igital technology has been slow to enter the classical musicmainstream, perhaps more strikingly so in chambermusic than in the symphonic or operatic worlds. This isnot surprising, since the intimacy of chamber musicrehearsal and performance, the acoustic beauty and sub-tlety of traditional instruments and the treasures of theclassic repertoire have been hard to match by the worldof silicon, processors, cables, and loudspeakers. Andintegrating technology into chamber music often seemsto unduly complicate an already difficult and demand-ing endeavor.

The time is ripe for this to change. Digital technologiesare now as familiar to most of us—and certainly to kids

(perhaps unfortunately)—as are the mechanical technologiesof catgut and horsehair, hammers and reeds. Sophisticated soft-ware for almost any conceivable purpose is readily available, rela-tively inexpensive, and getting easier and easier to use. TheInternet is the best medium yet invented for bringing peopletogether around common interests, of which love of chambermusic repertoire and performance is as powerful as any. Andalthough much music technology is still designed for pop andcommercial music (where the money is), it is easily adaptable toclassical contexts and more and more readily available than everfrom producers and performing venues.

47

The inventor of the Hypercellosays that it’s time for ensemblemusicians to explore digital technologies—which, he argues,allow composers to imagine newforms, performers to expand theirexpressiveness, and presentersto revolutionize relationships withaudiences.

DREAMINGANEWMUSIC

DBY TOD MACHOVER

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4948 october 2006The Chiara String Quartet

So technology may be easier than ever to integrate into cham-ber music contexts, but why even consider it in the first place?Because paradoxically, although we might first think of rigidityand mechanization when we discuss technology, its real powercomes from its very openness and flexibility. Technology gives usthe ability to dream, to imagine new forms of music and per-formance, and to invent ideal relationships between composerand performer, performer and listener, composer and listener. Incareful and creative hands, technology can expand the expressivepower of virtuosi, build gorgeous hybrids of natural and artificialsounds, and allow amateurs to again fully participate, helping tore-establish a much healthier “creative ecology” than now exists.

And there is even good news for the techno-phobe: the era of “techno-fantasy”—the firstgeneration of Wired magazine, say, when coolnew technology seemed a fascinating end initself—is over! We are entering a much sanerperiod when technology is no longer the endbut the means, when our machines can disap-pear into the environment, and when our newtools should only be judged by what value,quality, and power they add to human experi-ence.

The culture of chamber music—whichemphasizes intimate and refined communica-tion—is particularly well suited to help definethe human-centered technology of the future.In fact, it was chamber music playing that drewme to music technology in the first place. Igrew up playing the cello, but it was in myteens—when I tried to balance the cello withguitars, percussion, and voices—that I startedimprovising ways to amplify and transform myacoustic cello. At first, I wrapped headphonesaround the belly of the instrument and held iton my knees like a guitar, then ran its soundthrough looped tape recorders and industrialfilters, and finally built a little setup at home totry to match the Beatles’ studio prowess (theywere then working on things like The WhiteAlbum). By the time I made it to Juilliard tostudy with Elliott Carter, I was imaginingstrange new sounds that led me to learn FOR-TRAN programming to conjure them up on

early digital computers, and when I went to work at PierreBoulez’s IRCAM in Paris, I found my calling in designing newdigital instruments—and writing music for them—that couldrespond naturally and immediately to performance gesture andnuance.

It is through the creation of such kinds of new instruments thattechnology can have its first influence in chamber music. Herethe word “instrument” is of primary importance. As psychologistSherry Turkle makes clear in her forthcoming book EvocativeObjects, we humans have a very special relationship to our toolsof expression, which we master and manipulate to communicate

