CONFERENCE DEMOS

Saturday October 19

02:00pm - Musical expression and instrument-making

How do virtuoso musicians perceive the evolution of traditional instruments towards new modes of playing and the control of electronic systems ? How to reconcile new electronic instruments with the path towards virtuosity ?

What possibilities for musical expression are offered by new technologies ? A historical panorama of the evolution of electronic instrument-making will be followed by comments on experiences with new instruments, and a round table.

 02:00pm : Marc Battier, IRCAM - Introduction and Historical Overview
 02:30pm : Atau Tanaka - Lecture / Performance on Biosignal Interfaces for Music
 Since over 10 years Atau Tanaka performs music with the BioMuse, a system to pick up the electrical activity associated with neural activity in the body (EEG, EOG and EMG). In this lecture Tanaka will discuss the possibilties of this technology for music perfromance and present recent developements in this field. A demonstration will be given with an extract of a recent composition.
 03:15pm : Marcelo Wanderley, McGill University - Trends in Gestural Control and NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression)
 03:45pm : Break
 04:00pm : Jean Haury - Performing Beethoven with Two Fingertips
 04:30pm : Michael Waisvisz, Steim
 05:00pm : Break
 05:45pm : René Caussé and Carol Robinson, IRCAM - The variable volume clarinet mouthpiece concert and presentation

06:30pm - Round Table

Marcelo Wanderley, moderator with researchers, developers, and performers.

What are the new possibilities for musical expression and new technology ? What do these instruments have in common with traditional instruments ? What are the differences. How does virtuosity play into new technology ?

Free admittance
 Date : Saturday October 19, 02:00pm to 07:00pm
 Location : IRCAM, Salle Stravinsky

Sunday October 20

02:00pm - Analysis Tools and Analysis-Generated Instruments

Which analysis technologies open new perspectives on the creation of instruments ? Do new musical descriptors necessarily inspire new control systems ? How can analysis of musical gestures and - more precisely - of instrumental gestures contribute to a new breed of instrument-making ? How to conceive of 'smart instruments' capable of analysing musical style, listening to, and accompanying the performer in real time ?

 02:30pm : Xavier Rodet, IRCAM - Sound Analysis and Instrument Modelling
 03:00pm : Gérard Assayag, IRCAM - Analysis and Generativiy
 The most evident differences of contemporary musical instrument based on computer technology compared to their wooden or metalic ancestors is the possibility to respond to the gestural input of the performer with complex musical structures. The performer of such instruments instead of interacting with the instrument only on the level of the gestures and physical energy directly related to sound production can play with autonomous melodies and rythmic structures or other musical gestalts on a higher level. Further more computer instruments can be enabled to analyze the human performers input and act as an artificial performance partner. This talk will present and discuss different techniques of analysis and generation of musical structures belonging to the tool box of contemporary and future instrument making.
 03:30pm : Antonio Camurri - Video-Based Gesture Analysis, for Dance and Music
 Antonio Camurri leads the Eyes Web project at the University of Genova. Eyes Web is a graphical programming environment focussing on the analysis of expressive content in movement, midi, audio, and music signals.

In this lecture the Eyes Web project will be presented together with example applications and experiences in the field of dance and music performance.
 04:00 : David Shea and Jean Lochard - Najo Sampler
 04:45pm : Nicola Orio, University of Padoue - Musician/Machine Interaction Based on Score Following

06:30pm - Round Table

David Wessel, moderator, with researchers, developers, and artists.

Can we play an instrument while modifying it ? What are the dividing lines between composition, instrument making, and performance ? Can musical creation benefit from these instrument/scores ? Where do we find an equilibrium between triggering simple events and driving complex musical structures ? Each instrument has its own "language" - what languages must we invent in order to make the most of these dynamic instruments ? What instruments are necessary for playing with concepts of space ?

Free Admittance
 Date : Sunday October 20, 02:30pm to 07:00pm
 Location : IRCAM, Salle Stravinsky