The Extended Encounter: Kicking Against Methodology

Thor Magnusson

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Methodologies from the field of Human-Computer Interaction have been used in musical instrument design for many decades. However, evaluating a computer system is considerably different from the evaluation of a new musical instrument. This paper argues that while HCI methodologies and evaluative taxonomies can be useful conceptual instruments for designers, they eventually must be transcended. The paper introduces the metamethod of the extended encounter as a critical analytical framework that can incorporate other methods. Grounded in linguistic skepticism, this approach shifts attention from verbal accounts toward alternative forms of understanding through mindful listening and observation.

Citation

Thor Magnusson. 2026. The Extended Encounter: Kicking Against Methodology. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784204 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_65,
 abstract = {Methodologies from the field of Human-Computer Interaction have been used in musical instrument design for many decades. However, evaluating a computer system is considerably different from the evaluation of a new musical instrument. This paper argues that while HCI methodologies and evaluative taxonomies can be useful conceptual instruments for designers, they eventually must be transcended. The paper introduces the metamethod of the extended encounter as a critical analytical framework that can incorporate other methods. Grounded in linguistic skepticism, this approach shifts attention from verbal accounts toward alternative forms of understanding through mindful listening and observation. },
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {65},
 author = {Thor Magnusson},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784204},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {9},
 pages = {549--557},
 title = {The Extended Encounter: Kicking Against Methodology},
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_65.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}