our deepest thoughts and feelings. No human tools are morebeautifully designed for their purpose than traditional musicalinstruments, which no collection of buttons, wires, and sensorscan replace. That’s why it is important that technology be used toaugment—not replace—existing instruments. That’s the mainreason we started developing what we now call“Hyperinstruments” at the MIT Media Lab in 1986. We wantedto measure the performance nuance such as bow pressure, speed,and position, or direction and intensity of breath, so that the vir-tuoso can evoke and control a greater—even unlimited—range ofsounds and textures by simply interpreting the music in the mostnatural way. To accomplish this, we have built measuring devicesand special instruments, such as the Hypercello that we designedfor Yo-Yo Ma. In Begin Again Again…, my Hypercello piece thatYo-Yo premiered and Matt Haimovitz recorded, sonic sensorsbuilt into the cello, a wrist sensor to measure bowing technique,fingerboard sensors, and a specially designed bow send a flow ofmusical data to a host computer (which these days can be as com-pact as a Mac Mini), allowing each accent or nuance to morphthe cello into a human-sounding voice, an orchestra, or some-thing beyond. The interesting thing is that a known, familiarinterface has suddenly become the ticket to a world that canextend way beyond the physical confines of a cello, giving theplayer access to a much wider range of sonorities and textures—both more mammoth and more delicate—than previously avail-able. Thinking back to my high school days of experimentingwith complex multitrack mixing, it occurs to me that playing theHypercello feels like controlling the most complex digital record-ing studio from a single, human-sized, familiar instrument—anextension of one’s body—all at once. As Joshua Bell said to AlanAlda in a 2002 public television interview, the range of theHyperviolin “is only limited by our imaginations.”

Since a fully equipped Hypercello is one of a kind, not readilyavailable at the corner music store (alas!), we have recently exper-imented with enhancing traditional instruments with a single“hyper”-accessory, such as the Hyperbow, designed by DianaYoung, my colleague at the lab. In collaboration with the RoyalAcademy of Music in London, a group of young composers andstring players have been creating new works for acoustic stringsplayed with Hyperbow. In Patrick Nunn’s Gaia Sketches, forexample, the timbre of the acoustic cello is delicately and beauti-fully tweaked by the continual modification of seven differentmeasurements from the Hyperbow, all without the player havingto learn any new bowing techniques.

The results of all these compositional efforts have been musi-cally compelling enough, and easy enough to learn and play, thatthere is optimism about seeing this technique enter the musicalmainstream, and hopes that some of this technology will be com-mercially produced. In 2002, my colleagues Tristan Jehan andMike Fabio and I used an even simpler technique (from the per-formance—not necessarily the inventor’s—point of view!) for myorchestra piece Sparkler. Placing a small number of microphoneswithin the orchestra, we captured the acoustic sound of all theinstruments, analyzed it with a laptop, and used the acoustic per-formance to shape and manipulate a complex electronic “aura”that was added live to the orchestral sound. The result is like awasp’s nest of intricate textures swarming around and through the

The good news: We are entering a saner period, when technology is no longer the end, but the means.”

“

The Hyperbow allows players of the acoustic cello to delicately tweak the instrument’stimbres without learning any new bowing techniques.

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orchestral sound, what Anthony Tommasini of The New YorkTimes called “a kind of young person’s guide to the hyperkineticorchestra.”

With commercially available interactive software, such asMAX/MSP and software synthesizers such as Reason or Kontakt,the acoustic instrument-plus-laptop combination is getting easi-er and easier to work with. And the technique is now beingtaught at music schools and conservatories worldwide. Still, it isnot so easy to integrate these solo hyperinstruments into mean-ingful chamber music performance, because acoustic perspectiveis often different on stage from how amplified music sounds tothe audience, and augmented instruments can often feel like“more” than a single part, threatening to obscure the counter-point of independent voices. The balance problem is actually notsimple to solve, and often requires a chamber group to add asound engineer to the ensemble, with the correct balance onlyheard from a privileged mix position off-stage and in the house.

Surely this is not the usual approach for chamber music, whereplayers must listen carefully to each other and adjust according tothe slightest nuance. Therefore, the composite sound of eachinstrument must either emanate from the instrument itself, orfrom specially designed loudspeakers such as Bose L1’s, whichsound soft and delicate up close, keep independent the sonicimage of each instrument, and resonate amply to fill a hall. Iattempted to create this new kind of balance this year withAnother Life, a piece for nine instruments and electronics. Theun-amplified acoustic instruments are complemented by delicateelectronics played and transformed by a keyboard-with-laptop.The electronics are heard through onstage speakers, creating shifting textures that “fuse” the various instrumental lines, all played

at a modest volume so that the performers onstage hear the sameblend that the audience in the hall hears.

