Enabling Audiovisual User Interfaces

“Enabling Audiovisual User Interfaces” was a 2-year project, supported by a Marie Curie EU fellowship, conducted at EAVI, Goldsmiths. During the project, I investigated how human-computer interactions can be audiovisualized in order to improve user experience and usability. To address this issue, a new UI paradigm was proposed – AVUI (AudioVisual User Interface). AVUI links interaction, sound and image, building upon the concept of Graphical User Interface (GUI) by adding interconnected sound and image. The research hypothesis was: the introduction of AVUI, integrating interrelated sonic and visual feedback, reacting to user interactions, would lead to more usable, accessible, playful and engaging UIs, as compared to a traditional GUI – particularly in use cases where accessibility and/or engagement were determinant. I applied AVUIs to case studies, which was the object of user testing. After reaching conclusions from these, I proposed an AVUI framework, including software modules and a set of best practices. Dissemination activities were also implemented

Game|lan:Co-Designing and Co-Creating an Orchestra of Digital Musical Instruments within the Fab Lab Network

This paper presents an ongoing project focused on the co-design and co-creation of a small orchestra of digitally fabricated digital musical instruments (DMIs) based on the Bela board, an open-source embedded computing platform. The project took place in Fab Labs, an international network of digital fabrication laboratories1. The orchestra, named Game|Lan, is inspired by the traditional Indonesian Gamelan ensembles, their music and philosophy. The project aims to explore the capabilities of the Fab Lab network which runs on an open-access, open-source and open-hardware ethos, for a distributed project of this type. The aspiration is to create an original orchestra for non-musicians, which offers the rich collective experience of being in a music group and explore it as a medium for social interaction. This paper presents the first results of the research project which took place is three Fab Labs in South America and it focuses on the process and the development of the project

New urban Soundscapes: Angklung Buskers in Yogyakarta

Caratterizzati da una costante sovrapposizione di stimoli acustici di diversa natura, i paesaggi sonori delle realtà metro- politane contemporanee sono entità composite di difficile interpretazione. Entro questi contesti, tuttavia, la produzione di musica dal vivo ha senza dubbio un ruolo cruciale nella costruzione degli spazi sonori pubblici e dell’immaginario acustico ad essi associato. Nel presente articolo sono presentati alcuni risultati di una ricerca svolta a Yogyakarta (Giava, Indonesia) su un particolare fenomeno di musica di strada, le angklung bands: gruppi di musicisti di strada che si guadagna- no da vivere esibendosi quotidianamente negli spazi più trafficati della città. Applicando il metodo etnografico dell’osservazione partecipante, è stata documentata l’attività di questi musicisti, indagandone storie di vita, prassi performative e repertori, considerando la complessità del feno- meno e il suo rapporto “osmotico” con l’ambiente urbano Yogyanese. Descrivendo questo specifico caso di studio, si cercherà di dimostrare come una pratica musicale apparentemente marginale possa avere una funzione importante nella costruzione di una realtà acustica metropolitana, sino a divenirne un’impronta sonora. Il saggio è corredato da esempi video che illustrano la pratica musicale in analisi e consentono di valutarne l’impatto sul paesaggio sonoro circostante.Being characterized by a constant overlapping of different kinds of acoustic stimuli, contemporary metropolitan soundscapes are composite entities that are rather difficult to interpret. Within these contexts however, the production of live music undoubtedly has a crucial role in the construction of sonic public spaces and of the acoustic ideas and concepts that are associated with them. This paper presents some results of a research conducted in Yogyakarta (Java, Indonesia) regarding a particular kind of street music, i.e. the angklung bands: groups of buskers who make a living by performing every day in the most crowded spaces of the city. By applying the ethnographic method of participant observation, the activity of these musicians was documented, together with their life stories, repertoires and performative practices. In addition, the complexity of the phenomenon and its “osmotic” relationship with the Yogyanese urban context was carefully considered. This specific case study is utilized in order to show how an apparently marginal musical practice has had a significant function in the construction of a metropolitan acoustic environment, to the extent of becoming one of its soundmarks. This paper is accompanied by several video examples, which illustrate how the musical practice analyzed is conducted and make it possible to evaluate its impact on the surrounding soundscape

