Composing Spatial Instruments

Workshop

Gerhard Eckel & David Pirrò

held at the International Summer Course for New Music, Darmstadt, 2014

The expansion of the compositional process through digital instrument design is a common practice today. In this practical workshop, we explored a specific type of instrument and interaction design using motion capture technology. Composing the smallest details of the relationship between human movement and sound opens up unprecedented possibilities for musical expression. The spectrum includes approaches such as those in the Embodied Generative Music project or sound installations designed for direct exploration by the audience.

In the workshop, we introduced composers, musicians, and performers to the fundamentals of high-resolution motion capture, which enables the composition of complex movement/sound relationships that allow quasi-tactile control of synthetic sound. Participants were provided with a specialized software toolkit for SuperCollider. Sufficient time was allocated for experimenting with composed spatial instruments for both performance and installation applications. We also highlighted connections to other artistic fields such as dance and media art.