Cognition and Physicality in Musical Cyberinstruments

In this paper, we present the SensOrg, a musical CyberInstrument designed as a modular assembly of input/output devices and musical software, mapped and arranged according to functional characteristics of the Man-Instrument system. We discuss how the cognitive ergonomics of non-verbal and symbolic task modalities influenced the design of our hardware interface for asynchronous as well as synchronous task situations. Using malleable atoms and tangible bits, we externally represented the musical functionality in a physical interface which is totally flexible yet completely freezable. Introduction Musicians strive many years in order to connect their neural pathways to a vibrating segment of string, wood, metal or air. In many ways, learning how to play a musical instrument is dictated by the physical idiosyncrasies of the instrument design. A good instrumentalist typically needs to start almost from scratch when trying to play a new instrument. Even when musicians master their instrume..