Designing instruments towards networked music practices

It is commonly noted in New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) research that few of these make it to the mainstream and are adopted by the general public. Some research in Sound and Music Computing (SMC) suggests that the lack of humanistic research guiding technological development may be one of the causes. Many new technologies are invented, however without real aim else than for technical innovation, great products however emphasize the user-friendliness, user involvement in the design process or User-Centred Design (UCD), that seek to guarantee that innovation address real, existing needs among users. Such an approach includes not only traditionally quantifiable usability goals, but also qualitative, psychological, philosophical and musical such. The latter approach has come to be called experience design, while the former is referred to as interaction design. Although the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) community in general has recognized the significance of qualitative needs and experience design, NIME has been slower to adopt this new paradigm. This thesis therefore attempts to investigate its relevance in NIME, and specifically Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) for music applications by devising a prototype for group music action based on needs defined from pianists engaging in piano duets, one of the more common forms of group creation seen in the western musical tradition. These needs, some which are socio-emotional in nature, are addressed through our prototype although in the context of computers and global networks by allowing for composers from all over the world to submit music to a group concert on a Yamaha Disklavier in location in Porto, Portugal. Although this prototype is not a new gestural controller per se, and therefore not a traditional NIME, but rather a platform that interfaces groups of composers with a remote audience, the aim of this research is on investigating how contextual parameters like venue, audience, joint concert and technologies impact the overall user experience of such a system. The results of this research has been important not only in understanding the processes, services, events or environments in which NIME’s operate, but also understanding reciprocity, creativity, experience design in Networked Music practices.É de conhecimento generalizado que na área de investigação em novos interfaces para expressão musical (NIME - New Interfaces for Musical Expression), poucos dos resultantes dispositivos acabam por ser popularizados e adoptados pelo grande público. Algum do trabalho em computação sonora e musical (SMC- Sound and Music Computing) sugere que uma das causas para esta dificuldade, reside numalacuna ao nível da investigação dos comportamentos humanos como linha orientadora para os desenvolvimentos tecnológicos. Muitos dos desenvolvimentos tecnológicos são conduzidos sem um real objectivo, para além da inovação tecnológica, resultando em excelentes produtos, mas sem qualquer enfâse na usabilidade humana ou envolvimento do utilizador no processo de Design (UCDUser Centered Design), no sentido de garantir que a inovação atende a necessidades reais dos utilizadores finais. Esta estratégia implica, não só objectivos quantitativos tradicionais de usabilidade, mas também princípios qualitativos, fisiológicos, psicológicos e musicológicos. Esta ultima abordagem é atualmente reconhecida como Design de Experiência (Experience Design) enquanto a abordagem tradicional é vulgarmente reconhecida apenas como Design de Interação (Interaction Design). Apesar de na área Interação Homem-Computador (HCI – Human Computer Interaction) as necessidades qualitativas no design de experiência ser amplamente reconhecido em termos do seu significado e aplicabilidade, a comunidade NIME tem sido mais lenta em adoptar este novo paradigma. Neste sentido, esta Tese procura investigar a relevância em NIME, especificamente nu subtópico do trabalho cooperativo suportado por Computadores (CSCW – Computer Supported Cooperative Work), para aplicações musicais, através do desenvolvimento de um protótipo de um sistema que suporta ações musicais coletivas, baseado nas necessidades especificas de Pianistas em duetos de Piano, uma das formas mais comuns de criação musical em grupo popularizada na tradição musical ocidental. Estes requisitos, alguns sócioemocionais na sua natureza, são atendidos através do protótipo, neste caso aplicado ao contexto informático e da rede de comunicações global, permitindo a compositores de todo o mundo submeterem a sua música para um concerto de piano em grupo num piano acústico Yamaha Disklavier, localizado fisicamente na cidade do Porto, Portugal. Este protótipo não introduz um novo controlador em si mesmo, e consequentemente não está alinhado com as típicas propostas de NIME. Trata-se sim, de uma nova plataforma de interface em grupo para compositores com uma audiência remota, enquadrado com objectivos de experimentação e investigação sobre o impacto de diversos parâmetros, tais como o espaço performativo, as audiências, concertos colaborativos e tecnologias em termos do sistema global. O resultado deste processo de investigação foi relevante, não só para compreender os processos, serviços, eventos ou ambiente em que os NIME podem operar, mas também para melhor perceber a reciprocidade, criatividade e design de experiencia nas práticas musicais em rede

