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The Clarinet as a Tangible Acoustic Interface: New Features
Rui Travasso, Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação–Universidade Aberta,
Portugal
The Barcelona Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2023
Official Conference Proceedings
Abstract
This article supports the concept that a clarinet can be transformed and considered as a
Tangible Acoustic Interface (TAI), when under the influence of new media art or digital
components, and several approaches to achieve it. The traditional instrument, developed over
centuries by luthier´s handcraft in collaboration with instrumentalists and composers,
underwent an evolution triggered by digital means in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Instrumentalists became researchers and began to explore digital paths by augmenting and
actuating their instruments. This exploration brought new properties and directions for its
performance and conceptions regarding the connection between the actors involved -
instrumentalist, instrument, computer, microphone, software, and others. By comparing and
analysing concepts of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) focused on the instrumentalist-
clarinettist -, this paper discusses new features which have arisen from the new concept of
TAI. These data result from an expanded vision of the subject and first-person experience.
Lastly, the TAI concept offers a point of view where the instrument can also be a
communication channel between different domains, connecting the instrumentalist with other
realities and giving the possibility to seek new artistic paths.
Keywords: Clarinet, Digital, Interaction, Interface, Instrument, Instrumentalist
iafor
The International Academic Forum
www.iafor.org
Introduction
Keeping in mind that this article focusing on musical instruments from the Western orchestral
tradition, musical instruments are machines invented and designed by the art of the luthier to
express non-vocal sounds (Gati, 2015). It is therefore important to mention the art of the
luthier because it is an art that is disseminated in a traditional way, reflected in the
transmission of cultural heritage from a master to an apprentice who creates and develops the
instruments over centuries (Magnusson, 2019). Over the years, luthiers and instrumentalists
have been working together to make the instruments ergonomic and playable and to try to
make the instrument a kind of extended part of the instrumentalist´s body. It is safe to say
that all traditional musical instruments are tangible. In other words, they all require physical
contact to function. However, this is not true for all instruments. If we look outside the
orchestra, instruments such as the theremin, for example, are instruments of intangible
execution. Another aspect to consider - regarding Western art music - is the instrumental
music performance, which for centuries focused on interpreting a score - by instrumentalists -
for a passive audience. Nevertheless, this type of performance has changed significantly in
the last decades, especially under digital influence - not exclusively (Travasso et al., 2022).
The instrumentalist has taken on a multidisciplinary role, and the instrument has expanded its
functions. Instrumentalists had to adapt to this new reality, using the instrument in different
ways and for various purposes, taking on the role of creator and researcher several times.
Summarising, this type of instrument underwent several digital additions beyond its
traditional design and acoustics properties, and they also started to be used to communicate
with the computational component and/or with other actors involved in the instrumental
music performance.
Tangible Acoustic Interface
Tangible Acoustic Interface (TAI), as the name means, is something tangible, acoustic, and
interface, employing solid vibrations. In this way, musical instruments under a TAI system
differ from an augmented or actuated one, but they can support both designs. In other words,
musical instruments used as TAI can be - or not - under digital augmentation. The difference
between a TAI system and actuated/augmented instruments is that the latter is developed to
achieve digital features - beyond the traditional acoustic purposes of the instrument - by
modifying the acoustic characteristics and/or changing the performance´s
conditions/environments. On the other hand, instruments under a TAI system are prepared to
allow the instrumentalist to interact with digital component(s) by means of its solid vibration,
but not necessarily with the instrument´s sound.
Nevertheless, an instrument with a TAI system could also work as actuated/augmented.
According to Crevoisier and Polotti (2005), regarding classical musical instruments, the
instrumentalist interacts closely and directly with the source vibration, having control of the
sonic generation. For these authors, to consider an instrument as TAI, it should combine the
sonic production with the interaction through the instrument. At the same time, this process
also takes over the processes to generate sound or other components employing a computer.
TAI uses two techniques: active and the passive (Chou & Lo, 2013). The active is when the
parameters used are based on the absorption of a solid acoustic energy; the passive is based
on analysing the solid acoustic produced, such as tamping or the touch on a surface. In the
specific case of a musical instrument, it can be used as both techniques, active and passive. It
is possible to analyse the vibrations produced by an instrument on its surface, and it is also
possible to analyse the vibrations from the touch on the instrument.
In sum, a musical instrument, under a TAI system, is part of a process developed to offer the
instrumentalist the opportunity to trigger/interact with new features - concerning or not to
sound - using the instrument and through its solid vibration. In these systems, the instrument
is a crucial interface for interaction with digital components, and this interaction cannot be
reached in any other way.
