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Music and Human-Computer Interaction pp 153–169Cite as

A New Interaction Strategy for Musical Timbre Design

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

Abstract

Sound creation and editing in hardware and software synthesizers presents usability problems and a challenge for HCI research. Synthesis parameters vary considerably in their degree of usability, and musical timbre itself is a complex and multidimensional attribute of sound. This chapter presents a user-driven search-based interaction style where the user engages directly with sound rather than with a mediating interface layer. Where the parameters of a given sound synthesis method do not readily map to perceptible sonic attributes, the search algorithm offers an alternative means of timbre specification and control. However, it is argued here that the method has wider relevance for interaction design in search domains which are generally well-ordered and understood, but whose parameters do not afford a useful or intuitive means of search.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, London Metropolitan University, London, UK

    Allan Seago

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  1. Allan Seago
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Correspondence to Allan Seago .

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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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Seago, A. (2013). A New Interaction Strategy for Musical Timbre Design. 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_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2990-5_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2989-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2990-5

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