Moving sounds and sonic moves : exploring interaction quality of embodied music mediation technologies through a user-centered perspective

This research project deals with the user-experience related to embodied music mediation technologies. More specifically, adoption and policy problems surrounding new media (art) are considered, which arise from the usability issues that to date pervade new interfaces for musical expression. Since the emergence of new wireless mediators and control devices for musical expression, there is an explicit aspiration of the creative industries and various research centers to embed such technologies into different areas of the cultural industries. The number of applications and their uses have exponentially increased over the last decade. Conversely, many of the applications to date still suffer from severe usability problems, which not only hinder the adoption by the cultural sector, but also make culture participants take a rather cautious, hesitant, or even downright negative stance towards these technologies. Therefore, this thesis takes a vantage point that is in part sociological in nature, yet has a link to cultural studies as well. It combines this with a musicological frame of reference to which it introduces empirical user-oriented approaches, predominantly taken from the field of human-computer-interaction studies. This interdisciplinary strategy is adopted to cope with the complex nature of digital embodied music controlling technologies. Within the Flanders cultural (and creative) industries, opportunities of systems affiliated with embodied interaction are created and examined. This constitutes an epistemological jigsaw that looks into 1) “which stakeholders require what various levels of involvement, what interactive means and what artistic possibilities?”, 2) “the way in which artistic aspirations, cultural prerequisites and operational necessities of (prospective) users can be defined?”, 3) “how functional, artistic and aesthetic requirements can be accommodated?”, and 4) “how quality of use and quality of experience can be achieved, quantified, evaluated and, eventually, improved?”. Within this multi-facetted problem, the eventual aim is to assess the applicability of the foresaid technology, both from a theoretically and empirically sound basis, and to facilitate widening and enhancing the adoption of said technologies. Methodologically, this is achieved by 1) applied experimentation, 2) interview techniques, 3) self-reporting and survey research, 4) usability evaluation of existing devices, and 5) human-computer interaction methods applied – and attuned – to the specific case of embodied music mediation technologies. Within that scope, concepts related to usability, flow, presence, goal assessment and game enjoyment are scrutinized and applied, and both task- and experience-oriented heuristics and metrics are developed and tested. In the first part, covering three chapters, the general context of the thesis is given. In the first chapter, an introduction to the topic is offered and the current problems are enumerated. In the second chapter, a broader theoretical background is presented of the concepts that underpin the project, namely 1) the paradigm of embodiment and its connection to musicology, 2) a state of the arts concerning new interfaces for musical expression, 3) an introduction into HCI-usability and its application domain in systematic musicology, 4) an insight into user-centered digital design procedures, and 5) the challenges brought about by e-culture and digitization for the cultural-creative industries. In the third chapter, the state of the arts concerning the available methodologies related to the thesis’ endeavor is discussed, a set of literature-based design guidelines are enumerated and from this a conceptual model is deduced which is gradually presented throughout the thesis, and fully deployed in the “SoundField”-project (as described in Chapter 9). The following chapters, contained in the second part of the thesis, give a quasi-chronological overview of how methodological concepts have been applied throughout the empirical case studies, aimed specifically at the exploration of the various aspects of the complex status quaestionis. In the fourth chapter, a series of application-based tests, predominantly revolving around interface evaluation, illustrate the complex relation between gestural interfaces and meaningful musical expression, advocating a more user-centered development approach to be adopted. In the fifth chapter, a multi-purpose questionnaire dubbed “What Moves You” is discussed, which aimed at creating a survey of the (prospective) end-users of embodied music mediation technologies. Therefore, it primarily focused on cultural background, musical profile and preferences, views on embodied interaction, literacy of and attitudes towards new technology and participation in digital culture. In the sixth chapter, the ethnographical studies that accompanied the exhibition of two interactive art pieces, entitled "Heart as an Ocean" & "Lament", are discussed. In these studies, the use of interview and questionnaire methodologies together with the presentation and reception of interactive art pieces, are probed. In the seventh chapter, the development of the collaboratively controlled music-game “Sync-In-Team” is presented, in which interface evaluation, presence, game enjoyment and goal assessment are the pivotal topics. In the eighth chapter, two usability studies are considered, that were conducted on prototype systems/interfaces, namely a heuristic evaluation of the “Virtual String” and a usability metrics evaluation on the “Multi-Level Sonification Tool”. The findings of these two studies in conjunction with the exploratory studies performed in association with the interactive art pieces, finally gave rise to the “SoundField”-project, which is recounted in full throughout the ninth chapter. The integrated participatory design and evaluation method, presented in the conceptual model is fully applied over the course of the “SoundField”-project, in which technological opportunities and ecological validity and applicability are investigated through user-informed development of numerous use cases. The third and last part of the thesis renders the final conclusions of this research project. The tenth chapter sets out with an epilogue in which a brief overview is given on how the state of the arts has evolved since the end of the project (as the research ended in 2012, but the research field has obviously moved on), and attempts to consolidate the implications of the research studies with some of the realities of the Flemish cultural-creative industries. Chapter eleven continues by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the conceptual model throughout the various stages of the project. Also, it comprises the evaluation of the hypotheses, how the assumptions that were made held up, and how the research questions eventually could be assessed. Finally, the twelfth and last chapter concludes with the most important findings of the project. Also, it discusses some of the implications on cultural production, artistic research policy and offers an outlook on future research beyond the scope of the “SoundField” project

