Musical Machines: History, Theory, and Techniques for Makers and Musicians (Creating Technology for Music)

"A new breed of musical machines has emerged that synthesizes acoustic, kinesthetic, and computational worlds. These artificial agents possess abilities and characteristics that are unique from those of humans, offering novel creative possibilities to artists and musicians who use them. This book's purpose is to inspire the creativity of musicians, engineers, and makers by helping them imagine and realize such machines. This is accomplished by first asking questions about why we build musical machines and the meaning of these devices as expressions of individual and cultural values. From there, key concepts and a historical landscape are detailed, establishing an artistic and technical context to help explain what these machines are and how they have been used. Technical skills are built through a series of projects devoted to mechanisms, actuation, electrical circuits, programming, and communication. A template for the design and realization process provides a basis for examples in the major instrument categories-strings, percussion, and aerophones - that are further enhanced by first-person perspectives from prominent builders in the field.