Musical Instruments: Tangible or Intangible?
There are two manners to observe a musical instrument: (1) a device played by an
instrumentalist - working as an interface that allows the instrumentalist the possibility to
make his musical interpretation and communicate with other components; (2) a cultural
artefact with historical value (Howard, 2022). Concerning this second approach, the
instrument can be observed in its function as a device to be played, enabling the recreation of
a traditional performance, preserving these traditions, and making them possible through a
live performance by serving as a vehicle for something intangible - for example, all baroque
orchestras with period instruments. It is possible to imagine the artisans working on it and all
the processes and developments it underwent over years and decades until it reached the
shape and characteristics from nowadays. In this last case, the instrument itself could be
considered a tangible heritage - for example, the Stradivarius´ violins (Howard, 2022). Still
related to tangible heritage, Michael Horn (2013) gives the example of an experience with
two small groups of children in a room with two different ropes, one with and one without
wooden handles. The rope with wooden handles has the connotation of a cultural artefact
because of its traditional heritage, so it is more likely that the children who were in the room
with the rope will use it to jump. Like the rope with wooden handles, a traditional instrument
has a cultural connotation. For this reason, its cultural image cannot be separated from the
object itself, which inevitably makes it a tangible heritage object. Concerning the first manner
to observe a musical instrument, it occurs when someone uses it as an object to achieve sonic
or performative purposes.
A musical instrument can be considered a tangible heritage because of its history, tradition,
and construction. However, it can also be considered an intangible heritage if the sonic result
is the focus. In this last case, the instrument is the interface that connects the instrumentalist
and the audience with this intangible heritage, albeit from different perspectives - the
instrumentalist as the promoter and the audience as the receiver.
A Tangible Interface (TI), something physical around the user that works as an interface
between human and computer, enables a system for human-computer interaction (Manovich,
2022). In this perspective, the musical instrument can be seen as TI, exploring the
relationship between the physical and the digital components (Ullmer & Ishii, 2000),
transforming the traditional instrument into something we might define as a tangible
interface.
Interaction Tangible or Intangible
The musical instrument as a device played by an instrumentalist is tangible, as well as all the
traditional instruments, because they are touchable, allowing physical contact by the
instrumentalist. The same physical principle does not apply to the parameterisable features of
a clarinet to obtain a TAI system, and it needs some discussion about its tangible or
intangible definition.
Firstly, discussing the sound´s (in)tangibility is essential. Physically, sound has a form that
should be considered - moving air particles and travelling through bodies and objects. The
movement and impact of air particles is the fundamental basis for hearing, listening, and
feeling, enabling the tangible concepts of sound/music, speech, embodiment and spatial
orientation (Novak & Sakakeeny, 2015). Gaver (1993) considers three distinct ways for
sound to be generated: solid vibrations, changes in the surface of a liquid body, and sounds
introduced directly into the atmosphere by aerodynamic causes. In this way, O´Callaghan
(2007) states that sounds are the objects of the auditory experience. We can figure out
through the sound if a glass has broken, or if a bell is ringing in a room or if a train is passing
nearby. In this way, O´Callaghan affirms that the auditory experience has the sound as an
object with its characteristics like a physical object has shape, colour, and size. Also, Ihde
(2007) states, regarding the auditory experience, that through sound, we can distinguish
shape aspects and distances, concluding that we can hear shapes. The vibration nature of
sound and the possibility for people to feel it is undeniable. Even when the sound is
inaudible, we can still feel the vibrations if we are in physical contact with the source
(Franinović & Serafin, 2013).
On the other hand, for many authors, the sound is intangible because, although it is a physical
phenomenon, it cannot be touched employing any physical action, and it does not have
properties such as colour, shape and size, which makes it of intangible nature (Cox, 2011;
Oliveira Pinto, 2018). However, the sound could become tangible if we consider recording
possibilities through its transformation to something material as a recording (Oliveira Pinto,
2018). Gupfinger and Wolf (2019) refer to sound as something intangible, and to give it a
tangible form, they created a system with a 3D printer transforming sound into sculptures.
Regarding pitch and sound, according to ISO (2014), the auditory sensation is a function of
neurological processes, and the sound has to be interpreted unconsciously - for example,
during sleep - or consciously.
It is not the purpose of this article to discuss if sound is tangible or intangible. However, to
catalogue the different parameterizations which allow the new features brought by a clarinet
as TAI, and due to the nature of this article - exploring solid vibrations - it will be considered
the concept in which the sound could be tangible. In this way, all the interactions regarding
using a clarinet under TAI systems will be considered tangible.
