ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the interactions between users of directional video-game control pads that have been modified to act as musical instruments, how they are used, and whether this owes anything to their original context. Video games and game play with their continued use create a by-product of generic skills and muscle memory. This research proposes an additional use for these learnt skills and one that is transferable outside of purely video-game play. Building on previous research that used a Nintendo DS and players’ hand–eye coordination to perform music, specially designed software was created to mimic the performance of a musical instrument with eight outcomes for use in a workshop setting. The new software relies on groups of four learners interacting together to perform music beyond that of simple experimentation and to teach basic musical skills. Additionally the software with its leap from its previous incarnation with one musical outcome per participant to eight had to be considerably redesigned and renegotiated to remain easy to use and allow for a low entry point into the world of musical performance. The design of the software was continually re-assessed throughout the research to find the most consistent and useful instrument and notation layout. Once completed the software was used in a workshop setting to test its effectiveness. For the research, multiple questionnaires and musical aptitude tests were conducted before and after the workshop. Audio and video recordings of the workshops were also made to ascertain the effectiveness of the design in relation to the amount of musical information that had been communicated in the use of the software and retained by the participants.
