Composing for Laptop Orchestra

Smallwood, Scott; Trueman, Dan; Cook, Perry R.; Wang, Ge

doi:10.1162/comj.2008.32.1.9

Cited by 42 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…JITLib (Collins et al 2003) implements text chat functionality and enables musicians to interpret code directly on each other's machines ; the laptop ensemble Powerbooks Unplugged uses this environment to share code as an "open letter to the others, who may (or may not) read it, copy it, and modify it further" (Rohrhuber et al 2007). A similar approach was followed in a laptop orchestra performance titled TBA (Smallwood et al 2008). We also find these approaches appealing, but share others' concerns about the daunting code synchronization challenges involved (Wang et al 2005).…”

Section: Existing Models For Collaborative Text-based Performancesupporting

confidence: 65%

Collaborative Textual Improvisation in a Laptop Ensemble

Freeman

Troyer

2011

Computer Music Journal

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For us, text-based performance interfaces, such as those used in live coding systems (Collins et al. 2003), are a fascinating fusion of composition and improvisation. Textual performance interfaces can offer a precise and concise means to define, manipulate, and transform motives, gestures, and processes in real time and at multiple hierarchical layers. They can also render musical thinking visible to the audience by projecting the text as it is written.We are particularly interested in textual performance interfaces in laptop ensemble contexts. We believe that the dynamics of ensemble performance can lead laptop musicians in new creative directions, pushing them towards more real-time creativity and combining the diverse skills, ideas, and schemas of the ensemble's members to create unexpected, novel music in performance. But when laptop performance interfaces move beyond simple one-to-one mappings, they present unique ensemble challenges, particularly in terms of the synchronization and sharing of musical material. Specialized improvisation environments for specific performances (e.g., Trueman 2008) or ensembles (e.g., Rebelo and Renaud 2006) can help groups to negotiate these challenges and structure their collaboration: The tools can create powerful new channels of networked communication among ensemble members to supplement aural and visual interaction. Textual performance environments are uniquely positioned in this regard: They potentially offer greater efficiency and flexibility in performance, and because text is already a dominant networked communication medium, they can draw from an abundance of interaction models in areas such as instant messaging, collaborative document editing, and the real-time Web.Although many text-based performance environments do support collaboration, most current systems are challenging to use with ensembles of more than a few musicians. As a result, we created a new textual performance environment for laptop ensemble named LOLC. (LOLC was initially an acronym for Laptop Orchestra Live Coding, though we now consider the applicability of the term "live coding" to be debatable.) From its inception, we designed LOLC to focus on ensemble-based collaboration. Though inspired by live coding systems, LOLC is not itself a programming language: It is neither Turing-complete nor does it allow its users to define new computational processes. Instead, its design, in which musicians create rhythmic patterns based on sound files and share and transform those patterns over a local network, facilitates an interaction paradigm inspired by other forms of ensemble improvisation, particularly in jazz and avant-garde music.In this article, we discuss the related work upon which LOLC builds; we outline the main goals of the LOLC environment; we describe the environment's design, its technical implementation, and the motivations behind some of our key decisions; and we evaluate its success through discussion of a recent performance. Related WorkThe design and implementation of LOLC was influenced b...

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Section: Existing Models For Collaborative Text-based Performancesupporting

confidence: 65%

Collaborative Textual Improvisation in a Laptop Ensemble

Freeman

Troyer

2011

Computer Music Journal

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“…Organizationally, the ensemble aims to follow in the footsteps of PLOrk and the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) by leveraging the integrated classroom concept, which encourages students to naturally and concurrently learn about music performance, music composition, programming, and design [56]. The Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana further serves the local community by performing repertoire written by both local students and faculty [50].…”

Section: Laptop Orchestra Of Louisianamentioning

confidence: 99%

Force-Feedback Instruments for the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana

Berdahl

Pfalz

Blandino

et al. 2018

Springer Series on Touch and Haptic Systems

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Digital musical instruments yielding force feedback were designed and employed in a case study with the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana. The advantages of force feedback are illuminated through the creation of a series of musical compositions. Based on these and a small number of other prior music compositions, the following compositional approaches are recommended: providing performers with precise, physically intuitive, and reconfigurable controls, using traditional controls alongside force-feedback controls as appropriate, and designing timbres that sound uncannily familiar but are nonetheless novel. Video-recorded performances illustrate these approaches, which are discussed by the composers. IntroductionApplications of force feedback for designing musical instruments have been studied since as early as 1978 at ACROE [14,17,21,36] (Chap. 8 reports on recent advancements). Such works provide a crucial reference for understanding the role that haptic technology can play in music, and these are described in detail in a preceding chapter. The wider computer music community has demonstrated a sustained interest in incorporating force-feedback technology into musical works and projects. This has been evidenced by a series of projects during recent decades.

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“…Cloud Orchestras share many of the same problems and difficulties as laptop orchestras [16,15]. Laptop orchestras are composed of laptop synthesizer users who are connected together over OpenSound Control or jack.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tech report: Orchestrating your cloud orchestra: Model driven development of cloud deployment and orchestration for distributed computer music instruments

Hindle

2015

Preprint

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Cloud computing potentially ushers in a new era of computer music performance with exceptionally large computer music instruments consisting of 10s to 100s of virtual machines called a Cloud Orchestra. Cloud computing allows for the rapid provisioning of resources, but to deploy such a complicated and interconnected network of software synthesizers in the cloud requires a lot of manual work, system administration knowledge, and devops (developer-sysop) skills. This is a barrier to computer musicians whose goal is to produce and perform music, and not to sysadmin 100s of computers. This work discusses the issues facing cloud orchestra deployment and offers an abstract solution and a concrete implementation. The abstract solution is generate cloud orchestra deployment plans by allowing computer musicians to model their network of synthesizers and to describe their resources. A model optimizer will compute near-optimal deployment plans to synchronize, deploy, and orchestrate the start-up of a complex network of synthesizers deployed to many computers. This model driven development approach frees computer musicians from much of the hassle of deployment and allocation. Computer musicians can focus on the configuration of musical components and leave the resource allocation up to the modelling software to optimize.

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Composing for Laptop Orchestra

Cited by 42 publications

References 7 publications

Collaborative Textual Improvisation in a Laptop Ensemble

Collaborative Textual Improvisation in a Laptop Ensemble

Force-Feedback Instruments for the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana

Tech report: Orchestrating your cloud orchestra: Model driven development of cloud deployment and orchestration for distributed computer music instruments

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