A Microcomputer-Based Conducting System

The subject of this paper is a portable, microcomputer-based performance system that we call the conduct system.1 This system was developed at the University of Toronto as part of the research of the Structured Sound Synthesis Project (SSSP) (Buxton, Fogels, Fedorkow and Smith 1978). The system, built around a microprocessor controlling a digital sound synthesizer, had its genesis in the earlier conductor system of Mathews (Mathews 1976). That is, it is a system that allows the performer to interpret or conduct precomposed score material, rather than a system on which the prime performance task is to articulate each individual note, as is the case with conventional instruments. In the remainder of this paper, we shall provide a description of the microcomputer-based conducting system, concentrating on aspects of the human interface and the control structure. In addition, we shall discuss what we see as the relative strengths and weaknesses of the system, based on our experience with it in both the laboratory and the concert hall. We shall begin, however, by relating our work to that of others in the field, and by discussing the general issues of the problem.