Abstract:

Popular music plays a central role in the lives of millions of people. It motivates beginners, engages experienced musicians, and plays both functional (e.g. churches) and non-functional (e.g. music festivals) roles in many contexts. Forming and maintaining a popular music ensemble can be challenging, particularly for part-time musicians who face other demands on their time. Where an ensemble has a functional role, performing music of consistent style and quality becomes imperative yet the demands of everyday life mean that it is not always possible to have a full complement of musicians. Interactive music technology has the potential to substitute for absent musicians to give a consistent musical output. However, the technology to achieve this (for popular music) is not yet mature, or in a suitable form for adoption and use by musicians who are not experienced with interactive music systems, or who are unprepared to work in experimental music or with experimental systems (a particular concern for functional ensembles).