Grounded Yet Shifting: Shaping Hybrid Performance Ecologies with Dynamic Tonality

John Bowers

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Rather than working with fixed scales and intervals, dynamic tonality explores the possibility that instruments and how they are tuned could dynamically change as a performance unfolds. While modulation between keys, for example, is a familiar feature of much Western music, dynamic tonality more radically extends the possibilities for tonal change in real-time. This paper examines how working with dynamic tonality can bring together instruments, interfaces, generative algorithms, sound synthesis, and processing methods to create coherent yet challenging performance ecologies. Rather than drill deep on one particular application, a variety of settings where dynamic tonality has a core role is explored. Five different methods are defined for generating scales, based on the commonality of detected pitches in a time interval, the confidence of detection, the range of alternative pitches required, amongst other considerations. Seven different performance systems are described which outline possibilities for dynamic tonality in hybrid performance environments with particular attention given to how dynamic tonality has enriched a room feedback system. The paper reflects on current performance experience before turning to possibilities for future work and speculations on the ‘grounded yet shifting’ aesthetic that such systems engender.

Citation

John Bowers. 2026. Grounded Yet Shifting: Shaping Hybrid Performance Ecologies with Dynamic Tonality . Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784159 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_48,
 abstract = {Rather than working with fixed scales and intervals, dynamic tonality explores the possibility that instruments and how they are tuned could dynamically change as a performance unfolds. While modulation between keys, for example, is a familiar feature of much Western music, dynamic tonality more radically extends the possibilities for tonal change in real-time. This paper examines how working with dynamic tonality can bring together instruments, interfaces, generative algorithms, sound synthesis, and processing methods to create coherent yet challenging performance ecologies. Rather than drill deep on one particular application, a variety of settings where dynamic tonality has a core role is explored. Five different methods are defined for generating scales, based on the commonality of detected pitches in a time interval, the confidence of detection, the range of alternative pitches required, amongst other considerations. Seven different performance systems are described which outline possibilities for dynamic tonality in hybrid performance environments with particular attention given to how dynamic tonality has enriched a room feedback system. The paper reflects on current performance experience before turning to possibilities for future work and speculations on the ‘grounded yet shifting’ aesthetic that such systems engender.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {48},
 author = {John Bowers},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784159},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {9},
 pages = {410--418},
 title = {Grounded Yet Shifting: Shaping Hybrid Performance Ecologies with Dynamic Tonality },
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_48.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}