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Music and Human-Computer Interaction pp 139–152Cite as

Live Music-Making: A Rich Open Task Requires a Rich Open Interface

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Part of the book series: Springer Series on Cultural Computing ((SSCC))

Abstract

In live human-computer music-making, how can interfaces successfully support the openness, reinterpretation and rich signification often important in live (especially improvised) musical performance? We argue that the use of design metaphors can lead to interfaces which constrain interactions and militate against reinterpretation, while consistent, grammatical interfaces empower the user to create and apply their own metaphors in developing their performance. These metaphors can be transitory and disposable, yet do not represent wasted learning since the underlying grammar is retained. We illustrate this move with reflections from live coding practice, from recent visual and two-dimensional programming language interfaces, and from musical voice mapping research. We consider the integration of the symbolic and the continuous in the human-computer interaction. We also describe how our perspective is reflected in approaches to system evaluation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://ataut.net/site/Adam-Atau-4-Hands-iPhone.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Dan Stowell

  2. Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Research in Music, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Alex McLean

Authors
  1. Dan Stowell
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  2. Alex McLean
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Correspondence to Dan Stowell or Alex McLean .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre For Research In Computing, The Open University, Walton Hall JLB2, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

    Simon Holland

  2. Centre For Research In Computing, The Open University, Walton Hall JLB2, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

    Katie Wilkie

  3. Centre For Research In Computing, The Open University, Walton Hall JLB2, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

    Paul Mulholland

  4. Sir John Cass Fac. of Art, Arch & Design, London Metropolitan University, Commercial Road 41, London, E1 1LA, United Kingdom

    Allan Seago

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Stowell, D., McLean, A. (2013). Live Music-Making: A Rich Open Task Requires a Rich Open Interface. In: Holland, S., Wilkie, K., Mulholland, P., Seago, A. (eds) Music and Human-Computer Interaction. Springer Series on Cultural Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2990-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2990-5_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2989-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2990-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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