Many-Person Instruments for Computer Music Performance

Michael Rotondo, Nick Kruge, and Ge Wang

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

In this paper we explore the concept of instruments which are played by more than one person, and present two case studies. We designed, built and performed with Feedbørk, a two-player instrument comprising two iPads which form a video feedback loop, and Barrel, a nine-player instrument made up of eight Gametrak controllers fastened to a steel industrial barrel. By splitting the control of these instruments into distinct but interdependent roles, we allow each individual to easily play a part while retaining a rich complexity of output for the whole system. We found that the relationships between those roles had a significant effect on how the players communicated with each other, and on how the performance was perceived by the audience.

Citation:

Michael Rotondo, Nick Kruge, and Ge Wang. 2012. Many-Person Instruments for Computer Music Performance. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1180583

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Rotondo2012,
 abstract = {In this paper we explore the concept of instruments which are played by more than one person, and present two case studies. We designed, built and performed with Feedb{\o}rk, a two-player instrument comprising two iPads which form a video feedback loop, and Barrel, a nine-player instrument made up of eight Gametrak controllers fastened to a steel industrial barrel. By splitting the control of these instruments into distinct but interdependent roles, we allow each individual to easily play a part while retaining a rich complexity of output for the whole system. We found that the relationships between those roles had a significant effect on how the players communicated with each other, and on how the performance was perceived by the audience.},
 address = {Ann Arbor, Michigan},
 author = {Michael Rotondo and Nick Kruge and Ge Wang},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1180583},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 keywords = {Many person musical instruments, cooperative music, asymmetric interfaces, transmodal feedback},
 publisher = {University of Michigan},
 title = {Many-Person Instruments for Computer Music Performance},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2012/nime2012_171.pdf},
 year = {2012}
}