Music Interface Technologies in Intercultural Contexts

MITIC is a project funded by FI's International Programme that involves both practical and theoretical research on music interface technologies facilitating expressive and collaborative intercultural musical activities. Music Interface Technology is a relatively young field of research that merges artistic and cultural explorations with technology for creating interactive systems, allowing musicians to embrace innovative methods of expressive music-making, be it performing, composing, or improvising. All of the involved researchers - based both at AAU, Copenhagen, and U.C. Berkeley, California - are established experts in the field of New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME). Project outcomes include innovative methods and theories for use by the community of research on Music Interface Technologies, new musical instruments that can be used in culturally collaborative music practices, and production of joint scientific papers in the field.

The research examines the influence of music technology on different music styles under a microscope, looking at the ways in which interactive systems can affect human musical collaborations between cultures. The first scientific focus of the project is to improve existing methods and theories for creating music interfaces. The second focus is to explore the use of these in developing actual hybrid acoustic-electronic music instruments that can encourage intercultural collaborations. The research enhances cross-cultural collaborative music making by employing computer technology within interactive performance interfaces and environments.