Biofeedback Suite as an Instrument: Emotion Mappings for Musical Practice

Lluis Guerra Recas

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This paper presents the Biofeedback Suite as a modular musical instrument for embodied exploration, focusing on the design and aesthetic evaluation of hybrid embodied sensing mappings combining physiological (GSR) and behavioral (motion and facial) signals in personal music practice. Rather than treating physiological or affective signals as variables to be inferred or controlled, the system is conceived as an interactive instrument whose musical behaviour emerges from the coupling of embodied signals, mapping strategies, and sound design decisions. Through practice based reflection and artistic experimentation, the paper discusses design tensions, breakdowns, and limitations encountered when integrating embodied sensing into live music making. The contribution frames biofeedback not as a control mechanism, but as a compositional and instrumental resource, offering insights for the design of responsive musical interfaces grounded in embodied listening and aesthetic decision making.

Citation

Lluis Guerra Recas. 2026. Biofeedback Suite as an Instrument: Emotion Mappings for Musical Practice. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784301 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_100,
 abstract = {This paper presents the Biofeedback Suite as a modular musical instrument for embodied exploration, focusing on the design and aesthetic evaluation of hybrid embodied sensing mappings combining physiological (GSR) and behavioral (motion and facial) signals in personal music practice. Rather than treating physiological or affective signals as variables to be inferred or controlled, the system is conceived as an interactive instrument whose musical behaviour emerges from the coupling of embodied signals, mapping strategies, and sound design decisions. Through practice based reflection and artistic experimentation, the paper discusses design tensions, breakdowns, and limitations encountered when integrating embodied sensing into live music making. The contribution frames biofeedback not as a control mechanism, but as a compositional and instrumental resource, offering insights for the design of responsive musical interfaces grounded in embodied listening and aesthetic decision making.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {100},
 author = {Lluis Guerra Recas},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784301},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {5},
 pages = {848--852},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/vATSRC1dBO4},
 title = {Biofeedback Suite as an Instrument: Emotion Mappings for Musical Practice},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_100.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}