A música e a tecnologia têm experienciado, desde há séculos, uma coabitação e um desenvolvimento mútuo constante na nossa sociedade, o qual tem possibilitado aos músicos instrumentistas, não só a oportunidade de evoluírem os seus instrumentos, como também a sua performance. No que concerne à música em específico, Irving Godt (2005) afirma que não há conhecimento de sociedade alguma que tenha existido, ou que exista, sem música. Tal afirmação espelha bem a importância desta nas sociedades, desempenhando um papel de relevância sobre vários aspetos, sejam eles de cariz artístico, festivo, fúnebre, ou noutros enquadramentos. Na realidade, a música e a tecnologia vivem numa simbiose e com uma dinâmica particular, na qual a tecnologia fornece meios para que a música evolua, mas, por sua vez, a música também vai criando necessidades e fomentando o desenvolvimento tecnológico. Inerentemente a esta evolução conjunta e consoante os espaços temporais em que acontece, o papel dos músicos vai-se alterando espontaneamente por adaptação. É uma destas alterações, num destes timings, que é aqui investigada, nomeadamente a influência que a média-arte digital exerceu/exerce na música, sob o ponto de vista do músico instrumentista erudito de tradição ocidental escrita e, em particular, o ponto de vista do próprio autor enquanto clarinetista. Este, que vinha já observando ampliações nas suas responsabilidades enquanto intérprete - mais propriamente através de adições cénicas, físicas, acústicas, entre outras – viu-as serem aumentadas de forma mais acentuada através da junção com os canais média digitais. Sumariando, o presente documento é o resultado investigativo da forma e das implicações que este desenvolvimento relacional trouxe aos instrumentistas. Para o efeito, foi observada e identificada a performance musical instrumental tradicional, a sua evolução mediante diversos pontos de vista entre os agentes envolvidos, a evolução notacional, a evolução conceptual, a adição tecnológica, entre outros aspetos, tudo isto com o objetivo de identificar e diferenciar influências. Foram também elaborados três artefactos que explorassem ambas as áreas – média-arte digital e música –, aproveitando a formação e experiência profissional do autor enquanto instrumentista e, também, como forma geradora de dados para investigação proposta.

This article proposes to identify the aesthetic currents and key events that influenced music instrumentalists over the last century, as well as to characterize new outcomes in music performance. The aesthetical, technical, and compositional evolution of music impacted and changed the traditional conception of the performance – that of a musician taking to the stage using only his instrument in order to deliver a rendition of a music score – to a multidisciplinary concept. This new concept brought new demands to the instrumentalists, who had to adapt and improve without guidance or tuition. But it also introduced a source of creativity, fostering new techniques both in music interpretation and in writing. This analysis will focus on traditional musical instruments players and excludes instrumental music of oral tradition and/or improvisation, as well as vocal interpreters.

This article proposes to identify aesthetic currents and key events that affected music instrumentalists over the last 100 years - approximately - as well as to characterize new outcomes in music performance. The aesthetical, technical, and compositional evolution of music influenced and changed the traditional conception of the performance – that of a musician taking to the stage using only his instrument, performing an interpretation of a musical score, in a unidirectional relationship with the audience – to a multidisciplinary concept. This generalised evolution, brought new demands to the instrumentalists, who had to adapt and improve, practically autonomously. The increase of multidisciplinarity, fostered creativity, which in turn gave rise to new techniques, both in interpretation and in musical writing. In order to focus the article, it will be centred on traditional musical instruments players, and excludes instrumental music of oral and/or improvised tradition, as well as vocal interpreters.

This article proposes to identify the key milestones that influenced the instrumentalist performance, throughout the twentieth century until nowadays. In a certain moment of the western music history, excluding henceforth unwritten instrumental music, the instrumentalist needed to incorporate elements related with other arts and/or others disparate fields, which in some way come together on the performance, beyond the enlargement of his functions and instrumental musical techniques. This evolution has broken away from the traditional performance – the act of the musician taking the stage to reproduce a musical text – creating new multidisciplinary demands on performers. These new features became a requirement for the interpreters, as well as a source of creativity for composers and creators. As a consequence, the technical mastery of instruments and of musical theory, became insufficient due to the enlarged scope requirements of certain concepts and artistic creations.

