New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Speaker
Tina Blaine
Visiting Faculty, Entertainment Technology Center and Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

When
-

Where
Wean Hall 7500

Description

The rapid development of musical interfaces and controller devices is extending far beyond the traditional relationship between instrument design and musical performance. By taking advantage of emerging technologies that collect sensory data, performers are able to explore the correlation between human gesture and sound, allowing unprecedented freedom for experimentation with musical interaction, sound design and physical movement. As novel musical interfaces increasingly find their way into entertainment and gaming applications, designers face a conflicting array of choices in balancing ease of use issues with the creation of engaging experiences for players. This talk will give an overview of several unique interfaces, including Blaine’s next-generation Jam-O-Drum developed at CMU, presented at the New Interfaces for Musical Expression Conference, and considers the impact of these technologies on musical composition, performance and multi-player collaboration.

Speaker's Bio

Tina Blaine (aka Bean) is a visiting faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center and Human Computer Interaction Institute, exploring new interface designs for collaborative musical games and interactive media. Inspired by global traditions and spontaneous music, Blaine has explored musical interaction starting in the 80s building electronic MIDI controller instruments and large-scale audience participation devices with the multimedia ensemble D'CuCKOO. As a musical interactivist at Interval Research, she led a development team in the creation of a collaborative audiovisual instrument known as the Jam-O-Drum, now on permanent exhibit at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Blaine’s work and subsequent collaborations with ETC students have been featured at SIGGRAPH’s Emerging Technologies, Design of Interactive Systems (DIS), Zeum’s Youth Art and Technology Center in San Francisco, and currently has an exhibit at Ars Electronica’s Museum of the Future in Linz, Austria. In 2001, she co-organized the first CHI workshop called “New Interfaces for Musical Expression” which has since become an International Conference on Musical Interfaces. Blaine serves on the California College of Arts & Crafts Media Design and Advisory Board and was recently selected for Richard Saul Wurman’s 2002 publication, Who’s Really Who: 1000 Most Creative Individuals in the USA. An energetic composer and multi-instrumentalist, Blaine has written music for NPR, video games, TV and documentary soundtracks, and currently performs with RhythMix, Pandemonaeon and Bogo. She has also recorded with Brian Eno, Mickey Hart, Haunted by Waters, D'CuCKOO, Tracy Blackman and others lured by the call of the muse.

Speaker's Website
http://www.jamodrum.net/