DorkbotPDX people doing strange things with electricity

I'm new to Arduino (and this group) and would like to create a Midi controller using this interesting new circuitry. Any information about what I might want to purchase to get started would be just grand. My goal is to create a Midi Concertina Accordion controller much like this one: http://home.stny.rr.com/peverett/gadget.html , only using Arduino. If successful, I imagine a small Midi band meeting late evening upstairs at the Lucky Lab in Multnomah Village. I too work with electron microscopes . . . must be something in the water here in the NW? Cheers, BD Interests: Metalworking -small scale parts and jewelry Taig lathe/Mill Raising kids Music (guitar,accordion, ukulele) Bikes and their use as transportation