You will (probably) not be saved, but you get some nifty musical effects via this Netduino / MIDI / touch screen prototype.
The prototype uses an off-the-shelf MIDI shield and a Nintendo DS touch screen connected piggy back on the shield.
The Netduino runs a simple “convert X/Y touch values to MIDI control changes” application. Right now it sends volume as X and modulation (in practice vibrato) as Y, but that’s easy to change in the code. If no finger is touching the screen the last setting will stay. I also filter so that MIDI data is only sent when there’s an actual change in any direction.
The touch screen is not very sensitive, but works as a demo of what can be achieved with no additional electronics beyond what’s mentioned and very little software too.
Update: Here’s a video showing what kind of weird effects can be achieved. I changed so that X controls filter cutoff and Y controls filter resonance, which are probably the most effective in terms of affecting especially synth sounds with lots of overtones. I also show my complete lack of musical skills.