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If you are concerned about very-rapid keypresses, or multiple keys pressed at once, you want a MIDI keyboard (as in typically anywhere from 49 to 88 black and white keys, just like on a piano). Very rapid keypresses and multiple keys pressed at once is PRECISELY what piano music is all about.

If you are REALLY dedicated, find an old Sequential Circuits Prophet T8. It had individual key velocity, individual key pressure sensing.

Alternatively, you might look at http://www.buchla.com/series200e.html, and play with their tactile input device.

Of course. As far as I'm concerned any MIDI controller + any synthesiser patch = a new instrument. Different weights of keys demand different playing technique, as well as 'alternative' controllers such as the haken continuum, axis series (based on harmonic tables), MIDI theremins, electronic wind instruments, various silly keyboard/guitar hybrids, guitars with hexaphonic pickups, pad controllers, handheld wands and all manner of magic touch surfaces.

On top of that the playing technique for a slow synth pad (requiring anticipation) is considerably different from playing a percussive part, which is different again from playing a monophonic part. (Only one note can play at a time, but there is art to the style of legato playing and retriggering. I like to play with the rate notes are moving to each other as well, throwing in another factor.) Attempting to recreate instruments like guitar and flute on a synthesiser requires some understanding of the real instrument's playing techniques, and good use of controllers to incorporate these (such as applying pressure to keys to add vibrato.)

As a result of this I am a little exasperated every time somebody combines a few existing controllers, maybe with some software to tie it all together, and it is hailed as an exciting "new instrument". MIDI has changed what that means. Yes, this looks fun. I am suitably amused/impressed that it runs linux. Other than that it doesn't seem like a huge deal. I'd rather have this.

Of course. As far as I'm concerned any MIDI controller + any synthesiser patch = a new instrument. Different weights of keys demand different playing technique, as well as 'alternative' controllers such as the haken continuum, axis series (based on harmonic tables), MIDI theremins, electronic wind instruments, various silly keyboard/guitar hybrids, guitars with hexaphonic pickups, pad controllers, handheld wands and all manner of magic touch surfaces.

On top of that the playing technique for a slow synth pad (requiring anticipation) is considerably different from playing a percussive part, which is different again from playing a monophonic part. (Only one note can play at a time, but there is art to the style of legato playing and retriggering. I like to play with the rate notes are moving to each other as well, throwing in another factor.) Attempting to recreate instruments like guitar and flute on a synthesiser requires some understanding of the real instrument's playing techniques, and good use of controllers to incorporate these (such as applying pressure to keys to add vibrato.)

As a result of this I am a little exasperated every time somebody combines a few existing controllers, maybe with some software to tie it all together, and it is hailed as an exciting "new instrument". MIDI has changed what that means. Yes, this looks fun. I am suitably amused/impressed that it runs linux. Other than that it doesn't seem like a huge deal. I'd rather have this.

I think there may be a resurgence of interest in buchla's designs now that many people are beginning their musical careers using computers instead of keyboards.

Have you seen these? http://www.buchla.com/200e/index.html

I hate to point this out, but physical modelling has been around since the mid-80's in music technology research labs like CCRMA and CNMAT, but only until the early 90's was the technology available to implement the algorithms cheaply.

Many other companies (specifically synthesizer companies) make products based on modelling - Access Music, Waldorf GmbH, Novation, etc. Don't forget the big boys like Yamaha, Roland, and Korg.

If you want more information on new technologies in music, I'd suggest looking at Hartmann's Neuron and related products - they're actually using neural nets and controlled feedback to add musical randomness into the sound.

Finally, there are other people who have been making unique music instruments for quite some time - but not necessarily for child development. Check out Buchla and Associates for some really unique instruments.

In both cases Juszkiewicz sought to wrestle the intellectual property rights at the expense of the owners and the customers. Opcode was acquired by Gibson in the late 90s. They had a flagship product called Vision that had a large established customer base. In the struggle for IP rights Gibson pulled development and support, effectively abandoning their customers. Opcode and Vision have ceased to exist, yet Juszkiewicz is sitting on the IP waiting for it to grow in value which gives you an idea how clueless he is about software.

Oberheim was a well-known respected synthesizer brand that had been acquired by Gibson in the early 90s. Their only product during the Gibson tenure, the OBMx, was a dismal failure in the market. The OBMx was designed by Don Buchla who shares the credit of pioneering the modern voltage controlled synthesizer with Bob Moog. The OBMx prototypes sounded great but Don withdrew his design team before it reached the production stage. It was completed by an inept design team with no experience in synthesizer design. The production models sounded inferior compared to the Buchla-built prototypes, were prone to breaking down, sold poorly, and within a couple of years Gibson pulled all production & support and pretended that the OBMx never even existed. No schematics or service manuals are known to exist and owners are left with no one to fix their broken units, and legal wrangling continues with the firmware coders over IP rights.

Gibson builds very nice guitars, but I seriously question their integrity in anything software or electronics related.