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You might look into MIDI devices, since there are programs to convert MIDI events to keystrokes.

For hardware, this seems kind of like what you’re looking for: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SamplePadPro--alesis.... There’s plenty of MIDI foot pedals as well. I don’t know about using the foot pedals as “modifiers” but I assume it’s possible.

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Thanks! The pads are very much like I was thinking. Maybe I could tilt a unit like this on a desk. At this price point it might get expensive to build up a keyboard , but something to think about.

I don’t know anything about MIDI though I’ve heard the term before. I’ll look it up.

Yeah I think MIDI is your best option. Essentially you have to have a piezo connected to the surface your hitting, than I guess I would investigate linking it to an Arduino that recognizes and processes the hits and transforms it in MIDI data

Thanks - it seems there are some electronic drumset products for sale with about 8 targets on them that could be good candidate starting points.

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