The M in NIME: Motivic analysis and the case for a musicology of NIME performances

Lia Mice, and Andrew McPherson

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

While the value of new digital musical instruments lies to a large extent in their music-making capacity, analyses of new instruments in the research literature often focus on analyses of gesture or performer experience rather than the content of the music made with the instrument. In this paper we present a motivic analysis of music made with new instruments. In the context of music, a motive is a small, analysable musical fragment or phrase that is important in or characteristic of a composition. We outline our method for identifying and analysing motives in music made with new instruments, and display its use in a case study in which 10 musicians created performances with a new large-scale digital musical instrument that we designed. This research illustrates the value of a musicological approach to NIME research, suggesting the need for a broader conversation about a musicology of NIME performances, as distinct from its instruments.

Citation:

Lia Mice, and Andrew McPherson. 2022. The M in NIME: Motivic analysis and the case for a musicology of NIME performances. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.21428/92fbeb44.8c1c9817

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{NIME22_46,
 abstract = {While the value of new digital musical instruments lies to a large extent in their music-making capacity, analyses of new instruments in the research literature often focus on analyses of gesture or performer experience rather than the content of the music made with the instrument. In this paper we present a motivic analysis of music made with new instruments. In the context of music, a motive is a small, analysable musical fragment or phrase that is important in or characteristic of a composition. We outline our method for identifying and analysing motives in music made with new instruments, and display its use in a case study in which 10 musicians created performances with a new large-scale digital musical instrument that we designed. This research illustrates the value of a musicological approach to NIME research, suggesting the need for a broader conversation about a musicology of NIME performances, as distinct from its instruments.},
 address = {The University of Auckland, New Zealand},
 articleno = {46},
 author = {Mice, Lia and McPherson, Andrew},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.21428/92fbeb44.8c1c9817},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {jun},
 pdf = {65.pdf},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/nXrRJGt11J4},
 title = {The M in {NIME}: Motivic analysis and the case for a musicology of {NIME} performances},
 url = {https://doi.org/10.21428%2F92fbeb44.8c1c9817},
 year = {2022}
}