Aesthetic Considerations in the Use of “Virtual” Music Instruments

Computer-mediated music control devices compell us to reexaminethe relationship between performer and sound, thenature and complexity of which is theoretically unlimited.This essay attempts to formulate some of the key aestheticissues raised by the use of new control interfaces in thedevelopment of new musical works and new performanceparadigms: mapping the gesture-sound relationship,identifying successful uses of “virtual” instruments,questioning the role of “interactivity” in performance, andpositing future areas of exploration.originally submitted for the CHI Workshop on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, April 1 & 2, 2001, Seattle, WA, USA, accepted for the Workshop on Current Research Directions in Computer Music, Institut Universitari de l'Audiovisual, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, 2001, also presented in the national conference of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), Iowa City, Iowa, USA, April 2002, and published in Journal SEAMUS, Spring 2003