Instruments and Sounds as Objects of Improvisation in Collective Computer Music Practice

Abstract

Collective forms of improvisation are at the heart of numerous creative processes today, in a vast range of cultures, practises and artistic disciplines, each one bearing its own definitions, traditions and customs. In this contribution, we raise the question of collective sound improvisation involving digital technologies on two levels: first, by discussing the possible nature of improvisation in relation to digital artistic creation as a transversal notion that permeates through multiple fields of scientific research and artistic practise, raising fundamentally different questions than those of traditional musical improvisation. Then, by presenting a practise-based study on an emergent collective computer music improvisation project involving the authors. Subjective experiences, interrogations and remarks from this shared practise are confronted on the one hand with traditional literature regarding musical improvisation, and, on the other hand, placed within a broader scope of improvisation involving digital technologies. In particular, we will elaborate on using the computer instrument as a means to improvise both tools and sounds in one continuous flow.KeywordsComputer musicFree improvisationCollective experimentationInstrument and sound improvisationLive patchingDigital arts