Diving Deep with Nautilus: An Analysis of Musicking with a Digital Score

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the analytical findings from a qualitative investigation of musicking (Small, 1998) with a digital score. The main focus of this article is our methodology and the outline of our methods. The composition at the centre of this study is Nautilus – a digital score created using the Unity game engine. We discuss in detail the construction of a novel quantitative dataset, which has been designed as a standard structure for the analysis of different digital score case studies. Following this we present our analytical findings from the qualitative study and outline the themes that were created as part of a thematic analysis. As a conclusion, we assess the relevance of our findings against the core aims of the project, critically reflect on the methodology, and finally present some design considerations that emerged through this case study for those wishing to explore game engines as a platform for creative music-making.