Gesture and Morphology in Laptop Music Performance

This article discusses the design and development of new interfaces for electronic music performance for which the affordances inherent in the acoustic instrument move into the virtual. It gives particular attention to the way in which performative gestures are linked to principal control components used to shape the resultant sound properties in musical performance and outlines issues to do with authenticity and a perception of counterfeit musical performances using laptop computers. It gives a brief outline of the Thummer Mapping Project, presenting a model for musical control developed from a musician's perspective. It seeks to draw the research into approaches to mapping together with a consideration of phenomenology to understand better the conscious and unconscious nature of the engagement between a musician and the musician's instrument.