Technology-mediated Audience Participation in Live Music

The project "Technology-Mediated Audience Participation in Live Music" communicates the scientific results of the ongoing artistic research project "Breaking The Wall - Playful interfaces for audience participation and artistic expression in musical live performances". It communicates the scientific results to the target audiences of members of the general public interested in music and medie arts, stakeholders in the area of music and technology such as musicians and music technologists, as well as university and secondary school students. Breaking The Wall (BTW) examines audience participation at live music performances by means of technical assistance. The systems for interaction between audience and musicians are designed and developed together with musicians in a participatory design process. These prototypes are then tested and evaluated in a final event. The proposed project communicates the scientific results of BTW on four levels of knowledge: Theoretical knowledge is imparted to the target group concerning the design and analysis of such interactive systems. Practical knowledge is imparted with regard to the development process. Technical knowledge is presented in the form of technical prototypes and open source releases developed as part of the project. Artistic knowledge is communicated with a performance through the processes of composing, conceptualising, and performing. Core of the science communication strategy of the proposed project are the 3 days-long Music Participation Days, a separate event within the Waves Festival Central Europe. In its structure It replicates the four levels of knowledge mentioned above and communicates art- based research in a tangible way. Supported by scientists, experts and mentors hands-on knowledge is communicated to participants in the areas of conceptualization, design, technical realization and artistic use of audience participation. An online platform for participatory exchange of design characteristics of audience interaction and the release of design cards under a Creative Commons license complete the science communication strategy during the hack-a-thons and in terms of long-term sustainability.

The goal of the project "Technology-Mediated Audience Participation in Live Music" (TMAP) was to communicate the scientific results of the art-based research project "Breaking The Wall - Playful interfaces for audience participation and artistic expression in musical live performances" (AR 322-G21). The target audiences were members of the general public interested in music and media arts, stakeholders in the area of music and technology such as musicians and music technologists, as well as university and secondary school students. "Breaking The Wall" (BTW) examined audience participation at live music performances by means of technical assistance, which had been developed and evaluated throughout the BTW project. The overall concept of this project was to communicate the scientific results of BTW on four levels of knowledge: Theoretical knowledge imparted to the target groups concerning the design and analysis of interactive systems in live music. Practical knowledge imparted with regard to the development process of these systems. Technical knowledge presented in the form of re-usable technical prototypes and open source releases. Artistic knowledge communicated through the processes of composing, conceptualising, and performing. The core of the science communication strategy of the TMAP project were the 3 days-long "Music Participation Days", a separate event within the "Waves Vienna Festival and Conference" and offering public activities such as a hack-a-thon, a concert and a panel discussion. In its structure this event replicated the four levels of knowledge mentioned above and communicated art-based research in a tangible way to all target groups through hands-on knowledge in the areas of conceptualisation, design, technical realisation and artistic use of technology-mediated audience participation. The outcomes of the TMAP projects include novel scientific publications to communicate theoretical knowledge to scientific communities and experts. To address the broader public, but also professional stakeholders, a series of videos of live concerts and tutorials were produced and released publicly, along with articles and media releases on university, project and event websites and social media to transfer practical and artistic knowledge. A novel usable tool to make technical knowledge accessible is the free-to-use online platform "Design Cards To Go" for the future design of technology-mediated audience participation for different stakeholders (e.g., musicians, technologists, designers), which completes the science communication strategy in terms of long-term sustainability.