298 research outputs found
Interfacing the Network: An Embedded Approach to Network Instrument Creation
This paper discusses the design, construction, and
development of a multi-site collaborative instrument,
The Loop, developed by the JacksOn4 collective during
2009-10 and formally presented in Oslo at the
arts.on.wires and NIME conferences in 2011. The
development of this instrument is primarily a reaction
to historical network performance that either attempts
to present traditional acoustic practice in a distributed
format or utilises the network as a conduit to shuttle
acoustic and performance data amongst participant
nodes. In both scenarios the network is an integral and
indispensible part of the performance, however, the
network is not perceived as an instrument, per se. The
Loop is an attempt to create a single, distributed hybrid
instrument retaining traditionally acoustic interfaces
and resonant bodies that are mediated by the network.
The embedding of the network into the body of the
instrument raises many practical and theoretical
discussions, which are explored in this paper through a
reflection upon the notion of the distributed instrument
and the way in which its design impacts the behaviour
of the participants (performers and audiences); the
mediation of musical expression across networks; the
bi-directional relationship between instrument and
design; as well as how the instrument assists in the
realisation of the creatorsâ compositional and artistic
goals
Hex Playerâa virtual musical controller
In this paper, we describe a playable musical interface for tablets and multi-touch tables. The interface is a generalized keyboard, inspired by the Thummer, and consists of an array of virtual buttons. On a generalized keyboard, any given interval always has the same shape (and therefore fingering); furthermore, the fingering is consistent over a broad range of tunings. Compared to a physical generalized keyboard, a virtual version has some advantagesânotably, that the spatial location of the buttons can be transformed by shears and rotations, and their colouring can be changed to reflect their musical function in different scales.
We exploit these flexibilities to facilitate the playing not just of conventional Western scales but also a wide variety of microtonal generalized diatonic scales known as moment of symmetry, or well-formed, scales. A user can choose such a scale, and the buttons are automatically arranged so their spatial height corresponds to their pitch, and buttons an octave apart are always vertically above each other. Furthermore, the most numerous scale steps run along rows, while buttons within the scale are light-coloured, and those outside are dark or removed.
These features can aid beginners; for example, the chosen scale might be the diatonic, in which case the pianoâs familiar white and black colouring of the seven diatonic and five chromatic notes is used, but only one scale fingering need ever be learned (unlike a piano where every key needs a different fingering). Alternatively, it can assist advanced composers and musicians seeking to explore the universe of unfamiliar microtonal scales
Data Driven Analysis of Tiny Touchscreen Performance with MicroJam
The widespread adoption of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets,
has made touchscreens a common interface for musical performance. New mobile
musical instruments have been designed that embrace collaborative creation and
that explore the affordances of mobile devices, as well as their constraints.
While these have been investigated from design and user experience
perspectives, there is little examination of the performers' musical outputs.
In this work, we introduce a constrained touchscreen performance app, MicroJam,
designed to enable collaboration between performers, and engage in a novel
data-driven analysis of more than 1600 performances using the app. MicroJam
constrains performances to five seconds, and emphasises frequent and casual
music making through a social media-inspired interface. Performers collaborate
by replying to performances, adding new musical layers that are played back at
the same time. Our analysis shows that users tend to focus on the centre and
diagonals of the touchscreen area, and tend to swirl or swipe rather than tap.
We also observe that while long swipes dominate the visual appearance of
performances, the majority of interactions are short with limited expressive
possibilities. Our findings are summarised into a set of design recommendations
for MicroJam and other touchscreen apps for social musical interaction
Recommended from our members
A gesturally controlled improvisation system for piano
This paper was presented at the Live Interfaces conference 2012. Copyright @ 2012 The Authors.This paper presents a gesturally controlled, live-improvisation
system, developed for an experimental pianist and used
during a performance at the 2011 International Conference
on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. We describe
the gesture-recognition architecture used to recognize
the pianistâs real-time gestures, the audio infrastructure
developed specifically for this piece and the core lessons
learned over the process of developing this performance
system
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Bacteroides species by disk diffusion: The NordicAST Bacteroides study
Objectives - Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of anaerobic bacteria has until recently been done by MIC methods. We have carried out a multi-centre evaluation of the newly validated EUCAST disk diffusion method for AST of Bacteroides spp.
