Author name: Alter Instruments

Recording technologies have made it possible to create musical works including the triggering of pre-recorded sequences, and subsequently, score following.

Adding sensors directly to the body of the instrument is one way of augmenting musical instruments. This process requires new gestures on the part of the musician.

There are accessories that change the timbre of an instrument, without actually being part of it. We are talking about mutes.

Let's take a look at physical or mechanical instrument augmentation. This will show us the principles of augmentation to better understand electronic instrumental augmentations.

Augmented instruments reflect the desire to expand the sonic possibilities of established musical instruments. To get to the heart of the matter, let's start with a definition.

Alexander Mihalič and Teresa Rosenberg, co-founders of Alter Instruments, answer our questions about augmented instruments. Initially published in La Lettre du Musicien, 13 November 2024.