The article describes the design, production and usage of the ‘Rumentarium’, a computer-based sound generating system involving physical objects as sound sources. The Rumentarium is a set of handmade resonators, acoustically excited by DC motors, interfaced to the computer by means of various microcontrollers. Following an ecological/anthropological approach, in the Rumentarium discarded materials are used as sound sources. Every instrument is ‘produced while designed’ in an improvisation-like manner, starting from available materials. In this way, hardware is ‘softened’: that is, it can be continuously modified as in software development. Analogously, the onsite setup is very light, so that components can be added or removed on the fly, even while the Rumentarium is at work. Differently from typical computer music, the Rumentarium, while entirely computationally controlled, is an acoustic sound generator. On one hand, the Rumentarium can be played like an instrument in conjunction with a MIDI controller, for use in live musical performance. On the other side, it can be driven by algorithmic strategies. In this way, the Rumentarium can be configured also as a sound installation, in a standalone mode. Some artistic works are discussed while introducing the various control modalities that have been specifically developed for the Rumentarium.

This paper investigates how a contemporary constructed mechanical musical instrument driven by a steam engine can be used as an instrument that brings new knowledge and understanding to rudimentary conditions regarding electronic music. The investigation takes its starting point in the media archaeological repairman that digs out the malfunctioning music machine and gives the material physicality a pivotal role, in contrast to the otherwise more symbolic understanding of electronic music that seems to be predominant. This alternative conceptualisation of electronic music focuses on rudimentary understandings of physical and symbolic framings of machine-based music, which are unfolded through the notion of operative technology, and brings new knowledge regarding key epistemological issues regarding timing, malfunction and operation within electronic and machine-based music.

The article is a discussion of works by two Danish composers who both, with self-constructed instruments, challenge computer music as genre, the understanding and use of conventional technology, and the music's relation to history. At first glance, the use of homemade instruments appears to be a common characteristic. But, when one takes a closer look, different discourses and various discussions of media and materiality are revealed. In the article the various positions are unfolded through discussions within the theoretical field of media archaeology – a science with its roots in media studies, but also an important framework for the production and understanding of a variety of DIY practices.

The overall purpose with the article is twofold: on the one hand it illustrates how theories from the field of media archaeology contribute interesting perspectives to discussions of artistic work within the area of DIY. On the other hand, it also serves as a critical discussion of media archaeology as not necessarily the solution to every aspect of artistic practices. The two artists are Morten Riis and Goodiepal.

Do-it-yourself (DIY) in electronic music represents a new paradigm that is not just about DIY. Doing-it-together (DIT) and the idea of community and shared experiences are at the root of DIY practice. This article discusses how the workshop and the event have become central to practitioners working in the field of DIY. Collective instrument building, the concept of the living installation, and performance are viewed as a holistic event. Some specific examples of the author's work known as Dirty Electronics are considered, where emphasis is placed upon experience rather than the ‘something to take home’ factor. These include the following works: ICA Solder a Score, Noise Shadow, Still and Cut & Thrust. Composing ‘outside’ electronics is regarded as a method for revealing processes that can be represented in other areas of the work beyond sound-generating circuits. The article also looks at how building circuits and sound devices acts as a way to create a tabula rasa, and how the idea of delegated performance, where instruments are played by ‘non-experts’, serves to establish a naïve approach and authenticity in performance. Through the sharing of information online and in workshops, the DIY community has become knowledgeable, which has resulted in a community ‘full of experts’ and the growth of custom-designed circuits. The rise of discrete hand-held music players, such as the Buddha Machine, and the boutique synthesiser are also discussed, and the physical artefact and sound object are seen as a vehicle for the dissemination of ideas. Finally, the question is asked: ‘In DIY practice, where does the authentic document of the work lie?’

