Force-Feedback Instruments for the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana

Abstract

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.

Multisensory instrumental dynamics as an emergent paradigm for digital musical creation

“…Edgar Berdahl's recent years as associate professor of Experimental Music and Digital Media at LSU (Baton Rouge -USA) have given rise to several musical pieces incorporating multisensory haptic interaction with physical models, by both himself and students and/or associates [9]. These works rely on tools developed or co-developed by Berdahl, namely the FireFader opensource force-feedback device, the HSP framework in Max programming environment and the Synth-A-Modeler software.…”

“…Two special performance techniques are exploited in this piece, afforded by the design of the instrument. Those techniques are described in [9]. The composition is fully scored, with three-line staves representing relative pitch elements and various expressive markings.…”

“…Although all quite different in terms both of nature and deployed technology, the above works can form a Fig. 17: Representation of a slack string used in Stephen David Beck's Quartet for Strings (image taken from [9]). basis for some preliminary remarks regarding use-cases, aesthetic interests and design trends.…”

“…As an example, while the technological components used Hélios allow for complete gesture-sound coupling [26], the instrument's mechanical design uses a hammer percussion with an escapement mechanism, thus creating a discontinuity in the chain. Pushing this reflection, one might consider a heavy-touch electrical piano controller to be a perfectly suitable, and much cheaper, input device 9 .…”

UPLOrc: A Networked, Live Coding Laptop Orchestra based in South Africa

“…These contemporary art forms, and the technologies that make them possible, may vary widely depending on the context. For instance, some ensembles such as Princeton University's PLOrk (Princeton Laptop Orchestra) make use of self-contained stations consisting of a laptop and a hemispherical speaker (Trueman 2007), or in some cases Digital Musical Instruments (DMI's) (Ferguson & Wanderley 2010, Berdahl et al 2018. However, due to the limitations of this type of setup, many ensembles make exclusive use of software to perform and improvise music collaboratively (Freeman & Troyer 2011).…”