Interlude

New Digital Paradigms for Exploration and Interaction of Expressive Movement with Music.

This project touches upon three major research topics in the Real-Time Musical Interaction team: paradigms for interactivity, multimodal modeling, and collaborative movement interfaces.

Recent developments in computer music have made it possible to analyze, process, and manipulate music and sound; both the audio signal and sound's symbolic representation (i.e. the score). These processing techniques and manipulations are generally carried out using traditional interfaces such as a keyboard or a mouse, perhaps using interfaces for mixing with potentiometers. Yet, the possibilities of interaction between gestures and larger body movements, as is the case with acoustic instruments with digital sound elements, still remains largely untapped.

The goal of the Interlude project was to explore new means of musical expression by combining modular motion capture systems, innovative software programs for interactive sound synthesis, and dynamic systems for visualization. The expected findings touch artistic creation, musical education, and the world of musical games. This project focuses on a growing community of users that includes members of the general public who are interested in gestural and expressive use of new digital tools.

The new musical MO (Modular Musical Objects) interfaces that were developed in this project won first prize in the international Guthman competition for new musical instruments in 2011. These interfaces were featured in several international exhibitions such as "Talk to Me" at the MoMa in New York, the Biennale du Design St-Etienne, Objet(s) du numérique - Design d'un nouveau monde Industriel in Paris, and the Lift Experience in Geneva.

The MO interfaces and associated software (MuBu, gesture follower) have led to concrete applications, in particular for musical education. These applications have been used successfully in the Atelier de Feuillantines music school. New forms of musical games have also been created such as Urban Musical Game (a musical ball game), presented during the Futur en Seine festival in 2011. This project has also led to the creation of Phonotonic, a start-up that develops a certain number of these advances. Specific industrial development is also being carried out by certain project partners.

This project has already been the object of over 17 scientific communications, including scientific journals, the proceedings from national and international conferences, numerous mentions in the press (printed and online), as well as several public presentations in Europe, in the United States, and in Asia.

Project Details

Participants