Body as Instrument

This book makes an important contribution to embodied cognition which Mary Mainsbridge brings to life through the experiences of practicing artists and designers. Readers eyes are opened to the rich seams of new knowledge embedded in the body as an expressive instrument coupled with a rigorous exposition of the philosophical, historical and technological foundations of this interdisciplinary field. All practitioners and researchers working with creative technologies will find it an invaluable source of ideas and inspiration. --Linda Candy, independent scholar, author of The Creative Reflective Practitioner: Research Through Making and Practice (2020) This book tells us how musicians turn electronic devices into a creative potential for music making, using bodily response and gesturing as a key ingredient of their expression. I really enjoyed this insider-perspective about the human value of music in our booming techno-culture. --Marc Leman, Methusalem research professor in Systematic Musicology and director of the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM), Ghent University, Belgium With Body as Instrument Mary Mainsbridge makes an important contribution to the somatic approach to HCI, discussing musical instrument design and dance performance. This is done not only through interviews and studies of many pioneers and innovators in the field, but also and most importantly through her own experiences and practice of using the body as a performative instrument in a spatial interaction paradigm. Highly relevant! --Bert Bongers, Associate Professor and founder of the Interactivation Studio, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney, Australia