This paper presents a process-based approach to considering workshops as a route to participation in collective creative musical practice. We evoke the notion of the Music One Participates In, which focuses on a shift from the listener-as-consumer to participant-actor actively engaged in sound perception and production. We look at the range of different methods that make up the term ‘workshop’, as well as emergent relationships between facilitator and participant in creative do-it-yourself activities to frame our discussion of participatory music practice. We then examine the nature of participation across a range of disciplines from social and cognitive science through human computer interaction to radical and contemporary art, and identify possible contradictions in horizontal utopian organisational models. With this conceptual frame as a backdrop, we present four types of workshop that we have conducted across time at different sites with diverse groups of participants. We apply concepts from the participation literature to analyse our music workshops, and attempt to reconcile the potentially diverging agendas of facilitator and participant to arrive at a process-based view of ‘workshopping’.

Historical models may often provide some of the greatest inspiration for the creation of new technologies. A DIY approach appropriating older paradigms in technology is discussed, with special attention paid to how old concepts can become relevant within a modern context. The author's electronic instrument, the Phantastron, is introduced as an example of this DIY approach. The Phantastron's creation is detailed in practice and methods such as repurposing, redesigning, hacking and circuit bending upon a historical design are described. A wider angle is then cast upon the concept of repurposing older technologies, and the works of other artists and DIY makers are considered. The concept that antiquated technology is in the common domain and ready to be utilised in the synthesis of new ideas is discussed. Finally, a generalised DIY approach to integrating historical ideas into new creations is posited.

Barbara Ballard's ‘carry principle’ defines the core elements of the mobile experience: small, personal, communicative, multifunctional, battery operated and always connected (Ballard 2007: 71). These qualities have ensured that for many of us some form of mobile device has become indispensable. Developments in mobile computing have meant that consumer devices are capable of increasingly sophisticated sound processing, leading to the emergence of new forms of mobile music. If this music is looked on as a new sub-genre of folk music, we might be able to put it in the context of live electronic music-making. With this in mind, this article will ask whether the mobile device has the potential to be considered a new folk instrument.

This article starts by arguing that in diverse approaches to electronically produced sound in music of recent times a shift in focus has occurred, from the creation of novel sounds to the manipulation of sound materials inherent in a culture of electric and electronic devices of sound production.

Within these practices, the use of lo-fi devices, circuit-bending, cracked electronics and a resurfacing of older technologies is coupled with digital technology in a process which emphasises the devices characteristic modes of sound production and artefacts. Electronic sound becomes regarded as embedded on a reservoir of qualities, memories and registers of technologies that inhabit our sound environment.

From this starting point our apprehension of technologically produced sound is reassessed, constituted as the crossing of particular conditions of production and reception, cultural traces and codes inherent in the practices and characteristics of media.

This perspective lays the ground for a compositional approach that exposes and problematises the interaction of these multiple conditions.

New interface artefacts are changing the way we interact with machines, and this is particularly important for the musical domain. Conversely, the growing do-it-yourself (DIY) culture is subverting the manufacturer–consumer model. Regarding music, software such as Pure Data and Max/MSP allows users to build their own interactive systems. These factors contribute to the emergence of new digital musical instruments (DMI). However, DMI creation still requires a strong technical background. Based on the importance of prototyping in the process of designing things, this paper presents the Sketchument, an environment devoted to help non-technical users to easily prototype DMIs, using multiple input modes and allowing the integration to other useful technologies. From a lo-fi paper prototype, to functional ones, passing through movies, questionnaires, interviews, Sketchument has been developed following the same prototyping philosophy we intend to propose to its users. The cyclic process of design–implementation-evaluation has produced valuable feedback from potential users, which has been very useful to back design choices and to push modifications.

This article describes a manual actions expressive system (MAES) which aims to enable music creation and performance using natural hand actions (e.g. hitting virtual objects, or shaking them). Gestures are fully programmable and result from tracking and analysing hand motion and finger bend, potentially allowing performers to concentrate on natural actions from our daily use of the hands (e.g. the physical movement associated with hitting and shaking). Work carried out focused on the development of an approach for the creation of gestures based on intuitive metaphors, their implementation as software for composition and performance, and their realisation within a musical composition through the choice of suitable mappings, sonic materials and processes.