Is this a NIME?

Research
1

Hello! So, as my Master’s degree project, I’m working on a method to control the spatialization of sound objects with hand gestures, specifically in the context of Dolby Atmos. I came out with a system, and it’s working smoothly. My research focus has been exploring the mapping parameters and, mainly, the musical potential of using gestures on an immersive mixing environment (I’m mixing an album using that system).
My question is: can this system be considered a “New Instrument for Musical Expression”?
I ask because I have two bugs on my mind:

  1. I’m using a third-party infrared device to track hands, and sending the data to two interconnected third-party softwares that will transform that data into spatialization. I have an impression that NIMEs presented in this community have more of a “Built from scratch” vibe, and I’m only putting together 3 pieces of already existent gear and mapping the parameters on a specific way.

  2. The system doesn’t handle sound synthesis, only the spatialization of pre-recorded sounds.

I would really like to submit my article on that to NIME, but I’m not sure what are the boundaries of a ‘real’ NIME?

Thanks! Hope to hear from you, guys!

Vitor Pinheiro
Universidade Federal do Paraná
Paraná - Brazil

2

Hi!

sure it is a NIME! Anyway I would not be so concerned about being it a NIME or not, but on designing a great instrument and interactions.

In regard to the NIME conference, every edition we see systems which could be difficult to categorise as NIMEs in a rigorous way, but that can inspire interesting ideas and reflections.

Finally, some examples of spatial audio instruments can be found at my paper presented a couple of week ago at nime 2024: https://nime2024.org/program/77/NIME24_spatial_camera_ready.pdf

best wishes,
Enrique

Tangible Music Lab Linz

3

Definitely a NIME!

We have a cool tradition of scratch built stuff but also lots of deep research using commercial gear. Eg,

  • work using Nintendo Wii Remotes (extremely old school now)
  • Microsoft Kinect
  • Various VR/AR headsets
  • Phones/tablets
  • Myo armbands
  • music tech equipment used in creative ways

Your stuff is definitely a NIME! I guess if you wanted to turn it into a NIME submission, you would have to frame your creative contribution in a way that demonstrates why others would want to read about it and what value they would get from reading about your work.