The development of an improvising machine in ubiquitous music environments

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between design choices in improvising machines and the ideological foundations of the ubiquitous music (ubimus) movement practices. To this end, we developed a free/libre open-source interactive system in Pure Data, named “Engenhoca”. The system was initially developed to evaluate the potential for learning free improvisation through interaction with improvising machines during the social distancing period of 2020. It offers various advantages, including ease of use, support for both audio and symbolic output, and network communication possibilities—making this system especially suitable for inclusion in ubimus activities. Beyond its educational role, the system is now envisioned for broader applications, such as electronic music composition, digital instrument extension, and collaborative remote creativity. Its a free software license and do-it-yourself orientation may inspire musicians to explore the creative potential of decentralized technological interaction—a perspective that is especially relevant in an era where intelligent tools, often poorly understood and difficult to control, are becoming increasingly pervasive. In conclusion, Engenhoca highlights how open-source tools can support creative, collaborative free improvisation. Its adaptable design and free software license encourage musicians to modify their systems to fit their individual needs and creative experiences, offering an alternative to artificial intelligence solutions. This study provides a preliminary theoretical foundation for the future development of accessible, interactive music systems suitable for diverse creative practices.

Keywords

Computer creativity / Free improvisation / Improvising machines / Interactive music systems / Ubimus

Funding

This research was supported by the Foundation for Research and Innovation Support of Espírito Santo (grant number: 187/2022).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Flores LV, Pimenta MS, Capasso A, Tinajero P, Keller D. Ubiquitous Music: Concepts and Metaphors Proceedings of the 12th SBCM; 2009. p. 158-169. Available from: https://lume.ufrgs.br/handle/10183/31171 [Last accessed on 2025 May 26].

[2] Bridges B, Keller D, Messina M, Yaseen A. Ubiquitous Music as a Movement? (UbiMus 2023 Editorial) Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Ubiquitous Music; 2023. Available from: https://hal.science/hal-04372736 [Last accessed on 2025 May 26].

[3] Stolfi A, Milo A, Viola F, Ceriani M, Barthet M. Playsound. Space: An Ubiquitous System in Progress. Proceedings of 8th Workshop on Ubiquitous; 2018. p. 54-65. doi: 11585/665837

[4] Clemente M, Falleiros M, Tavares T, Fornari J. Experiments on Technology-Assisted Free Improvisational Practices with an Ensemble of Saxophone. Proceedings of 10th Workshop on Ubiquitous Music; 2020. p. 121-132. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4247685

[5] Linson A. Investigating the Cognitive Foundations of Collaborative Musical Free Improvisation: Experimental Case Studies using a Novel Application of the Subsumption Architecture Open Research Online. United Kingdom: PhD Thesis, Open University; 2014. p. 4-5. https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.00009b74 [Last accessed on 2025 May 26].

[6] Bailey D. Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music. United States: Da Capo Press; 1993. p. 105-112.

[7] Borgo D. Sync or Swarm: Improvising Music in a Complex Age. New York: A and C Black, Bloomsbury Publishing USA; 2005. p. 9-10.

[8] Stenström H. Free Ensemble Improvisation. PhD Thesis, Academy of Music e Drama; Högskolan för Scen Och Musik; 2009. p. 28. Available from: https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/20293 [Last accessed on 2025 May 26].

[9] Corbett J. A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2016. p. 119-120.

[10] Messina M, Freitas B, Simurra I, Gómez C, Aliel L, Keller D. Musical Stuff, Technologically Convergent and Disruptive Factors Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Ubiquitous Music; 2023. p. 52-53.

[11] Tatar K, Pasquier P. Musical agents: A typology and state of the art towards musical metacreation. J New Music Res. 2019; 48(1):56-105. doi: 10.1080/09298215.2018.1511736

[12] Barros F, Freire S, Costalonga L. Non-Human Companionship: Practicing Free Improvisation Through Interaction with Machines International Symposium on Ubiquitous Music; 2023. p. 74-85. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14170865

[13] Roads C. The Computer Music Tutorial. United States: MIT Press; 1996. p. 878.

[14] Pachet F. The continuator: Musical interaction with style. J New Music Res. 2003; 32(3):333-341. doi: 10.1076/jnmr.32.3.333.16861

[15] Collins NLL. Listening and Learning in an Interactive Improvisation System Unpublished Report. England: University of Sussex; 2011. p. 4.

[16] Forte A. The Structure of Atonal Music Yale. Telangana: University Press; 1973. p. 1.