Clarinet Anatomy and Techniques
This section will present terms and usages of several clarinet techniques, making
understanding the following ones easier.
The clarinet is an instrument member of the woodwind family and, generally, is made of
wood - a cylindrical bore with keys and holes - and a single reed. Its sound is produced by
blowing between the reed and the mouthpiece, vibrating the reed. This vibration sets the
motion of air inside the tube, making the sound (Hoeprich, 2008). Nowadays, the clarinet has
five parts: mouthpiece, barrel, upper body, lower body, and bell.
There are several contact points between the instrumentalist and the instrument. The first one,
because without it, the clarinet does not produce sound, is the mouth with the mouthpiece.
This contact could be done with lips, teeth, and tongue. Also, it is here that the
instrumentalist sends the airflow. Another contact could be made by the hands in the clarinet
body, especially in the keys and wood. However, it is normal to see, especially in the
orchestra, because the instrumentalists are playing seated, the clarinettist using their knees
involving the bell - serving as mufflers - helping to play a soft pianissimo. In fact, the
clarinettist could use any part of his/her body to come into physical contact with the clarinet.
There are also several techniques to be considered for this article, such as vibrato - pitch
fluctuations that could be achieved by changing the pressure on the reed or the air pressure;
flutter tongue - produced by the tongue pronouncing d-r-r-r, or using the throat making g-r-
r-r; slap tongue - using the tongue to create a vacuum between the reed and the mouthpiece
and them release it suddenly provoking a slapping of the reed on the mouthpiece; throat
tremolo - doing series of breath articulations with the sibyl ha; vocal sounds - using the air
pressure to play and to sing into the clarinet tube; air sounds - blowing to the instrument with
an embouchure pressure insufficient to produce the normal tone; key slaps - making noises
through pressuring the instrument keys (Rehfeldt, 2003).
The techniques mentioned are not a list of all the clarinet techniques because it is impossible
to mention something that is in constant evolving. Nevertheless, it is a list containing several
parametrisable aspects useful to be used in TAI systems in a clarinet.
Usage Models
The first example of this analysis uses the normal acoustic sound production and the use of a
solid vibration sensor placed inside the bell. This sensor captures the solid vibration resulting
from the acoustic sound and uses this data as a parametrizable feature. It is also possible to
transform the received data in hertz and/or dBs to use it for trigger functions. For example,
the project MAD Clarinet 2.1. (Travasso, 2022), uses the sound of the clarinet with that
intention. The computer identifies the pitch captured from the clarinet´s sound and matches it
with a matrix. If the pitches produced are between 21hz and 192hz, the computer draws a
quadratic Bezier curve; between 193hz and 390hz a line; between 391hz and 500hz a straight
line; between 500hz to 792hz an arc; between 793hz and 993hz a circle; and upper 994hz a
triangle. With this system of TAI, the clarinettist, through its playing, can choose which
figures to draw. The musical dynamics are also explored on MAD Clarinet 2.1., in this
specific case, dB is used as a gate. All sounds produced by the clarinet, with a level lower
than -25 dB, do not trigger any geometrical figures. In this way, the system represented in
Figure 1. can works as the system explained, transforming the solid vibrations in hertz.
However, it can be used in several other parameters and purposes. Due to its position inside
the bell, the sensor will receive many vibrations, and even air sounds or/and key slaps can be
easily detected.
Figure 1. A system with a solid vibration sensor.
Using a different sensor, more precisely a Tilt Switch installed in a key - D#3 - placed on the
upper body, transform the key into a switch. This switch could be used as an on/off button.
This key was chosen because there is an alternative to it, and it is possible to play whatever
the instrumentalist wants, avoiding its use. Therefore, the clarinettist could use the key -
switch - to trigger something or switch and play simultaneously. A solid vibration sensor
acting on the mentioned key could have the same effect.
Figure 2. Switch placed over the bell.
Also, the clarinet can have a Tilt Switch positioned on the bell - as Figure 2 shows -
programmed, for example, to block or unblock the other sensors installed.
In Figure 3, it is possible to observe the signal emitted from the switch when it is placed on
the vertical and the absence when it is placed on the horizontal. This position could be
defined through the sensor position or choosing a switch with another definition. However, in
any case, the clarinettist can use this signal as an on/off button of a predefined process.
Figure 3. Soundwaves resulting from the switch.
