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date: 27 February 2021

Abstract and Keywords

This chapter highlights disjunctions between usability approaches and the needs of creative music practices, drawing on research into creativity and human–computer interaction (HCI) to integrate concepts of flow, virtuosity, and liveness into the design of digital notations. While computers support the production and transcription of creative ideas, current user interfaces are less suited to exploratory creativity, sketching, and the early stages of the creative process. The chapter discusses properties of interfaces and notations that influence such support. It then presents both a set of usability heuristics for virtuosity, to aid the design of user interfaces supporting skill and learning, and a technique for modeling aspects of flow and liveness within the creative user experience, emphasizing user focus and system feedback. Findings and theories are discussed in the context of examples from desktop and studio music software, such as sequencers and trackers, but they can also be generalized to other scenarios in digital creativity.

Keywords: notation, flow, liveness, virtuosity, HCI, computer music, sequencers, trackers, user experience, digital creativity, feedback

Chris Nash

Chris Nash is a professional programmer and composer, who completed his PhD on music HCI at the University of Cambridge. His research looks at theoretical and analytical methods for modeling and designing interfaces for composition, supported by a longitudinal study of over 1,000 DAW users, empirically investigating user experience with respect to flow, learning, virtuosity, creativity, and liveness. His work has attracted interest from Yamaha, Cakewalk, and Steinberg, whom he joined for 6 months in 2009. Around his research, he is the developer of the award-winning reViSiT plugin, and has written music for TV and radio, including the BBC.

Alan F. Blackwell

Alan Blackwell is Reader in Interdisciplinary Design at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He is an authority on visual representation and notation, especially with regard to the usability of programming languages. He collaborates regularly with music researchers, especially through Cambridge’s Centre for Music and Science, and has a specific research interest in notations for artistic production and performance, working with a wide range of contemporary choreographers and composers. Together with his students and collaborators, he has a long-standing interest in the tools and practices of Live Coding.

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