Designing a Musical Instrument: Enlivening Theory Through Practice-Based Research

Abstract

Introduction The Arcontinuo is an electronic musical instrument that was conceived with the intention of overcoming the difficulties of other instruments that have failed in getting a consistent place in the musical scene. Its creation was based on a model founded in concepts of interaction design research and narrative identity that we intend to describe in detail in the first part of this article. This model, we hope, could be applied to any design research process providing an approach to creating products, services and experiences with a quality rooted in the personal and collective organization of meaning. The second part of the article explains the implementation of the model as a case study, the Arcontinuo.