Álvaro Barbosa

Displaced Soundscapes: A Survey of Network Systems for Music and Sonic Art Creation

The introduction of various collaborative tools, made possible by the expansion of computer network systems and communications technology, has led to new methods of musical composition and improvisation. The author describes a number of recent music and sound art projects involving the use of network systems that enable geographically displaced creators to collaboratively generate shared soundscapes. Various system designs, ideas and concepts associated with this interaction paradigm are presented and classified by the author.

Public Sound Objects: a shared environment for networked music practice on the Web

The Public Sound Objects (PSOs) project consists of the development of a networked musical system, which is an experimental framework to implement and test new concepts for online music communication. The PSOs project approaches the idea of collaborative musical performances over the Internet by aiming to go beyond the concept of using computer networks as a channel to connect performing spaces. This is achieved by exploring the internets shared nature in order to provide a public musical space where anonymous users can meet and be found performing in collective sonic art pieces.The system itself is an interface-decoupled musical instrument, in which a remote user interface and a sound processing engine reside with different hosts in an extreme scenario where a user can access the synthesizer from any place in the world using the World Wide Web. Specific software features were implemented in order to reduce the disruptive effects of network latency, such as dynamic adaptation of the musical tempo to communication latency measured in real time and consistent sound panning with the objects behaviour at the graphical user interface.

Murky shooting: the use of auditory (non-speech) feedback on mobile audiogames

In this paper we introduce an effective approach for game design based on auditory, non-speech, feedback. We describe the design and implementation of a mobile application -- Murky Shooting - that makes use of sound to engage the user in a shooting game experience. Further, we discuss the pros and cons of the mobile version compared with the former desktop version and conclude with a presentation of the preliminary results, which prove that auditory cues solely are sufficient to provide an effective way of interaction, allowing the user to improve his/her performance and keep immersion in the game narrative.

An eco-structuralism approach in soundscape (data) composition

In this paper we present the motivations, processes and results of two experimental music pieces. Two approaches as how the soundscape can catalyze direct inspiration and raw material to the creation of music. By describing the processes and results of public presentations, we identified approaches reinterpreting raw data in music composition. The first work is a 9 minute piece for tape, small orchestra and improvisation ensemble. The main purpose was to capture the soundscape identity around the concert hall and transform it in a music piece. The second work is a 6 minute piece for 4 channel (quadriphonic) tape. The purpose of this piece was to experiment a more purist approach to create music with the data information taken from a random soundscape of a random full day from an urban space also chosen randomly. Furthermore, some considerations are inferred about the artistic relevance of using this approach, raising questions about the musical outcomes vs. original sound sources.

Privacy in Sound-Based Social Networks

In this paper we address the issue of privacy in Online Social Networks (OSN), focusing on those that use environmental sound as a contextual cue for users activity. Through the use of a costume-made research tool consisting of an Online Sound-Based Social Network (OSBSN), we undertook scientific experiments aiming to assess how users deal with the use of sound. Results show that contextual sound is regarded as important and useful for OSN but raises important privacy concerns. In order to deal with this constraint, we propose a system based on the automatic classification of sound environment rather than capturing and sharing actual audio.

Creative Engagement: Multimodal digital games in children's learning environment in Macau S.A.R.

One of the biggest challenges that we have encountered, when trying to encourage digital games in schools, is trying to explain what its benefits are in teaching and learning environments. In this pilot experimental study we explore how multimodal audio and visual games can be used in learning environments for children, specifically by fostering creative behaviors through User-Centered design approaches. To achieve this objective, a framework is being developed with multimodal experiences based on flexible design patterns that exploits basic visual and audio elements, allowing children from three to six years of age to play and learn through fun and subsequently trigger creative behaviors. These studies are making use of tangible objects, digital games and mobile platforms. We are making use of commercial digital games to understand and discuss the affordances of these games in an educational environment and how they support creativity in learning. (Fig.1)

The creative industries as an integrated factor in a sustainable model for Macao's economic development

This article presents an insight into one of the regions with the fastest-growing economy, heavily based on an entertainment, gaming and tourism industry, and that is urgently looking for a sustainable model that articulates with complementary sectors within the cultural and creative industries – Macao. Macao is facing a major economic and social challenge; it has grown as a vulnerable economy relying almost exclusively on gaming revenues. Alternative activities to diversify the economy are urgently required to answer the competition risks haunting this industry. The cultural and creative industries could be a complementary activity – a vehicle for economic diversification. However, current public and private stakeholders for the cultural and creative sector might have been neglecting the unique cultural and heritage ecosystem of the territory, focusing on isolate opportunities and overlooking an inclusive and robust strategy. A sustainable model that attends to the local conditions and its people is required for alternative activities to become a meaningful sector for the social and economic development of Macao.

NIME Education at the School of Arts of the Portuguese Catholic University/CITAR

The liberalization of radio and television broadcast industry in Portugal and the recent flow of investment into the field of creative industries, together with exponential developments in communication technologies, resulted in a growing demand for professionals in the field of audiovisual production. The new Media Industry requires qualified human resources with strong skills in Artist, Technology, Culture and Ethics. This paper presents some of the courses currently offered at the EA-UCP that have some degree of relevancy to NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression). Different professors, with different backgrounds (from arts and music to engineering), are responsible for each one the courses, and some of the courses have in fact more than one professor, usually with different backgrounds, allowing to cover the different facets of more interdisciplinar curricular units.