A Microphone Array Interface for Real-Time Interactive Music Performance

A novel digital musical interface based on sound source localization using a microphone array is presented. It allows a performer to plan and conduct the expressivity of a performance by controlling an audio processing module in real-time through the spatial movement of a sound source (i.e., voice, traditional musical instruments, and sounding mobile devices). The prototype interface consists of an adaptive parameterized Steered Response Power Phase Transform (SRP-PHAT) with a Zero-Crossing Rate (ZCR) threshold and a Kalman filter that provides a more accurate estimate and tracking of the source position if there is movement. A real-time software based on external Max object was developed to test the system in a real-world moderately reverberant and noisy environment, focusing on the performance of pseudo-periodic sounds in a multisource scenario