Manubrio: Investigating Musical Instrument Embodiment Through a Feedback-Based New Interface for Musical Expression

Sergio Ramos Galindo

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This paper presents Manubrio, a digital musical instrument designed to investigate embodied musical interaction. The instrument explores how continuous bodily engagement and feedbackbased sound generation can support the incorporation of a digital interface into the performer’s bodily awareness. Manubrio approaches feedback as a performative resource that requires sustained physical regulation and attentive listening. The instrument was developed through an integrated hardware–software design process that prioritizes sensorimotor feedback cues and minimizes indirection between gesture and sound. A qualitative user study with four musicians examines how embodied interaction arises, focusing on incorporation, immersion, and the emergence of transparency between body, instrument, and sound. The findings suggest that Manubrio can support music practices for embodied interaction to emerge, while also revealing the sensitivity and fragility of such interactions. This work contributes a novel musical interface and synthesis approach and explores how a new musical instrument can serve as a research artefact for investigating embodiment in musical interaction.

Citation

Sergio Ramos Galindo. 2026. Manubrio: Investigating Musical Instrument Embodiment Through a Feedback-Based New Interface for Musical Expression. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784143 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_43,
 abstract = {This paper presents Manubrio, a digital musical instrument designed to investigate embodied musical interaction. The instrument explores how continuous bodily engagement and feedbackbased sound generation can support the incorporation of a digital interface into the performer’s bodily awareness. Manubrio approaches feedback as a performative resource that requires sustained physical regulation and attentive listening. The instrument was developed through an integrated hardware–software design process that prioritizes sensorimotor feedback cues and minimizes indirection between gesture and sound. A qualitative user study with four musicians examines how embodied interaction arises, focusing on incorporation, immersion, and the emergence of transparency between body, instrument, and sound. The findings suggest that Manubrio can support music practices for embodied interaction to emerge, while also revealing the sensitivity and fragility of such interactions. This work contributes a novel musical interface and synthesis approach and explores how a new musical instrument can serve as a research artefact for investigating embodiment in musical interaction.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {43},
 author = {Sergio Ramos Galindo},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784143},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {9},
 pages = {368--376},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/wgowQVOTkew},
 title = {Manubrio: Investigating Musical Instrument Embodiment Through a Feedback-Based New Interface for Musical Expression},
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_43.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}