Miller Puckette: How are human/machine musical ensembles different from purely human ones?
When: Wednesday 14th May 2025 @ 5:00 PM
Where: E22 Lecture Theatre, ECA Main Building, 74 Lauriston Pl, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF
Title: How are human/machine musical ensembles different from purely human ones?
Speakers: Miller Puckette (University of California, San Diego)
Abstract
We can trace a fruitful paradigm through the history of electronic and computer music, in which a researcher or artist sets up an interaction between a human and an electronic device that mimics some aspect of human-to-human interaction. Examples include the Synthetic Performer (Barry Vercoe); Voyager (George Lewis); and Wekinator (Rebecca Fiebrink), and many others. It does not seem that there is any clear-cut distinction between what can transpire between humans and what is possible with machines. In particular, the familiar paradigm in which the human simply regards the machine as a passive tool breaks down when we take real examples into account. In this talk I’ll describe some strategies for incorporating computers in musical performances, each in terms of its particular strengths and weaknesses.
Dr. Miller Puckette (Harvard; mathematics) is known as the creator of Max and Pure Data. As an MIT undergraduate he won the 1979 Putnam mathematics competition. He was a researcher at the MIT Media lab from its inception until 1986, then at IRCAM, and is now distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He has been a visiting professor at Columbia University and the Technical University of Berlin, has won two honorary degrees, the SEAMUS award, and the 2023 Silver Lion award of the Venice Biennale Musica.