Developing gestural virtuosity for electronic music

In the world of bespoke musical instruments, the discussion of performance virtuosity, and whether it is challenged, with intricate physical or electronic instrument design, programming and gestural mapping taking priority at times (Kaiser 2018, 91; Moreale, McPherson and Wanderley 2018). Perception of instrumental virtuosity for performers has included demonstration of characteristics of technique, mastery, ease and exceptionality (Ginsborg 2018, 462-463). New bespoke electronic instruments necessarily miss parts of an available pedagogy and since they can look or behave uniquely, the ideas of technique and mastery are hard to detect. The designers and players of these controllers develop a virtuosic gestural language in a field where visible performative actions are less relied upon (Moreale, McPherson and Wanderley 2018). Such a gestural language allows for embodying the unique behaviour of bespoke electronic instruments, navigating their internal logic, and providing the flexibility to collaborate effectively with acoustic musicians in performance. The development of a performance language on the Terpsichora pressure-sensitive Floors is an example of a virtuosic process that facilitates a personal performance language on an electronic instrument. This process, on any novel electronic instrument, requires a solidified and consistent sound design, simplified performance parameters, as well as the development of an expanding vocabulary of movement. Virtuosity is presented here anew, as the process to gain specific sonic control on an electronic instrument, without the direct association between gesture and sound. In turn, this work can lead to new forms of embodiment, new musical structures, and a deeper connection in electronic music between performer, sound and audience. It provides a template for developing, learning and harnessing this gestural language for versatile musical performance.