Call for submissions

Volume 14, Number 2
Issue thematic title: Interactivity in Musical Instruments
Date of Publication: August 2009
Publishers: Cambridge University Press

Issue co-ordinator: Garth Paine (ga.paine@uws.edu.au).

Do we really control musical instruments?  Such a notion places the instrument itself in a passive position, that is, it is simply a machine/mechanism to be conquered.

In reality, the instrument has a set of qualities that play an active role in the music making process.  For instance, musicians often discuss the ways in which a fine instrument speaks.  A superior instrument speaks quickly, is immediately sonorous, displays a substantial aptitude for expressive/timbral nuance and encourages a partnership with performers – the instrument gives something back to them, rewards their dedication, skill and risk taking. Such an instrument, easily manipulable and dynamically variable, is by nature somewhat unstable.  High performer skill levels guarantee musical outcomes, however the musician is also aware that the instrument teeters on the brink of chaos.

Don Ihde’s phenomenological explorations of music and sound (Ihde 1990) refer to “embodiment relations”, a relationship with an instrument where by the instrument “disappears” in use, to become a conduit for expression rather than an object in its own right.

It becomes clear that a rewarding musical performance depends on the qualities of both the performer/musician and the instrument.  In order to understand this relationship, the unstable, chaotic qualities of high caliber instruments need to be described and quantified. Such research would represent some of the ‘magic’ an experienced musical instrument maker (luthier) brings to the task of evolving instrument design, whilst also informing the design of new interfaces for musical expression – perhaps the reward of a good instrument is to be found in the dynamics of controllable/steer-able chaos.

If accepted, the above model would question the notion of direct mapping.  If playing a musical instrument is represented as a point of influence within a dynamic system, then mapping is consequently never direct, an input is never more than one of several influences within a dynamic system, a hierarchy exists.  

Organised Sound is seeking submissions that directly address the issues outlined above, that discuss instrument models, alternatives to the mapping paradigm and the notions of interaction between performer and instrument. This thematic issue will focus on ideas representing the ‘why’ aspect of decision-making regarding the development of interactive instruments.

Themes of interest include:
– Conceptual models for new instrument design – taxonomies, etc.
– Discussion of research on control parameters in musical interfaces – acoustic and electronic.
– Discussions as to how expressive potentials are defined and maximised.
– Discussions as to how the demands of electronic/electroacoustic and acoustic performance differ or relate and how this may inform interface/instrument design and development.
– Discussion regarding notions of control and influence and relationships between instrument and performer.
– Discussion pertaining to a reassessment of our field, aesthetically, functionally or perceptually?
– Presentation and discussion of research into perceptual/cognitive factors associated with musical instrument design and use.

We invite submissions from composers, performers, artists and researchers working in the realm of music and sound performance with a focus on new interfaces or instruments. Submissions related to the theme are encouraged; however, those that fall outside the scope of this theme are always welcome.

Deadline for submissions is 15 October 2008. Submissions may consist of papers, with optional supporting short compositions or excerpts, audio-visual documentation of performances and/or other aspects related to your submission that can be placed onto a DVD and the CUP website for “Organised Sound”. Supporting audio and audio-visual material will be presented as part of the journal’s annual DVD-ROM which will appear with issue 14/3 (December 2009).

Ihde, Don. 1990. Technology and the Lifeworld : From Garden to Earth. Vol. The Indiana series in the philosophy of technology, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

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SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15 October 2008

SUBMISSION FORMAT

Notes for Contributors and further details can be obtained from the inside back cover of published issues of Organised Sound or from:

http://www.journals.cambridge.org/oso

Email submissions should be sent to (please see SUBMISSION FORMAT above): os@dmu.ac.uk

Hard copy of articles (only when requested) and other material (e.g., images, sound and audio-visual files, etc.) should be submitted to:

   Prof. Leigh Landy
   Organised Sound
    Clephan Building
    De Montfort University
   Leicester LE1 9BH, UK.

Editor: Leigh Landy
Associate Editors: Ross Kirk and Richard Orton
Regional Editors: Joel Chadabe, Kenneth Fields, Eduardo Miranda, Jøran Rudi, Barry Truax, Ian Whalley, David Worrall
ICMA Representative: Mary Simoni
International Editorial Board: Marc Battier, Laurant Bayle, Hannah Bosma, Alessandro Cipriani, Simon Emmerson, Rajmil Fischman, David Howard, Rosemary Mountain, Tony Myatt, Jean-Claude Risset, Francis Rumsey, Margaret Schedel

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Prof. Leigh Landy
Director – Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre
Clephan Building
De Montfort University
Leicester LE1 9BH United Kingdom
TEL +44/0-116 2577956, +44/0-1270 257562
FAX – +44/0-1270 257114
llandy@dmu.ac.uk, leigh.landy@googlemail.com
http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/, http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~llandy
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