A prerequisite for any musical instrument is an interface to actually play it. Acoustic instruments use mechanisms such as keyboards, fretboards and sophisticated finger key systems over tone holes. Contemporary digital instruments such as synthesisers retain the traditional keyboard while introducing additional controls such as modulation and pitch bend wheels to add expressivity. The advent of software based instruments and Digital Audio Workstations has given rise to a proliferation of commercial, hand- crafted and DIY tactile controllers and grid-based interfaces. More experimental and inventive approaches - such as those based on air gesture, touch screens, capacitive touch sensors and eye control - are being developed by musicians/researchers working in the field of “designing human-computer interfaces and interactions for musical performance” (NIME, 2014:online) promoted by the likes of NIME.
So while mastering musical interface remains a central aspect of musicianship, the focus of much contemporary design in this field is on refining ergonomics and musical expressivity - drawing on the theories and practices of human-computer interaction (HCI) and embodied cognition to optimise the interface between the player and the instrument so that the making of music becomes as intuitive, natural and automatic as possible. Yet, in the main, this still assumes working within
orthodox musical frameworks - specifically the 12-tone Equal Temperament.
The Augmented Tonoscope obviously required a musical interface - but akin to the virtual systems module, it was amongst the least detailed conceptually at the outset,
developing as a direct result of undertaking the research. Initial efforts focussed on the ergonomics of the SWG - aiming to embed this with a considered, hands-on functionality and musical expressivity distilled from the literature, years of musicianship and a design dialogue with the device. Yet research by John Telfer (2010) suggested that an interface for The Augmented Tonoscope should be informed, not just by the physicality of the system, but also by consideration of alternative musical frameworks. Figure 31 - Whitney Triptych v1.2
14 “Hexanies, a type of “combination product set” invented by the visionary tuning theorist Ervin
Wilson, are sets of six pitches created through the various possible pairings of four selected integer factors (Wilson 1989; Grady 1991). A characteristic of combination product sets that distinguishes them from traditional approaches to Just intonation is that no one pitch in the set necessarily has priority over the others. Like ever-expanding tessellation patterns that offer multiple perspectives of what functions as a center” (Alves, 2005:48).
5.6.1 Sine Wave Generator (SWG)
Development of the SWG attempted an integrated system of hands-on inputs and operational modes using:
• hardware components - a touchscreen, keypad, Softpot linear and rotary touch sensors, rotary encoder, rotary pots and toggle switches;
• remote control - via Serial over USB and OSC via a TouchOSC interface on an iPad 2;
• automation - LFO-like controls and implementation of Andy Brown’s Arduino
Easing library (Brown, 2010) to ‘tween’ between frequencies;
• memories - up to 10 frequencies stored in volatile and non-volatile EEPROM memory;
• outputs and buses - 2 x mono and mixable stereo audio, I2C data and 5V power buses.
Though adept as a device for experimentation, observation and demonstration, it proved comparatively clunky and coarse as a hands-on instrument. While the remote control over OSC showed promise for a more intuitive and natural interaction, it didn’t go far enough and lacked the haptic feedback of a physical interface. Even the functionality that stored a set of frequencies that induced
distinct patterns and played them back via an emulated keyboard using the Softpot Linear touch sensor or TouchOSC interface - essentially a cymatic scale with a set key for a given pattern - seemed too superficial.
5.6.2 Lamdoma Matrix & monome64
The Augmented Tonoscope required a musical interface that would allow a
simultaneity between musical tone, cymatic pattern and digital visualisation - and the pervasive, 12-ET tuned, chromatic keyboard wasn’t an appropriate fit. Telfer (2010) proposes that his Lamdoma Matrix - a musical tuning framework based on perfect intervals derived from his theory of harmonicism as outlined in Chapter 2. Literature Review - can be used as a practical, creative resource for music making - though he prefers exploring its musical potentialities by building acoustic stringed instruments. Yet struck by the similarity (Figure 32) of the Lamdoma Matrix to the form of the monome64 (Crabtree & Cain, 2005-2014) - a minimalist, ergonomic controller with an 8x8 grid of buttons - this research integrated both into a custom- coded musical interface - the Lamdoma Monome (Figure 33). This allowed
access to the tunings of the Lamdoma using the monome as physical ‘window’ - its buttons becoming the ‘keys’ of a 2D keyboard. As this 8x8 ‘window’ moves around the 16x16 matrix the software maps the physical buttons of the monome64 on to those whole number ratios defined by that section of the matrix it lies over. Pushing a button accesses that ratio defined by the cell directly ‘below’ it - sending Figure 33 - The Lamdoma Monome musical interface
Figure 32 - John Telfer’s Lamdoma Matrix alongside a momone.org walnut 64 controller
the value either directly over OSC or as a combined MIDI Note On and pitch bend message equivalent to that ratio of the base frequency. Utilising the decoupled LEDs of the monome made it possible to map a pseudo, monochromatic version of Telfer’s colour coding back onto the physical device - to see something of the structure of the matrix on the monome itself and so aid real-time performance. The research then set about exploring the harmonic landscape of this tuning framework - as detailed in Appendix 5 - Analysis of the Lamdoma Monome.
Still, the Lamdoma isn’t a musical tuning system as such - not in the sense of Pythagorean 3-limit tuning described in Section 1.7 The Pythagorean Laws of Harmony or other more sophisticated perfect interval based tuning systems - rather it is a framework for accessing Just Intonation derived frequencies (see Appendix 5 - Analysis of the Lamdoma Monome). It does show a definite musical potential in its essentially 2D pattern based ergonomics - akin to the chord shapes of a guitar fretboard - and flexibility in accommodating conventional 12-tone scales while maintaining perfect intervals. However, like any musical interface, it requires time and practise to develop a familiarity and all being well master - and that
process is far from complete. This was mainly due to the bottlenecks (as described in Section 4.5 Key Developmental Stages) in realising a custom-made nodal
based recording and sequencing tool as described below in Section 5.7.1 Ki-No- Seq (Kinetic Nodal Sequencer), which shifted development in this area towards using Ableton Live. The Lamdoma Monome wasn’t designed to work with Live and doesn’t integrate that well - so development in this area remained relatively incipient. Accordingly it is difficult to offer any informed critical feedback on its feel as as a performance tool or more embodied perspectives on its functional design and musical expressivity. Still, the key melody line of Three Space, a collaborative work with Ben Lycett beyond the scope of this Ph.D., was devised using the
Lamdoma Monome and recorded directly into Live using the technique outlined in
Section 5.7.3 Recording Pitch Bend Data.