This article proposes to identify the aesthetic currents and key events that influenced music instrumentalists over the last century, as well as to characterize new outcomes in music performance. The aesthetical, technical, and compositional evolution of music impacted and changed the traditional conception of the performance – that of a musician taking to the stage using only his instrument in order to deliver a rendition of a music score – to a multidisciplinary concept. This new concept brought new demands to the instrumentalists, who had to adapt and improve without guidance or tuition. But it also introduced a source of creativity, fostering new techniques both in music interpretation and in writing. This analysis will focus on traditional musical instruments players and excludes instrumental music of oral tradition and/or improvisation, as well as vocal interpreters.

This article proposes to identify aesthetic currents and key events that affected music instrumentalists over the last 100 years - approximately - as well as to characterize new outcomes in music performance. The aesthetical, technical, and compositional evolution of music influenced and changed the traditional conception of the performance – that of a musician taking to the stage using only his instrument, performing an interpretation of a musical score, in a unidirectional relationship with the audience – to a multidisciplinary concept. This generalised evolution, brought new demands to the instrumentalists, who had to adapt and improve, practically autonomously. The increase of multidisciplinarity, fostered creativity, which in turn gave rise to new techniques, both in interpretation and in musical writing. In order to focus the article, it will be centred on traditional musical instruments players, and excludes instrumental music of oral and/or improvised tradition, as well as vocal interpreters.

This article states the influence of New Media Arts on the instrumentalist’s role. By instrumentalist the article refers to those who interpret written music from the Western music tradition, which has the artistic activity grounded on interpreting a musical score by recreating sonically compositions in concerts. This discussion pretends to argue that the musician develops different roles when digital means are involved. For this purpose, the instrumentalist activity as an artist and the new media arts creator’s profile will be defined. Therefore, it will be possible to analyse how the new media usage and concepts could impact the artistic life of an instrumentalist. The idea of creator and/or recreator will be discussed regarding the instrumentalist’s role, and it will be observed if this role changes under the new media arts mediation. To achieve the article’s conclusions, it will use the author’s experience as a clarinettist and New Media Arts artist and various conceptions and definitions concerning instrumental written music from the Western tradition and New Media Arts.

This article states the influence of New Media Arts on the instrumentalist’s role. By instrumentalist the article refers to those who interpret written music from the Western music tradition, which has the artistic activity grounded on interpreting a musical score by recreating sonically compositions in concerts. This discussion pretends to argue that the musician develops different roles when digital means are involved. For this purpose, the instrumentalist activity as an artist and the new media arts creator’s profile will be defined. Therefore, it will be possible to analyse how the new media usage and concepts could impact the artistic life of an instrumentalist. The idea of creator and/or recreator will be discussed regarding the instrumentalist’s role, and it will be observed if this role changes under the new media arts mediation. To achieve the article’s conclusions, it will use the author’s experience as a clarinettist and New Media Arts artist and various conceptions and definitions concerning instrumental written music from the Western tradition and New Media Arts.

This article proposes to support the concept that the clarinet can be transformed and considered as a Tangible Acoustic Interface (TAI) when under the influence of digital media art or digital components. 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 the new luthiers and began to explore this digital path by augmenting and actuating their instruments. This exploration brought new properties and directions for its performance and, also, new conceptions regarding the connection between the actors involved – instrumentalist, instrument, computer, microphone, software, and others. By comparing and analysing concepts and definitions related to interfaces and their interaction, this paper discusses the new concept of TAI, which results from an expanded vision of the subject and first-person experience. This concept discusses 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

This article discusses the effectiveness of a Clarinet Tangible Acoustic Interface (CTAI), comparing it to two other systems: sound capture through a pickup inserted in the barrel and sound capture through an external microphone. These analyses aim to give information to those clarinettists or other instrumentalists working with electronic devices, giving them data on the systems analysed and their features. Several options were tested and recorded as a methodology to provide data for the analyses in two subjects: (1) different implementations of the CTAI system in the clarinet; (2) comparing the three systems on pitch capture, amplification, processing the sound, using a clarinet as an interface, ergonomic posture, and cost. Also, this article pretends to validate using a clarinet as a Tangible Acoustic Interface. For this purpose, it will present an introduction with historical concepts, a development with the explanation of the CTAI system, its implementation, a capture design of all devices and data and its analyses, a conclusion, and future work.