VS : Imp o ising wi h Vib a ing Vi ual En i ies
SEBASTIEN BEAUMONT, Muzzix, F ance
IVANN CRUZ, Muzzix, F ance
ARTHUR PATÉ, IEMN UMR 8520 CNRS, Junia/ISEN, F ance, F ance
FLORENT BERTHAUT, CRIS AL UMR 9189 CNRS, Uni . Lille, F ance, F ance
ACM Re e ence Fo ma :
1 PROGRAM NOTES
In his pe o mance, wo gui a playe s imp o ise using elec o-acous ic gui a s equipped wi h ac ua o s ha can hi
each o he s ings sepa a ely. By mo ing h ough i ual shapes placed a ound hem wi h hei gui a s and bodies,
he gui a playe s can con ol he ac ua o s. By using minimal modi ica ions o he ins umen and sub ly ex ending
exis ing playing echniques, he se up aims a p ese ing he echnical and cul u al he i age o he acous ic ins umen
[1].
The imp o isa ion is oo ed in wo di e en mappings be ween he posi ion o he gui a ’s heads ock wi hin he
i ual shapes and he ac ua o ’s beha iou . Fi s mapping (gui a is on he le ) associa es he o wa d-backwa d axis
wi h he equency, o empo, o s ing hi s: a cylind ical shape is di ided in o h ee equal-sized pa s o app oxima ely
10 cm, hus allowing o a disc e e con ol o he equency, a 60, 90, and 120 bpm espec i ely. The e ical posi ion
wi hin he shape con ols which s ing is hi , i.e. by disc e ely changing om low E (6 h s ing) h ough eble E (1s
s ing) when he heads ock goes om he bo om o he op o he shape. Meanwhile, he gui a is on he igh plays
wi h a mapping ha combines a e ical s ing selec ion wi h a con inuous con ol o he ac ua ion equency on he
backwa d- o wa d axis. Simul aneously using hese wo mappings/playing modes allows o he ealisa ion o a musical
idea ha only exis ed in he gui a is s’ hough -expe imen s: unique o e lays o an in allibly s able hy hm (le gui a )
and a high libe y and accu acy in con olling he empo ( igh gui a ). La e in he pe o mance he gui a is s swi ch
om one mapping o he o he by en e ing one o wo shapes wi h hei igh hands (see igu e 1).
The gui a playe s combine he elemen s o adi ional playing and he new hy hmic ea u es in a coun e poin
ha in eg a es wi h he i ual shapes. The esul is a hy hmic complexi y ha would be impossible o ob ain wi h
adi ional playing echniques on wo gui a s, o e en wi h e ec s such as loope s ha a e no as esponsi e and lexible
as he p esen de ice. Wi h his new hy hmic ocabula y and con ol in e ace, he imp o isa ion hen de elops as he
musicians ge inspi ed and in ol e he i ual shapes in hei playing...
Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0). Copy igh emains wi h he au ho (s).
Sebas ien Beaumon , I ann C uz, A hu Pa é, and Flo en Be hau . 2020. VS : Imp o ising wi h Vib a ing Vi ual En i ies. 1, 1
(July 2020), 4 pages.
Music P oceedings o he In e na ional Con e ence on New In e aces o Musical Exp ession
NIME’22, May 31–June 2, 2023, Mexico Ci y, Mexico
2 Anonymous Au ho , e al.
Fig. 1. Cap u e om he pe o mance. He e he musician on he igh is selec ing a shape- o-ac ua o mapping by in e sec ing a
sphe e wi h his igh hand. The o he musician is combining a adi ional playing echnique wi h 3D in e ac ion wi h he i ual
shape ha he in e sec s wi h he gui a heads ock.
