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Computer Music Journal 25.2 (2001) 37-45



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The Squeezables:
Toward an Expressive and Interdependent Multi-player Musical Instrument

Gil Weinberg and Seum-Lim Gan

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The Squeezables is a computer music instrument that allows a group of players to perform and improvise musical compositions by using a set of squeezing and pulling gestures. The instrument, comprised of six squeezable and retractable gel balls mounted on a small podium, addresses a number of hardware and software challenges in electronic music interface design. It is designed to provide an alternative to asynchronous and discursive interactions with discrete musical controllers by allowing multiple channels of high-level simultaneous input. The instrument also addresses new challenges in interconnected group playing by providing an infrastructure for the development of interdependent, yet coherent, multi-player interactions. As a test case for a particular high-level control and interdependent mapping scheme, a short musical composition was written for the instrument and was performed by three players. This article presents a critical evaluation of the composition, the performance, and the mapping design, which leads toward a number of suggestions for improvements and future research.

Goals and Challenges

Electronic musical instruments that use controllers such as keys, buttons, knobs, and menus tend to favor sequential operations by the performer that promote a discursive manipulation of musical parameters. While serving an effective and practical function, such asynchronous interactions might also impair flow and musical expressivity when they are not supported by a more immersive, large-scale musical approach (Langer 1942; Weinberg 1999). Previous solutions for these shortcomings focused on digital modifications and enhancements of traditional acoustic instruments (Chadabe 1997), as well as utilizing novel sensing techniques, such as electric field sensing, for musical applications (see, for example, Paradiso and Gershenfeld 1997). These approaches, while serving their goals, usually fail to provide an immediately responsive malleable interface that can offer both novices and professionals a tactile and immersive musical experience. The main challenge in designing the Squeezables, therefore, was to address these drawbacks by providing "organic"-feeling control (using soft squeezable materials like fabric, foam, and gel), and by sensing multiple axes of synchronous and continuous hand gestures. The instrument is also designed to provide an alternative to the low-level analytical reasoning that is often required by asynchronous and discursive controllers. By mapping the sensed gestures to algorithmic imitation of high-level musical concepts such as stability (Dibben 1999), contour (Schmuckler 1999), or tension (Lerdahl 1996), the instrument can offer expressive and intuitive musical experiences without requiring a long learning process, virtuosic performance skills, or an analytical knowledge of music theory. Such an approach can be used to introduce young musicians and novices to expressive aspects of music playing.

As a synchronous multi-player instrument, the Squeezables can also provide an infrastructure for addressing challenges in the field of interdependent group playing (see, for example, Jorda 1999; Burk 2000; Blaine 2000; Pazel et al. 2000). Wired and wireless communication systems as well as [End Page 37] Internet-mediated interactions can enhance the traditional experience of musical group playing by providing players with new ways of manipulating each other's music in real time. For example, one player can continuously manipulate the timbre of another player's instrument while controlling the pitch of his or her own instrument. This manipulation will probably lead the second player to modify his or her gestures in response to the new timbre received from the first player. These new gestures can also be transmitted back to a third player and influence that person's playing in a reciprocal loop. Such an enhanced interaction can lead to new creative and expressive experiences that may give a new perspective to the prospect of group collaboration. It is important to note, however, that high levels of interdependency might lead to uncertainties regarding the control of participants over their specific roles. On the other hand, simple one-to-one mappings might obscure the immersive interdependent experience from beginners who are not yet skilled enough to construct such a collaborative sensation on their...

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