A Mobile Conducting App With a Switching Beat-Following Algorithm

Abstract

Conducting an orchestra had been a privilege reserved for professional conductors, until there are music conducting systems that can follow the user's lead. The music playing and beat tracking components of conducting systems have been well developed, but the beat-following algorithm has room for improvement. In this paper we present a mobile conducting app with a novel beat-following algorithm, which can switch between different behaviours to accommodate different musical situations and user preferences, and allow the user to make their own interpretations of classic orchestral works.