Building Mobile Instruments for Improvised Musical Performance
type: CreativeWork
description: This paper explores an approach to building electronic musical instruments for use in improvised music that I have found to be particularly effective for developing flexible, dynamic, and versatile instruments well adapted to the improvised context, and a resultant set of suites of solo improvised character pieces. The lessons learned from this research can be useful beyond the scope of this particular instrument design philosophy. In Part I, I present the foundations of my approach to instrument design, based on my past experience and the technological environment in which electronic music has developed. I discuss the values that guide me in the creation of instruments for use in improvised performance, and describe the development tools iRTcmix and Nikl, and Dixey, an instrument I have created with those tools and hardware devices using the Apple iOS operating system. Part II discusses the musical issues related to the creation of Character Weekend, a set of solo recordings produced with the tools described in Part I.
abstract: This paper explores an approach to building electronic musical instruments for use in improvised music that I have found to be particularly effective for developing flexible, dynamic, and versatile instruments well adapted to the improvised context, and a resultant set of suites of solo improvised character pieces. The lessons learned from this research can be useful beyond the scope of this particular instrument design philosophy. In Part I, I present the foundations of my approach to instrument design, based on my past experience and the technological environment in which electronic music has developed. I discuss the values that guide me in the creation of instruments for use in improvised performance, and describe the development tools iRTcmix and Nikl, and Dixey, an instrument I have created with those tools and hardware devices using the Apple iOS operating system. Part II discusses the musical issues related to the creation of Character Weekend, a set of solo recordings produced with the tools described in Part I.
author: Holzborn, Damon Russell
language: English
keywords: Music, Improvisation (Music), Electronic musical instruments, Electronic musical instruments--Construction
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:44:34Z
provider: Columbia University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Columbia University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7916/D8GX4JXX