Understanding Music Interaction, and Why It Matters

This is the introductory chapter of a book dedicated to new research in, and emerging new understandings of, music and human-computer interaction—known for short as music interaction. Music interaction research plays a key role in innovative approaches to diverse musical activities, including performance, composition, education, analysis, production and collaborative music making. Music interaction is pivotal in new research directions in a range of activities, including audience participation, interaction between music and dancers, tools for algorithmic music, music video games, audio games, turntablism and live coding. More generally, music provides a powerful source of challenges and new ideas for human-computer interaction (HCI). This introductory chapter reviews the relationship between music and human-computer interaction and outlines research themes and issues that emerge from the collected work of researchers and practitioners in this book

Transforming musical performance: activating the audience as digital collaborators

Digital technologies have transformed the performance practice, recording and distribution technologies, economy and sonic landscape of music in a process of change that began in the early 1980s. Recent technological developments have opened up the possibility of embodied interaction between audiences and performers, reframing music performance as a collaborative improvisatory space that affords Interactive Musical Participation. The research in this practice-based thesis looks at the relationship and experience of audience members and musicians exploring Interactive Musical Participation within the wide stylistic framework of contemporary jazz. It also studies the potential for the creation of compositional, technological and performance protocols to enable successful Interactive Musical Participation. This has been achieved through a process of mapping the methodology behind the composition, technical infrastructure, performances and post-performance analysis of a series of musical artefacts. Cook (2001 and 2009) suggests that researchers in this field should “Make a piece, not an instrument or controller” and this dictum has influenced the development of the technical infrastructure for this research. Easily accessible and low-cost digital audio workstations Ableton Live (2017) and Logic Pro X (Apple, 2019) as well as the digital protocols Open Sound Control (OSC) (Opensoundcontrol.org) have been utilised to deliver the programming and networking requirements. A major innovation stemming from this project has been the development of the Deeper Love Soundpad App, a sample playback app for Apple smartphones and iPads, in collaboration with Dr. Rob Toulson. The theoretical background to this research has been informed by actornetwork theory, the sociological approach developed by Bruno Latour (2005), Michel Callon (1986) and John Law (1992). Actor-network theory (ANT) provides a framework for understanding the mechanics of power and organisation within heterogeneous non-hierarchical networks. Mapping and analysing the ANT networks and connections created by the research performances has provided valuable data in the Interactive Musical Participatio

Embodied Musical Interaction

Music is a natural partner to human-computer interaction, offering tasks and use cases for novel forms of interaction. The richness of the relationship between a performer and their instrument in expressive musical performance can provide valuable insight to human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers interested in applying these forms of deep interaction to other fields. Despite the longstanding connection between music and HCI, it is not an automatic one, and its history arguably points to as many differences as it does overlaps. Music research and HCI research both encompass broad issues, and utilize a wide range of methods. In this chapter I discuss how the concept of embodied interaction can be one way to think about music interaction. I propose how the three “paradigms” of HCI and three design accounts from the interaction design literature can serve as a lens through which to consider types of music HCI. I use this conceptual framework to discuss three different musical projects—Haptic Wave, Form Follows Sound, and BioMuse