A Live-learning Punitive Interface for Improvisational Performance Dynamics

Kevin Blackistone, and Martin Kaltenbrunner

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

There have been many permutations in methods to train musicians in the performance technique and the technical skills required for an instrument. Among these, many modern computational approaches have been developed which incorporate some level of feedback from the student. These often assess mastery based on a response, dynamic or learned, to the practiced result. This research presents an interface expanding these concepts, which guides the performer to novel improvisation through punitive techniques. As opposed to models using prior composition or predetermined reference points, it live-learns in situ to assess predictability without pretraining. It provides a framework and interface which seeks to be implementable for a variety instruments and styles analyses of sound and pose.

Citation

Kevin Blackistone, and Martin Kaltenbrunner. 2026. A Live-learning Punitive Interface for Improvisational Performance Dynamics. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784336 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_110,
 abstract = {There have been many permutations in methods to train musicians in the performance technique and the technical skills required for an instrument. Among these, many modern computational approaches have been developed which incorporate some level of feedback from the student. These often assess mastery based on a response, dynamic or learned, to the practiced result. This research presents an interface expanding these concepts, which guides the performer to novel improvisation through punitive techniques. As opposed to models using prior composition or predetermined reference points, it live-learns in situ to assess predictability without pretraining. It provides a framework and interface which seeks to be implementable for a variety instruments and styles analyses of sound and pose.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {110},
 author = {Kevin Blackistone and Martin Kaltenbrunner},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784336},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {918--923},
 title = {A Live-learning Punitive Interface for Improvisational Performance Dynamics},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_110.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}