Kleebtronics Megaphono
Thesis Research

Crowd Sourced Music

Type 1

Pre-composed music intended for thousands around the globe

Advantages

• More control over composition
• More likely to filter out talent
• Can scale to thousands of users

Disadvantages

• Completely virtual
• No personal interaction

Interfaces Built For Non-Musicians

Design physical interfaces that can play music regardless of the musical talent of the player:

Advantages

• Anyone can operate (even, and especially, kids!)
• Pre-composed sounds or samples can be designed to sound good
• Easy to install in physical space

Disadvantages

• Not actually 'playing' music, just pressing buttons
• More of an installation than a performance

Interfaces Designed for Musicians

Familiar instruments for musicians to play together, linked by MIDI or other basic protocol.

Advantages

• Musicians tend to be able to make music
• MIDI is dependable, has been tested

Disadvantages

• Large barrier to entry for non-musicians
• Loses the idea of "music played by anyone"

Challenges

• Combine these ideas into an easy-to-use interface that can be played by musicians and non-musicians alike
• Decide whether music is generated acoustically or uses pre-recorded samples- must sound good!
• Structure must be approachable, barrier to entry must be low