Ways of knowing, ways of writing: technical practice research in new musical instrument design
Author(s)
Pelinski, Teresa
Mcpherson, Andrew
Fiebrink, Rebecca
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Musical instruments are not static and neutral technological objects, but objects we shape through our designing and performing practices. Along these lines, various authors have argued for the relevance of practice research in the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) field. Most of these contributions tackle interface evaluation or issues related to musical practice. In contrast, technical processes are typically addressed from linear, goal-oriented narratives based on technical implementation that consider the instrument merely as a technical artefact. In this paper, we critique such technoscientific narratives through science and technology studies, human-computer interaction, design and NIME literature. We propose Technical Practice Research as an alternative mode of research in technical practice that places the locus of knowledge production in the practice rather than the technical artefact, by focussing on the first-person and real-time nature of technical practice. Although framed in the context of NIME, this proposal extends to other fields in which technical and creative practice are intertwined.
Date Issued
2024-03-14
Date Acceptance
2024-12-10
Citation
Journal of New Music Research, 2024, 53 (1-2), pp.79-92
ISSN
0929-8215
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Start Page
79
End Page
92
Journal / Book Title
Journal of New Music Research
Volume
53
Issue
1-2
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Subjects
Arts & Humanities
Computer Science
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
interdisciplinarity
Music
NIME
practice research
SCIENCE
Science & Technology
science and technology studies
SOCIOLOGY
technical practice
Technology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-01-08