Ergonomic Music: Where Does it Fit In?

Abstract

In this paper we present the idea of ergonomic instruments: musical devices that focus on minimising the learning curve of musicians by mapping inherent musical actions to the creation of music. We situate ergonomic instruments in the context of existing relevant work, and then discuss a new methodology towards the development of musical instruments including exploration of a musical goal which we call direct expression. Next, we offer a prototype of an ergonomic instrument called the Ergonomic Electronic Percussive Padboard (EEP Padboard) and include an exploratory evaluation with ideas for further development.