Tian Jinqin’s String-Controlled Instruments: Formalizing and Reimplementing a Ribbon-Based Interaction Design Pattern

Enrique Tomás, and Boris Shershenkov

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This paper documents and reconstructs Tian Jinqin’s string-controlled electronic instruments from 1970s China, and formalizes their recurrent ribbon-based interaction design pattern. Drawing on ethnographic study in direct collaboration with Tian, we studied the historically situated decisions for creating the XK instruments and translated them for proposing a contemporary, modular, and reproducible platform for ribbon controllers. Using a research-through-practice approach, we examine the challenges of building expressive and accurate ribbon-based instruments across these dimensions: sensor materials, muscle memory, ergonomics, protocol constraints, and socio-political contexts. Finally, we introduce a modular, open-hardware design solution based on Tian’s patterns, which has proven effective for creating affordable, well-tuned ribbon controllers. By situating this non-Western instrument lineage within NIME discourse, the project shows how reconstruction can inform interface reliability, re-implementability, and long-term use while expanding the historical and cultural foundations of digital musical instrument design.

Citation

Enrique Tomás, and Boris Shershenkov. 2026. Tian Jinqin’s String-Controlled Instruments: Formalizing and Reimplementing a Ribbon-Based Interaction Design Pattern. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784322 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_106,
 abstract = {This paper documents and reconstructs Tian Jinqin’s string-controlled electronic instruments from 1970s China, and formalizes their recurrent ribbon-based interaction design pattern. Drawing on ethnographic study in direct collaboration with Tian, we studied the historically situated decisions for creating the XK instruments and translated them for proposing a contemporary, modular, and reproducible platform for ribbon controllers. Using a research-through-practice approach, we examine the challenges of building expressive and accurate ribbon-based instruments across these dimensions: sensor materials, muscle memory, ergonomics, protocol constraints, and socio-political contexts. Finally, we introduce a modular, open-hardware design solution based on Tian’s patterns, which has proven effective for creating affordable, well-tuned ribbon controllers. By situating this non-Western instrument lineage within NIME discourse, the project shows how reconstruction can inform interface reliability, re-implementability, and long-term use while expanding the historical and cultural foundations of digital musical instrument design.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {106},
 author = {Enrique Tomás and Boris Shershenkov},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784322},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {10},
 pages = {888--897},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/sYEla5r7UwA},
 title = {Tian Jinqin’s String-Controlled Instruments: Formalizing and Reimplementing a Ribbon-Based Interaction Design Pattern},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_106.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}