Of course, technology can also offer radically new definitionsof ensemble playing and the relationship among instruments. Inmy Bug-Mudra, the playing of a guitarist and percussionist ismodified by the gestures of a conductor wearing a speciallydesigned dataglove; and in Towards the Center, MIDI data fromkeyboard and percussion are combined to form a “double instru-ment,” in which the keyboard contributes intricate pitch details,while percussion adds rapid rhythm and articulation. One of myMIT students, Gil Weinberg, has even written a Ph.D. disserta-tion on this exciting new field of “music interdependency,”exploring the innovative kinds of music that can be made whenthe performance of each instrument is directly connected one tothe other to produce a common result.

Digital technology can be used to enhance performances them-selves. Adding an image component is relatively easy to do (mosttheaters have projectors, screens, and laptop attachments) andcan help guide and focus listening. For a recent collaborationwith the Ying Quartet at New York’s Symphony Space, called“…but not simpler…,” we projected brief program notes behindthe quartet, interspersed with colors and textures, to give justenough information and ambience to keep the audienceinformed and to set the mood. These projections worked partic-ularly well for this concert, which wove together seventy minutesof music that I assembled around a new piece I wrote for theYing, which goes from Bach to Beethoven, Cage to Carter, Byrdto the Beatles, all played nonstop and interconnected with spe-cially composed electronic interludes. The visuals helped tie theprogram together, allowing the audience to remain immersed inthe music without needing to read printed program notes.Another approach to “active information” during concerts is theConcert Companion, a specially designed handheld digitaldevice—rented at concerts—which provides program notes andextra information during classical music concerts. More andmore venues will be equipped with such devices, and it is notinconceivable that some will make such augmented informationavailable on one’s own mobile phone or PDA.

In fact, the providing of extra information—online, via mobiledevices, on kiosks at venues, etc.—about repertoire, interpreta-tion, and the intricacies of fine music-making is one of the mostpotentially productive paths that any chamber music group orpresenter can take. I was reminded recently of the importance ofsharing and explaining such background information throughdiscussions with specialists not from the music field, but fromclothing design. On a recent visit to Milan to launch a research

For a chamber group,balance problems arenot simple to solve,and often require theaddition of a soundengineer.”

“

Mira J. Spektorcomposer

Songs & Music for Concerts, Theater, Cabaret, Operas,

CDs, Film & TV

“an interesting composer”...“attractive and tonal”...

“graceful music”...“an impassioned duet”...

“a sprightly songfest”—THE NEW YORK TIMES

email mirajspektor@earthlink.netwebsite www.miraspektor.com

tel 212-362-2277 fax 212-799-5967

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5352 october 2006

project to integrate technology into the fashion industry, I wassurprised to discover that most designers—from such well-knownfirms as Gucci, Armani, and C.P. Company—were obsessed withthe fact that even their most loyal customers did not begin toappreciate or understand the complex use of materials, the deli-cate layering of textures, or the fantastically intricate productionprocess that lay behind even the most seemingly simple clothing.They were extremely proud of these details, and felt—rightlyso—that people would more fully appreciate their products ifthey were aware of how they were made. If this applies to some-thing as tangible and physical as clothing, how much more mustit apply to the ephemeral, emotional world of chamber musicperformance. And technology is the perfect way of providingengaging, immersive, and constantly up-to-date background andbehind-the-scenes information.

Going a step further, technology can also help to engage thepublic actively in musical experiences, increasing not just under-standing but also emotional investment in all aspects of chambermusic. Just as technology can measure and interpret the mostsubtle virtuosic nuance, it can also provide “training wheels” foramateurs, meeting each person at the appropriate level of experi-ence, skill or background. We first tested this idea ten years agoin projects such as the “Brain Opera,” which allowed—and stillallows, in the permanent installation at Vienna’s Haus derMusik—the general public to experiment with composition andperformance using interfaces adapted to anyone’s natural abili-ties. Such projects have had an influence on the entertainmentworld, as evidenced by such PlayStation2 videogame hits such as“Guitar Hero” (designed by two former students of mine who co-founded Harmonix, a Cambridge-based interactive music com-

