Research theme: Music Technology

The Acoustics and Audio Group is formally based in the Reid School of Music at the University of Edinburgh. Thus, we have a strong connection with research topics in the area of music technology, including:

Physics-based Modeling and Synthesis: Directly complementing our work in acoustics is numerical algorithm design geared towards sound synthesis. Much of this work was carried out over the course of the NESS project, but continues through our collaborations with Michele Ducceschi at the University of Bologna and the ERC-funded NEMUS project, and through our spinout company Physical Audio, that releases real-time physical modelling plugins. There is a long history of joint work with electronic music composers, leading to a variety of multichannel pieces that have been performed on many occasions worldwide. See this article for an overview.

Music Interaction: We examine how the design of musical instruments influences how they are explored by musicians. This informs our understanding of existing musical practices and the design of future digital tools for music making. Together with The Open University, we co-run the EPSRC CHIME Music and Human-Computer Interaction network, bringing together researchers across the broad spectrum of music interaction.