizer by Urs Heckmann, Apple's ES2, Korg's Mono/Poly, and Audio Modeling's SWAM instruments. It is important to use special, breath-sensitive settings on any synthesizer to ensure it works well with a wind controller.
Manufacturers
The main companies that make wind controllers are Akai Professional, Roland, and Yamaha. As of early 2022, wind controllers that are widely available and produced in large numbers include the Akai EWI SOLO, EWI5000, Roland Aerophone models AE-01, AE-05, AE-10, AE-20, and AE-30, and the Aodyo Sylphyo. A less commonly available model is the Synthophone. There are also very quiet, handmade wind controllers that use advanced technology, such as the Berglund NuRad, NuEVI, and WARBL from Mowry Stringed Instruments.
Wind controllers that are no longer in production include the Akai EWI USB (discontinued in 2022) and the Akai 4000s (discontinued in 2019). Older models from Akai, such as the 3020, 3000, and 1000, were also partly analog. Earlier models from Yamaha that are no longer available include the WX11, WX7, and WX5. Casio produced simpler, toy-like wind controllers, such as the DH-100, DH-200, DH-500, and DH-800.
Wind controllers with saxophone fingerings
The Synthophone is a type of Wind Controller synthesizer. It is a MIDI saxophone that uses the same finger positions as a real saxophone and requires the same mouth position as a traditional saxophone. The MIDI system can detect how the keys are pressed, as well as how much air is blown and how the mouth is used, and turns this into MIDI data. Because it is a saxophone, the finger positions are the same as a real saxophone, with some additional features that allow players to change sound settings and harmony in real time. The instrument has been shown at the NAMM Show several times, including in 1997.
After the Synthophone, other MIDI saxophones were developed that also use real saxophone finger positions. These include the Travel Sax by Odisei Music in 2019, the Yamaha YDS-150 digital saxophone in 2020, the Emeo in 2020, and the smaller YDS-120 in 2023. These instruments have sensors that measure how hard the player blows to control the volume, but they do not detect how the mouth is used, so they cannot change the pitch based on mouth position or breathing style. The YDS-150 allows players to change the pitch using a thumb switch. The Travel Sax, YDS-150, and Emeo can change sound settings using a mobile app connected via Bluetooth, while the YDS-120 requires a USB connection to change settings.