Collaboration and Embodiment in Networked Music Interfaces for Live Performance Chad McKinney Submitted for the degree of D.Phil. University of Sussex October, 2016 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has not been submitted, either in the same or different form, to this or any other university for a degree. Signature: Supervisors: Dr. Nick Collins & Dr. Martin Berger Examiners: Acknowledgements I am incredibly indebted to the tremendous support and generosity of my wife Jessica, and our two amazing children, Lorelei and Tristan. They have followed me across the world and helped me follow my dreams. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, and kept me grounded when I became lost. I am also incredibly grateful to have had two of the most inspiring, knowledgeable, and supportive supervisors, Nick Collins and Martin Berger. Nick began me on this journey and never led me astray. Witnessing his daring work and hearing his sharp wit are two things I’ll dearly miss about this time. As well, Martin has been been an incredibly consistent and energizing figure. He provoked interesting and new ideas and helped build my confidence when I sorely lacked it. The execution of this research could not have been possible without my collabora- tors and friends, Cole Ingraham, Curtis McKinney, and Benjamin O’Brien. They suffered through my mad whimsy and endured experimentations with software version of highly dubious stability. Their creativity and insight made this research much better than it could have been otherwise. I would like to especially thank Curtis, who started down a path that I’ve only been following. He is my most ardent supporter and my harshest critic; someone who never held back, but never let me quit. That said, we can all agree that I came up with the better song titles. I was lucky enough to meet and befriend some tremendously great people during my time at Sussex. Thanks to Thor Magnusson, Chris Kiefer, Anna Jordanous, Alice Eldridge, Gareth White, and Pejman Mirza-Babaei for making those years so exciting. I greatly appreciate the contributions of time and insight from the various participants of the studies in this thesis. They literally helped define my research and expanded my ideas about music and technology, for which I am incredibly grateful. Finally, I would like to thank all my friends and family who have shown so much support over the years. They never stopped believing in me, and helped me strive to achieve my greatest goals. Collaboration and Embodiment in Networked Music Interfaces for Live Performance Chad McKinney Summary Research regarding liveness and embodiment in electronic music has tended to explore the relationship of bodies and instruments, audience perception, interfaces, and shifting definitions, less theoretical and empirical study has considered network situations, per- haps given their relative cultural novelty. Network music has seen many advances since the time of the Telharmonium, including the invention of the personal computer and the widespread proliferation of internet connectivity. These advances have fostered a unique approach to live electronic music that facilitates collaboration in a field where solo per- formance is perhaps more common. This thesis explores the design of network music interfaces, and how those interfaces mediate collaborations. Three new network music system interfaces, each using different a different paradigm for interface design are presented in this study. One an instrument for creating modular feedback lattices. Another is a three dimensional virtual pattern sequencer. And the last is a web based collaborative live coding language. Accompanying each system is an eval- uation using quantitative and qualitative analysis to frame these instruments in a larger context regarding network music. The results highlight important themes concerning the design of networked interfaces, and the attitudes of musicians regarding networked col- laborations. Submitted for the degree of D.Phil. University of Sussex October, 2016 Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Liveness, Embodiment and Networked Performance . .2 1.2 Research Questions and Themes . .3 1.3 Contributions . .3 1.4 Relevance . .4 1.5 Structure . .4 1.6 Related Publications . .4 1.7 Related Performances . .5 1.7.1 Yig Performances . .5 1.7.2 Shoggoth Performances . .6 1.7.3 Lich.js Performances . .6 2 Network Music 7 2.1 Network Music . .8 2.2 Origins and Early Network Music . .9 2.3 Telepresence . 14 2.3.1 Early Telepresence and Art . 14 2.3.2 Performance Streaming Over the Internet . 16 2.3.3 Strategies for the Acceptance of Latency and Networking Idiosyn- crasies . 18 2.3.4 Collaborative Composition and Jamming . 21 2.4 Interactive Music in the Browser . 22 2.5 Network Music, Present and Future Trends and Technologies . 26 2.5.1 Laptop Orchestras and Bands . 26 2.5.2 Developments in Network Technology . 27 2.5.3 Languages, Frameworks, and Live Coding . 28 2.5.4 Web Technology and Live Coding . 30 2.5.5 Mobile Development . 32 2.6 Theory and Taxonomy . 33 2.6.1 Computer Supported Cooperative Work . 40 2.7 Conclusion . 40 3 Liveness In Network Music Performance 41 3.1 Introduction . 42 3.2 Questionnaire . 42 3.3 Emerging Themes . 43 Contents vii 3.3.1 Communication . 43 3.3.2 Control and Performance . 44 3.3.3 Live Coding . 45 3.3.4 Visual Presentation . 45 3.3.5 Perceptions of Liveness . 46 3.3.6 Ensemble Structure . 48 3.4 Summary . 49 4 Yig, The Father of Serpents 50 4.1 Introduction . 51 4.2 Design Philosophy . 52 4.3 The Interface . 53 4.3.1 Features . 54 4.3.2 GUI Development . 55 4.3.3 Synth Definition Development . 56 4.4 Networking . 57 4.4.1 Synchronization . 58 4.4.2 Divergence in the Network . 59 4.5 Categorization . 60 4.6 Audio Divergence Test . 63 4.7 Design Summary and Future Work . 64 4.8 User Evaluation . 65 4.8.1 Quantitative Results . 65 4.8.2 Qualitative Results . 71 5 An Interactive 3D Networked Music Space 75 5.1 Introduction . 76 5.2 Design Philosophy . 77 5.3 The Interface . 78 5.4 Sound Design . 80 5.5 Networking . 82 5.6 Categorization . 83 5.7 Performance in Virtual Space . 85 5.8 Reflections on Development . 86 5.9 Experienced User Evaluation . 86 5.10 Summary . 89 6 Quick Live Coding Collaboration in the Browser 90 6.1 Lich.js . 91 6.2 Design Philosophy . 91 6.3 Language Design and Implementation . 93 6.4 Synths and Patterns . 95 6.4.1 Scheduling . 96 Contents viii 6.5 Graphics . 97 6.6 Networking . 98 6.7 Categorization . 99 6.8 Comparing Lich.js and Javascript Performance . 102 6.9 Design Summary and Future Work . 103 6.10 User Evaluation . 104 6.10.1 Quantitative Analysis . 105 6.10.2 Qualitative Analysis . 107 7 Conclusion 111 7.1 Brief Review . 112 7.2 Summary of Findings . 112 7.2.1 How do distribution, virtual spaces, communication, and autonomy impact a network music interface and collaboration? . 112 7.2.2 What characteristics define a successful live networked music inter- face and collaboration? . 114 7.2.3 Do computer musicians consider interfaces with virtualized environ- ments to embody those characteristics? . 115 7.2.4 Do musicians have a preference regarding co-location and distribu- tion in collaborations? . 115 7.3 Discussion and Future Work . 116 Bibliography 118 Appendices I A Liveness In Network Music Performance II A.1 Questionnaire on the Views of Network Musicians About Liveness in Perfor- mance . III A.2 Ethics Approval . .V B Yig, The Father of Serpents VII B.1 Yig Recording Comparison . VIII B.2 Ethics Approval . .IX.