Methods - A panel of 30 Bacteroides strains was assembled based on reference agar dilution MICs, resistance gene detection and quantification of cfiA carbapenemase gene expression. Nordic clinical microbiology laboratories (n = 45) performed disk diffusion on Fastidious Anaerobe Agar with 5% mechanically defibrinated horse blood (FAA-HB) for piperacillin-tazobactam, meropenem and metronidazole.
Results - A total of 43/45 (95.6%) laboratories carried out disk diffusion per protocol. Intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.87 (0.80â0.93) for piperacillin-tazobactam, 0.95 (0.91â0.97) for meropenem and 0.89 (0.83â0.94) for metronidazole. For metronidazole, one media lot yielded smaller zones and higher variability than another. Piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem zone diameters correlated negatively with cfiA expression. A meropenem zone diameter of
Conclusions - Inter-laboratory agreement by disk diffusion was good or very good. The main challenges were media-related variability for metronidazole and categorical disagreement with the reference method for piperacillin-tazobactam in some cfiA-positive strains. An area of technical uncertainty specific for such strains may be warranted
Evaluating the Performance of a New Gestural Instrument Within an Ensemble
This paper discusses one particular mapping for a new gestural instrument called the AirSticks. This mapping was designed to be used for improvised or rehearsed duos and restricts the performer to only utilising the sound source of one other musician playing an acoustic instrument. Several pieces with different musicians were performed and documented, musicians were observed and interviews with these musicians were transcribed. In this paper we will examine the thoughts of these musicians to gather a better understanding of how to design effective ensemble instruments of this type
Gesture-sound causality from the audienceâs perspective: : investigating the aesthetic experience of performances with digital musical instruments.
In contrast to their traditional, acoustic counterparts, digital musical instruments (DMIs) rarely feature a clear, causal relationship between the performerâs actions and the sounds produced. They often function simply as systems for controlling digital sound synthesis, triggering computer-generated audio. This study aims to shed light on how the level of perceived causality of DMI designs impacts audience membersâ aesthetic responses to new DMIs. In a preliminary survey, 49 concert attendees listed adjectives that described their experience of a number of DMI performances. In a subsequent experiment, 31 participants rated video clips of performances with DMIs with causal and acausal mapping designs using the eight most popular adjectives from the preliminary survey. The experimental stimuli were presented in their original version and in a manipulated version with a reduced level of gesture-sound causality. The manipulated version was created by placing the audio track of one section of the recording over the video track of a different section. It was predicted that the causal DMIs would be rated more positively, with the manipulation having a stronger effect on the ratings for the causal DMIs. Our results confirmed these hypotheses, and indicate that a lack of perceptible causality does have a negative impact on ratings of DMI performances. The acausal group received no significant difference in ratings between original and manipulated clips. We posit that this result arises from the greater understanding that clearer gesture-sound causality offers spectators. The implications of this result for DMI design and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved
NordicSMC:A Nordic University Hub on Sound and Music Computing
Sound and music computing (SMC) is still an emerging field in many institutions, and the challenge is often to gain critical mass for developing study programs and undertake more ambitious research projects. We report on how a long-term collaboration between small and medium-sized SMC groups have led to an ambitious undertaking in the form of the Nordic Sound and Music Computing Network (NordicSMC), funded by the Nordic Research Council and institutions from all of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). The constellation is unique in that it covers the field of sound and music from the âsoftâ to the âhard,â including the arts and humanities, the social and natural sciences, and engineering. This pa- per describes the goals, activities, and expected results of the network, with the aim of inspiring the creation of other joint efforts within the SMC community
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