Supporting virtuosity and flow in computer music

As we begin to realise the sonic and expressive potential of the computer, HCI researchers face the challenge of designing rewarding and accessible user experiences that enable individuals to explore complex creative domains such as music. In performance-based music systems such as sequencers, a disjunction exists between the musician’s specialist skill with performance hardware and the generic usability techniques applied in the design of the software. The creative process is not only fragmented across multiple physical (and virtual) devices, but divided across creativity and productivity phases separated by the act of recording. Integrating psychologies of expertise and intrinsic motivation, this thesis proposes a design shift from usability to virtuosity, using theories of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996) and feedback “liveness” (Tanimoto, 1990) to identify factors that facilitate learning and creativity in digital notations and interfaces, leading to a set of design heuristics to support virtuosity in notation use. Using the cognitive dimensions of notations framework (Green, 1996), models of the creative user experience are developed, working towards a theoretical framework for HCI in music systems, and specifically computer-aided composition. Extensive analytical methods are used to look at corollaries of virtuosity and flow in real-world computer music interaction, notably in soundtracking, a software-based composing environment offering a rapid edit-audition feedback cycle, enabled by the user’s skill in manipulating the text-based notation (and program) through the computer keyboard. The interaction and development of more than 1,000 sequencer and tracker users was recorded over a period of 2 years, to investigate the nature and development of skill and technique, look for evidence of flow experiences, and establish the use and role of both visual and musical feedback in music software. Quantitative analyses of interaction data are supplemented with a detailed video study of a professional tracker composer, and a user survey that draws on psychometric methods to evaluate flow experiences in the use of digital music notations, such as sequencers and trackers. Empirical findings broadly support the proposed design heuristics, and enable the development of further models of liveness and flow in notation use. Implications for UI design are discussed in the context of existing music systems, and supporting digitally-mediated creativity in other domains based on notation use

A design method for modular energy-aware software

Nowadays achieving green software by reducing the overall energy consumption of the software is becoming more and more important. A well-known solution is to make the software energy-aware by extending its functionality with energy optimizers, which monitor the energy consumption of software and adapt it accordingly. Modular design of energy-aware software is necessary to make the extensions manageable and to cope with the complexity of the software. To this aim, we require suitable methods that guide designers through the necessary design activities and the models that must be prepared during each activity. Despite its importance, such a method is not investigated in the literature. This paper proposes a dedicated design method for energy-aware software, discusses a concrete realization of this method, and—by means of a concrete example—illustrates the suitability of this method in achieving modularity

Evaluating musical software using conceptual metaphors

An open challenge for interaction designers is to find ways of designing software to enhance the ability of novices to perform tasks that normally require specialized domain expertise. This challenge is particularly demanding in areas such as music analysis, where complex, abstract, domain-specific concepts and notations occur. One promising theoretical foundation for this work involves the identification of conceptual metaphors and image schemas, found by analyzing discourse. This kind of analysis has already been applied, with some success, both to musical concepts and, separately, to user interface design. The present work appears to be the first to combine these hitherto distinct bodies of research, with the aim of devising a general method for improving user interfaces for music. Some areas where this may require extensions to existing method are noted. This paper presents the results of an exploratory evaluation of Harmony Space, a tool for playing, analysing and learning about harmony. The evaluation uses conceptual metaphors and image schemas elicited from the dialogues of experienced musicians discussing the harmonic progressions in a piece of music. Examples of where the user interface supports the conceptual metaphors, and where support could be improved, are discussed. The potential use of audio output to support conceptual metaphors and image schemas is considered

The Art of Engaging: Implications for Computer Music Systems

The art of engaging with computer music systems is multifaceted. This paper will provide an overview of the issues of interface between musician and computer, cognitive aspects of engagement as involvement, and metaphysical understandings of engagement as proximity. Finally, this paper will examine implications for the design of computer music systems when these issues are taken into account

SameSameButDifferent v.02 – Iceland

The history of computer music is to a great extent the history of algorithmic composition. Here generative approaches are seen as an artistic technique. However, the generation of algorithmic music is normally done in the studio, where the music is aesthetically valued by the composer. The public only gets to know one, or perhaps few, variations of the expressive scope of the algorithmic system itself. In this paper, we describe a generative music system of infinite compositions, where the system itself is aimed for distribution and to be used on personal computers. This system has a dual structure of a compositional score and a performer that performs the score in real-time every time a piece is played. We trace the contextual background of such systems and potential future applications

Designing and evaluating the usability of a machine learning API for rapid prototyping music technology

To better support creative software developers and music technologists' needs, and to empower them as machine learning users and innovators, the usability of and developer experience with machine learning tools must be considered and better understood. We review background research on the design and evaluation of application programming interfaces (APIs), with a focus on the domain of machine learning for music technology software development. We present the design rationale for the RAPID-MIX API, an easy-to-use API for rapid prototyping with interactive machine learning, and a usability evaluation study with software developers of music technology. A cognitive dimensions questionnaire was designed and delivered to a group of 12 participants who used the RAPID-MIX API in their software projects, including people who developed systems for personal use and professionals developing software products for music and creative technology companies. The results from the questionnaire indicate that participants found the RAPID-MIX API a machine learning API which is easy to learn and use, fun, and good for rapid prototyping with interactive machine learning. Based on these findings, we present an analysis and characterization of the RAPID-MIX API based on the cognitive dimensions framework, and discuss its design trade-offs and usability issues. We use these insights and our design experience to provide design recommendations for ML APIs for rapid prototyping of music technology. We conclude with a summary of the main insights, a discussion of the merits and challenges of the application of the CDs framework to the evaluation of machine learning APIs, and directions to future work which our research deems valuable

FrameWorks 3D: composition in the third dimension

Music composition on computer is a challenging task, involving a range of data types to be managed within a single software tool. A composition typically comprises a complex arrangement of material, with many internal relationships between data in different locations - repetition, inversion, retrograde, reversal and more sophisticated transformations. The creation of such complex artefacts is labour intensive, and current systems typically place a significant cognitive burden on the composer in terms of maintaining a work as a coherent whole. FrameWorks 3D is an attempt to improve support for composition tasks within a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) style environment via a novel three-dimensional (3D) user-interface. In addition to the standard paradigm of tracks, regions and tape recording analogy, FrameWorks displays hierarchical and transformational information in a single, fully navigable workspace. The implementation combines Java with Max/MSP to create a cross-platform, user-extensible package and will be used to assess the viability of such a tool and to develop the ideas furthe