The Design of an Instrument for Visual Improvisation and Composition
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Long Papers Presentations
Presentation Title:
- The Design of an Instrument for Visual Improvisation and Composition
Presenter(s):
Abstract:
Painters and other visual artists have long admired, and even envied, the expressive power of musicians and composers. The desire for instruments that would provide graphic artists with some of the same facility as the musician takes for granted has even been expressed directly by some modern artists. A computer-based instrument, Imager, realizes their objective of integrating graphics and music. It allows a player to use a MIDI-controller to manipulate graphic entities. Their shape, colour, location, movement, growth, and other characteristics can be controlled in real-time using synthesizer and sequencer techniques. Describing the visual forms, controlling their movement and relating it to musical rhythm, and dealing with colour are all complex issues that are addressed in the design.