[17] Messiaen O. The Technique of my Musical Language. Paris: Alphonse Leduc; 1994. p. 16.

[18] Forte A. The Structure of Atonal Music Yale. England: University Press; 1973. p. 73.

[19] Lerch A. An Introduction to Audio Content Analysis: Music Information Retrieval tasks and Applications. United States: John Wiley and Sons; 2022. p. 55-56.

[20] Rottondi C, Chafe C, Allocchio C, Sarti A. An overview on networked music performance technologies. IEEE Access. 2016; 4:8823-8843. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2016.2628440

[21] Bosi M, Servetti A, Chafe C, Rottondi C. Experiencing remote classical music performance over long distance: A jacktrip concert between two continents during the pandemic. J Audio Eng Soc. 2021; 69(12):934-945. doi: 10.17743/jaes.2021.0056

[22] Hsu W. Two approaches for interaction management in timbre-aware improvisation systems. In: International Conference on Mathematics and Computing; 2008. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.bbp2372.2008.062 [Last accessed on 2025 May 26].

[23] Nort DV, Oliveiros P, Braasch J. Electro/acoustic improvisation and deeply listening machines. J New Music Res. 2013; 42(4):303-324. doi: 10.1080/09298215.2013.860465

[24] Lewis GE. Interacting with latter-day musical automata. Contemp Music Rev. 1999; 18(3):99-112. doi: 10.1080/07494469900640381

[25] Keller D, Costalonga L, Messina M. Ubiquitous Music Making in COVID-19 Times Proceedings of the 10th Workshop on Ubiquitous Music; 2020. p. 5.

[26] Lewis GE. Too many notes: Computers, complexity and culture in “Voyager”. Leonardo Music J. 2000; 10:33-39. doi: 10.1162/096112100570585

[27] Dean R. Hyperimprovisation: Computer-Interactive Sound Improvisation. United States: AR Editions, Inc.; 2003. p. 171.

[28] Banerji R. Balancing Defiance and Cooperation: The Design and Human Critique of a Virtual Free Improviser Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference; 2016. p. 48-53.

[29] Keller D, Lazzarini V, Pimenta MS. Ubimus through the Lens of Creativity Theories. In: Ubiquitous Music. Germany: Springer; 2014. p. 3-23.

[30] Keller D, Lazzarini V. Ecologically grounded creative practices in ubiquitous music. Organised Sound. 2017; 22(1):61-72. doi: 10.1017/S1355771816000340

[31] Keller D. Everyday musical creativity. In: Ubiquitous Music Ecologies. England: Routledge; 2020. p. 24.

[32] Corbett JA. Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2016. p. 165-172.

[33] Warburton D. Keith Rowe Interview; 2001. Available from: https://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/rowe.html [Last accessed on 2025 Apr 16].

[34] Thomson S. The pedagogical imperative of musical improvisation. Crit Stud Improvisation Études Critiques en Improvisation. 2007; 3(2):1-12. doi: 10.21083/csieci.v3i2.353

[35] Rowe R. Machine Musicianship. United States: MIT Press; 2004. p. 3.

[36] Lewis GE. Why do we want our computers to improvise? In: The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press; 2018. p. 127.

[37] Banerji R. Maxine’s Turing Test - a Player-Program as Co-Ethnographer of Socio-Aesthetic Interaction in Improvised Music 8th Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment Conference; 2010. p. 2-7.

[38] Messina M, Aliel L. Ubiquitous Music, Gelassenheit and the Metaphysics of Presence: Hijacking the Live Score Piece Ntrallazzu 4 Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research; 2019. p. 685-695.

[39] Taylor G. An Interview with George Lewis and Damon Holzborn, Part 1; 2020. Available from: https://cycling74.com/articles/an-interview-with-george-lewis-and-damon-holzborn-part-1 [Last accessed on 2025 Apr 18].

[40] Zils A, Pachet F. Musical mosaicking. In: Digital Audio Effects (DAFx). Vol. 2. United States:John Wiley and Sons; 2001. p. 135-140.

[41] Gioti AM, Einbond A, Born G. Composing the assemblage: Probing aesthetic and technical dimensions of artistic creation with machine learning. Comp Music J 2022; 46(4):62-80. doi: 10.1162/comj-a-00658

[42] Thomson AJ, Schmoldt DL. Ethics in computer software design and development. Comp Electron Agric. 2001; 30(1-3):85-102.