Collaborative Musical Experiences for Novices

We explore the context and design of collaborative musical experiences for novices. We first argue that musical expression with multi-person instruments is a form of communication between the players. We illustrate that design for musical collaboration facilitates exploration of sound space with low entry-level skill. In contrast to the western post-Renaissance focus on musical expression through virtuosity, collaborative musical experiences enable the media of sound and music to enhance the communication opportunities and intimacy between players. The main factor common to most of the interfaces discussed herein is that musical control is highly restricted, which makes it possible for novices to easily learn and participate in the collective experience. This happens at the expense of providing an upward path to virtuosity with the interface. Balancing this tradeoff is a key concern for designers. We look closely at many contemporary collaborative interface designs, with each exploring a different way to achieve successful musical experiences for novice players.

[1]  Nicola Orio,et al.  Evaluation of Input Devices for Musical Expression: Borrowing Tools from HCI , 2001, Computer Music Journal.

[2]  Craig Stuart Sapp,et al.  A Course on Controllers , 2001, NIME.

[3]  Sidney Fels,et al.  Mapping transparency through metaphor: towards more expressive musical instruments , 2002, Organised Sound.

[4]  Joseph A. Paradiso,et al.  The Brain Opera Technology: New Instruments and Gestural Sensors for Musical Interaction and Performance , 1999 .

[5]  Sidney S. Fels,et al.  Iamascope: a graphical musical instrument , 1999, Comput. Graph..

[6]  Tina Blaine,et al.  JAM-O-WORLD: Evolution of the Jam-O-Drum into the Jam-O-Whirl Gaming Interface , 2002, NIME.

[7]  Ivan Poupyrev,et al.  Augmented Reality Interface for Electronic Music Performance , 2001 .

[8]  Scot Gresham-Lancaster.  The Aesthetics and History of the Hub: The Effects of Changing Technology on Network Computer Music , 1998 .

[9]  Florian Vogt,et al.  Tooka: Exploration of Two Person Instruments , 2002, NIME.

[10]  Gil Weinberg,et al.  The Beatbug Network: A Rhythmic System for Interdependent Group Collaboration , 2002, NIME.

[11]  Matthew Wright,et al.  Problems and Prospects for Intimate Musical Control of Computers , 2002, Computer Music Journal.

[12]  Toshio Iwai,et al.  Composition on the table , 1999, SIGGRAPH '99.

[13]  Gideon D'Arcangelo,et al.  Creating Contexts of Creativity: Musical Composition with Modular Components , 2001, NIME.

[14]  Colin Potts,et al.  Design of Everyday Things , 1988 .

[15]  Joel Chadabe,et al.  The Limitations of Mapping and a Structural Descriptive in Electronic Instruments , 2002, NIME.

[16]  Dominic Robson.  PLAY!: sound toys for the non musical , 2001 .

[17]  Atau Tanaka,et al.  Multimodal Interaction in Music Using the Electromyogram and Relative Position Sensing , 2002, NIME.

[18]  Sidney Fels,et al.  Tongue 'n' Groove , 2002 .

[19]  J. McGrath.  Groups interacting with technology: the complex and dynamic fit of group, task, technology, and time , 1992, CSCW '92.

[20]  Greg Costikyan,et al.  I Have No Words & I Must Design: Toward a Critical Vocabulary for Games , 2002, CGDC Conf..

[21]  Tina Blaine,et al.  The Jam-O-Drum interactive music system: a study in interaction design , 2000, DIS '00.

[22]  Philip H. Mirvis.  Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , 1991 .

[23]  Perry R. Cook,et al.  Principles for Designing Computer Music Controllers , 2001, NIME.

[24]  Joseph A. Paradiso,et al.  Tangible Music Interfaces using Passive Magnetic Tags , 2001, NIME.

[25]  Allison Druin,et al.  Single display groupware: a model for co-present collaboration , 1999, CHI '99.

[26]  Joseph A. Paradiso,et al.  Musical Navigatrics: New Musical Interactions with Passive Magnetic Tags , 2002, NIME.

[27]  Gil Weinberg,et al.  The Squeezables: Toward an Expressive and Interdependent Multi-player Musical Instrument , 2001, Computer Music Journal.