Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have designed an interface for non-musicians to play music. This interface, part of the Expression Synthesis Project (ESP), is based on the fact that more people know how to drive a car than an orchestra.

In "Baby, you can drive my song," the researchers explain how they converted real musical scores into digital virtual roads. Then using a steering wheel and foot pedals, you 'drive' on this road to interpret the piece of music, becoming a real maestro.

Such a system should be demonstrated in a public exhibit by 2008 and become available to everyone in the same time frame. This overview contains more details and references and pictures about this innovative human computer interface.