Transforming performance with HASGS: research-led artistic practice with an augmented instrument

Abstract

Drawing on the development and technical possibilities of the Hybrid Augmented Saxophone of Gestural Symbioses (HASGS) as a case study, this chapter aims to discuss the optimization of augmented instruments and the role of research in the transformation of performance. HASGS, as demonstrated in www.henriqueportovedo.com/hasgs/, was developed as an academic project aimed at enhancing performance by electronically controlling parameters in mixed music performed via the mechanical instrument, thus reducing recourse to external control devices for elec- tronic purposes. After three preliminary prototypes, the current system is comprised of an ESP32 card, providing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, while based on a digital production solution able to be directly integrated into the instrument’s body, thus transforming the saxophone into a hybrid instrument – both an acoustic instrument and an electronic controller. The remaining HASGS components include a ribbon sensor, a four-button keypad, a trigger button, two pressure sensors, up and down selectors and an accelerometer. In a performance-practice context in which the interpreter is required to be a creative agent within a multidimensional context of sonic manipula- tion, improvisation and expressive extension and augmentation, HASGS emerges both as a means of contributing to optimizing this new virtuosity and as a result of the changing role of academic and musical research in the transformation of artistic practice, as illustrated in the detailed descrip- tion of a recent piece ‘Study 1b’.