Virtual-Acoustic Musical Instruments (Portfolio)
- Submitting institution
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Queen's University of Belfast
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output identifier
- 204315105
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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- Location
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- Brief description of type
- Multi-component portfolio
- Open access status
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- Month
- -
- Year
- 2020
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- Yes
- Number of additional authors
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6
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This portfolio documents an ongoing research collaboration between musician and instrument designer Paul Stapleton and audio engineer Maarten Van Walstijn, often involving other colleagues at SARC (Bhanuprakash, Mehes, Ortiz, Pardue, Rodger). The project investigates the potential of physical modelling (i.e. computational simulation of acoustic instruments) as a means of creating new and complex musical interactions (e.g. non-linear, modally rich, with a degree of unpredictability) that are both constrained by mechano-acoustic physical laws and tunable through real-time parametric exploration. These design principles are motivated by the desire to create instruments that leverage the musicality of experienced performers while encouraging the development of novel techniques, strategies and configurations in performance. This research project address the question of how to design virtual-acoustic musical instruments by developing an interdisciplinary approach informed by expertise in software engineering, physical computing, music performance and ecological psychology. This approach allows instrument design processes to mutually inform the study of how musicians explore and become skilled at playing new musical instruments.
The portfolio includes a series of peer-reviewed papers at relevant international conferences (SMC, NIME, DAFx), documenting the creation of multiple interrelated instruments (VASBPI, Vodhrán, and the early stages of an articulated string-slide simulation). They also report on related observational studies, and mobilise these designs to advance philosophical debates within this community of practice. The portfolio also includes a video co-produced with interactive technology company Sensel, featuring their Morph tactile interface as part of an early version of Vodhrán. Stapleton has performed with both this instrument and earlier instruments in this portfolio, including with his trio Ens Ekt at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (Stanford University), where footage for the Sensel video was recorded. The video was disseminated in 2020 on the Sensel Morph website as part of their 'Artist Profiles' series.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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