The mouthpiece is also an excellent spot to place sensors - Figure 4. There is a point between
the reed and the mouthpiece that a polymer vibration sensor - a piezo vibration sensor in the
specific case of Figure 4. - can be placed without disturbing the sonic production. This sensor
could be used to read the reed vibration when the clarinettist is playing in the traditional
manner or/and also when he/she uses different techniques - flutter tongue, growling, slap
tongue, vocal sound, air sounds, among others. Even the simple touch of the reed could be
detected with this technique. However, detecting vibrations produced in the clarinet´s body
could be difficult.
Figure 4. Sensor placed between the reed and the mouthpiece.
Between the rubber protection for the upper teeth and the mouthpiece or over the rubber
protection - as we can observe in Figure 5. - is another good place to use the same sensor. In
this place, it could be measured the impact in vibrations of different bites, and it is also a
good place to measure the vibration of the mouthpiece.
Figure 5. Sensor on the rubber of the mouthpiece.
The Figure 6 is an example of the signal captured by the system shown in Figure 3. It is
possible to observe different types of soundwaves resulting from playing and different
strengths made by the upper teeth.
Figure 6. Soundwaves resulting from the sensor on the rubber of the mouthpiece.
Parameter
Technology
Instrument vibration - playing and/or
pressing the instrument keys
Solid vibration sensors
Using a key as a switch
Solid vibration sensor or a tilt switch
device
Reed vibration
Polymer vibration sensor between the reed
and the mouthpiece
Teeth pressure
Polymer vibration sensor between the teeth
rubber and the mouthpiece
Table 1 - Models of TAI application.
Summarising, the clarinet can be used as TAI for several purposes and in various manners.
The systems mentioned are not - and far from it - a closed list. However, it is possible to state
that a clarinet can be used as a TAI through physical positioning, pitch, dynamics, throat and
tongue techniques, air and teeth pressure and others. These kinds of interactions are
distinguished from the general TUI or actuated/augmented instruments, making the clarinet
an interface for interaction between the instrumentalist and the digital component(s) through
solid vibrations.
Author´s Experience
Through the author´s experience as a clarinettist, collaborating with the project
Comprovisador and with the project MAD Clarinet - Figure 7. -, it is possible to verify that
the experience regarding the musical performance, playing the clarinet, has changed. These
projects change the traditional manner of playing the clarinet. For example, in an orchestra,
the clarinettist interprets music with other musicians, using the clarinet only for sonic
purposes, with the well-defined goal of interpreting the score. Performances that use the
clarinet to interact with digital components presuppose - possibly - different clarinet
techniques and certainly different focuses of attention and concentration. For example, if an
artefact requires physical movement to interact and/or has a sonic response to random
possibilities, the clarinettist faces several issues that diverge from his traditional performance.
Regarding the movement, the non-stability of the instrument could be a problem in
maintaining an excellent airflow to play it or even having control of the reed if the angle
between the body and the clarinet is constantly changing. However, interaction with physical
movements could bring several advantages regarding the visual context and add new features
to different types of performance. In addition, the physical condition of the instrumentalist
could be a problem because it could substantially reduce the thoracic capacity. Related to
sonic matter, different and unexpected responses triggered by the digital component give rise
to various reactions. In sum, there is no limit to the use of TAI, and every project/model has
its specificity, using the clarinet in different ways for different purposes. All these kinds of
projects have in common that they change the relationship between the clarinettist and the
clarinet. Beyond its normal function, the instrument becomes a channel and/or device to
communicate with others - digital or non-digital - allowing the instrumentalist to connect to
different domains.
Figure 7. MAD Clarinet 2.1. Live Performance.
Conclusion
The use of musical instruments has evolved in the digital world, and with this evolution, new
definitions and concepts have emerged. As mentioned, this article attempts to identify one of
these moments by bringing up the concept of identifying the clarinet as a Tangible Acoustic
Interface (TAI), which changes how the clarinet can be used and understood under the
influence of a new digital reality. Also, it was discussed new features and possible systems
through examples to use the clarinet as a TAI. The instrument is no longer used only for
musical purposes but also as a device that allows the instrumentalist to communicate with
digital components. In this sense, a clarinet as a TAI is when the musical instrument acts as
an intermediary between the instrumentalist and the digital component through solid
vibrations. This connection enables the instrumentalist to interact with the digital component
and other actors involved in the performance.
In summary, the clarinet as a TAI is a sonic device that acts as a remote control for digital
music performance under the command of the instrumentalist. Indeed, the clarinet has seen
its responsibilities extended, evolving from a sonic transmitter to a control device for various
purposes. Lastly, this TAI definition could serve as a basis for new similar situations with
other instruments, thus broadening this definition.
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Contact email: ruitravasso79@gmail.com
