Instrumental Gestural Mapping Strategies as Expressivity Determinants in Computer Music Performance

This paper presents ongoing work on gesture mapping strategies and applications to sound synthesis by signal models controlled via a standard MIDI wind controller. Our approach consists in considering different mapping strategies in order to achieve "fine" (therefore in the authors' opinion, potentially expressive) control of additive synthesis by coupling originally independent outputs from the wind controller. These control signals are applied to nine different clarinet data files, obtained from analysis of clarinet sounds, which are arranged in an expressive timbral subspace and interpolated in real-time, using FTS 1.4, IRCAM's digital signal processing environment. An analysis of the resulting interpolation is also provided and topics related to sound morphing techniques are discussed.