The Terrain of Sound and Movement Interaction

In the last 30 years, digital interfaces have enabled the production of sound through the movement of the hands, body parts or the entire body. Products and prototypes feature different kinds of technological solutions, enable different relationships between physical movement and sonic expression, are positioned within different cultural contexts and have different aims. For example, MiMu Gloves  and MusicGlove are both hand-based. The first is a haptic instrument for making music, whereas the second is a certified medical technology for rehabilitation. The Motion Composer, on the other hand, involves the whole body and is intended for people with different abilities. Yet, the key idea of these and similar products is that a digital interface makes possible the creation of sound through the movement of the body.

As technologies for sound and movement interaction become more widely available and reach audiences of different backgrounds and needs, it could be argued that we are on the cusp of the emergence of a new form of medium and a new kind of cultural practice. The production of sound is no longer tied to the material properties of the sounding instrument and the kinetic repertoire of the player; in principle any movement can produce any sound. The guiding hypothesis of the echome project is that, as technologies for sound and movement interaction become more accessible and reliable, their use will produce new forms of expression and new experiences of embodiment. As digitally mediated sound and movement interaction reaches wider and more diverse groups of users, we need a new language to name these experiences; a pedagogy that can allow us to navigate the contours of the practice; and a wider context according to which we can evaluate its significance.