Cyther: a Human-playable, Self-tuning Robotic Zither

Human-robot musical interaction typically consists of independent, physically-separated agents. We developed Cyther - a human-playable, self-tuning robotic zither – to allow a human and a robot to interact cooperatively through the same physical medium to generate music. The resultant co- dependence creates new responsibilities, roles, and expressive possibilities for human musicians. We describe some of these possibilities in the context of both technical features and artistic implementations of the system.