Stage Metaphor Mixing on a Multi-touch Tablet Device

This paper presents a tablet based interface (the Music Mixing Surface) for supporting a more natural user experience while mixing music. It focusses on the so-called stage metaphor control scheme where audio channels are represented by virtual widgets on a virtual stage. Through previous research the interface has been developed iteratively with several evaluation sessions with professional users on different platforms. The iteration presented here has been developed especially for the mobile tablet platform and explores this format for music mixing both in a professional and casual setting. The paper first discusses various contexts in which the tablet platform might be optimal for music mixing. It then describes the overall design of the mixing interface (especially focused on the stage metaphor), after which the iOS implementation is briefly described. Finally, the interface is evaluated in a qualitative user study comparing it to two alternative existing tablet solutions. Results are presented and discussed focussing on how the evaluated interfaces invite for different forms of exploration of the mix and on what consequences this has in a mobile mixing context.