pany), which allows anyone to emulate a Jimi Hendrix-style guitarvirtuoso. Drawing upon their own musical, mental, and physicalskills, players enter into the world of expert performance, gainingappreciation and experiential knowledge on the way. OurHyperscore software (www.hyperscore.com) was invented to letamateurs understand the process of composing original music,also from the inside out. Using only lines and colors, anyone cancreate her own sophisticated compositions without any technicalor theoretical music training; this music can be heard immedi-ately on the computer, and then transcribed to traditional nota-tion for acoustic musicians to perform. With the Ying Quartet,we initiated projects where we invited the general public to useHyperscore to compose pieces for string quartet, the best ofwhich were included by the Ying in public concerts. Judgingfrom the full houses, enormous public participation, and mediabuzz, we found this to be a powerful tool for audience-building,and for increasing audience appreciation of chamber music reper-toire and performance. An added component of long-distancementoring (via Internet 2) from the Ying for people composingtheir pieces allowed amateurs to truly increase their knowledgeand skill while also developing a meaningful relationship withchamber music experts.

I am currently working on a new project for Portland’s ThirdAngle Ensemble, for which I am composing the basic version ofa new Hyperscore piece, then posting it on the group’s websiteand inviting the public to create variations and additions, usingHyperscore elements that I provide. Third Angle will periodical-ly choose particularly interesting versions of this ever-changingpiece to perform live at their concerts. And in an even moreextreme extension of public involvement, I am creating a newwork for cellist Matt Haimovitz and DJ Olive that will inviteaudiences to help create and choose musical elements onlinebefore each concert, and then use inexpensive handheld sensorsto influence the progression of each performance. Talk aboutusing technology to rethink traditional boundaries between com-poser, performer, and audience!

In a way, all of the previous examples have been ways to usetechnology to bring performers and audiences closer together,helping to reestablish the kind of “creative ecology” that hasalways made chamber music such a cherished activity. In this dayof expertise and specialization, we have moved far from the rootsof chamber music, when a healthy continuity existed betweeninformal music-making at home, high-level amateurism show-cased on special occasions, and the most refined performances—often in intimate surroundings—by experts and for connoisseurs,with musical compositions created for each circumstance.Perhaps the best example we have in modern society for this kindof continuity between expertise and amateurism is in cuisine:most of us appreciate a fine, professionally prepared meal; yet wecook special treats for friends and family without self-conscious-ness, and we put daily food on the table for subsistence.

Technology in music is not new: it has been approximatelyninety years since Léon Theremin first demonstrated his epony-mous instrument; almost sixty years since musique concrèteappeared in Paris and elektronische musik in Germany; fifty yearssince the first computer music; and forty since the Moog synthe-sizer. More than twenty have passed since the PC computer, the

Many technologiesmay help re-establishthe ‘creative ecology’that has always madechamber music such a cherished activity for experts and amateurs alike.”

“

Chamber Music & Songs by WomenComposers: 12th – 21st Centuries

www.theavivaplayers.comMira J. Spektor, Founder/Artistic DirectorTel 212-362-2277 - Fax 212-799-5967Email: mirajspektor@earthlink.net

Dr. Dorothy Indenbaum, Associate DirectorTel 212-988-9051 - Fax 212-639-1747Email: dindenbaum@aol.com

THE

FOUNDED IN 1975

PLAYERSAVIVA

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54 october 2006

first digital music instrument (the YamahaDX-7), and MIDI—the industry stan-dard that, to this day, connects any com-puter with any digital music or sounddevice—were introduced in 1984.

It just might be that technology—which on the surface seems so foreign tothe world of wood, wind, nature, andvibration—can provide the ideal tools andenvironments to allow everyone to fullyparticipate in chamber music, helpingcomposers, performers and producersreach out to audiences with invigoratingnew sounds and ideas, and offering thepublic a way back in—through listening,learning, and participating—to the magicalheart of musical experience.

Composer Tod Machover is professor ofmusic and media at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology’s Media Lab.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Articles referred to above can be found online at:http://www.media.mit.edu/hyperins/publications.html

Evocative Objects: Things We Think With (Sherry Turkle, ed.)Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press,forthcoming.

Information on Hyperinstruments projects, past and present, at:http://www.media.mit.edu/hyperins/

Information on Hyperscore and H-Lounge at:http://www.hyperscore.com andhttp://www.h-lounge.com

Information on Guitar Hero and Harmonix at:http://www.harmonixmusic.com/

Bug-Mudra and Towards the Center arerecorded on Flora (Bridge CD #9020)Begin Again Again… is recorded onHyperstring Trilogy (Oxingale CD, 2003)

Other information at: http://www.todmachover.com

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