2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A i s i e a ion o design o his p ojec was p esen ed by A lsan e al. [
1
]. The p esen ed e sion in ol es wo
elec o-acous ic gui a s on which a se ies o elec odynamic ac ua o s a e a ached and espond o saw oo h wa e o ms
con olled in equency and ampli ude. The ac ua o s d i e he ou -o -plane mo emen o wooden sla s wi h sc ews
ha inally hi he s ings. Mo e in de ails, 12-s ing gui a s a e used, so ha only he lowes o each s ing pai is
hi (see igu e 2). This allows he o he s ing o sound h ough sympa he ic esonance, and he e o e o mi iga e he
“d yness” o he epe i i e a acks by adding a li le na u al e e be a ion.
The ac ua o s a e selec ed and con olled in equency by in e sec ing i ual shapes placed a ound he sea ed musicians
using hei bodies o pa s o he ins umen s ( he heads ock mos o he ime, as i u ned ou o be an easy and na u al
ges u e). These shapes a e displayed using a Spa ial AR display ha p ojec s he in e sec ions back on o he bodies and
ins umen s, as seen in Figu e 1.
The p ojec he e o e elies on exis ing ins umen s, wi h minimal ans o ma ion (a ew added ligh weigh ac ua o s,
minia u e ampli ie s and a nano-compu e , keeping he de ice’s p ice o a e y easonable amoun ) and an augmen ed
eali y (AR) display ha p ese es he adi ional ins umen al space and ges u es and lea es he ocus on human ac ions
(hand and ins umen mo emen s). Con a y o o he AR echnologies, Spa ial AR displays p o ide an imme si e
expe ience wi h a o dable, simple and sha ed equipmen , he e a single p ojec o and dep h came a.
The de ice used in VS ended up being a boo s ap o musical explo a ion. Since he beginning o he p ojec in
2018, he eam o esea che s and musicians decided o wo k oge he a e e y s ep o he p ocess. A me hod based on
egula con on a ions allowed us o con inuously e alua e he po en ial o c ea ion o he sys em. Wi h each echnical
imp o emen , he musicians we e able o con on i o a c ea ion con ex . Being p o essional imp o ise s, he musicians
used imp o isa ion phases du ing each wo k session o es he limi s and po en ial inadequacies o gui a playing.
VS : Imp o ising wi h Vib a ing Vi ual En i ies 3
Fig. 2. Le panel: global iew o a gui a wi h he exci a ion sys em moun ed. Righ panel: Closeup o he exci a ion sys em. Fi e
elec odynamic ansduce s a e glued on o a wooden boa d a ached o he soundboa d; one sla is glued on o he memb ane o each
ansduce ; a sc ew is a ached o each sla and hi s one s ing o a pai .
To his day, he p ojec con inues being de eloped by 1) imp o ing he usabili y and obus ness o he a ached
de ice, 2) adding ib o ac ile eedback o help gui a is s explo e he in angible shapes, 3) s udying he app op ia ion by
o he musicians wi h an an h opo-musicological app oach.
3 PERFORMANCE NOTES
The pe o me s will no be able o a el o Mexico o he con e ence, he e o e he pe o mance will be p esen ed as a
≈9 minu es long ideo.
4 MEDIA LINKS
•Video: h ps://nex cloud.uni -lille. /index.php/s/NJPBHyZGnmn YSz
•Audio: h ps://nex cloud.uni -lille. /index.php/s/kCmSzLoJHQ TJeB
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The au ho s would like o hank he Fédé a ion de Reche che Sciences e Cul u es du Visuel, he IRCICA, he Uni e si é de
Lille and Junia/ISEN o unding and/o hos ing he p ojec .
4 Anonymous Au ho , e al.
REFERENCES
[1]
Cagan A slan, Flo en Be hau , An hony Beuchey, Paul Cambou ian, and A hu Pa é. 2022. Vib a ing shapes : Design and e olu ion o a spa ial
augmen ed eali y in e ace o ac ua ed ins umen s. In New In e aces o Musical Exp ession. Auckland, New Zealand. h ps://doi.o g/10.21428/
92 beb44.c28dd323
