Professor Andrew Brown and Dr Stephen Emmerson have received a grant for $87,000 as part of the Griffith University Research Infrastructure Program.
The grant will support the purchase of two Yamaha Disklavier grand pianos (digital-interface enabled) to support and expand the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre’s ongoing research into human-computer musical interaction and innovation in music practice.
This work extends Professor Brown’s current ARC Discovery grant project that examines creative agency in human-computer partnerships and builds on Dr Emmerson’s ongoing research into extended piano performance practice through the exploitation of contemporary sound production techniques.
Disklavier pianos, the modern day version of the “player piano” are true acoustic pianos that incorporate fiber optic sensing systems, high performance solenoids, and state-of-the-art computer technology to enable all expressive nuance of a performance to be captured with great accuracy.
The Disklaviers will support the work of staff and postgraduate research students in performance studies and enable new directions to be taken across a range of creative work by performers, composers, educators and music technologists.
This infrastructure will enable new opportunities for forward-looking experimental musical processes that combine the talents of human and computer composition and performance practices with high precision instrument technologies resulting in world-leading research at the highest levels of artistic quality.