Sonic Serendipity: Embracing Discovery in File Finder-Based Improvisation

This paper describes the design and development of The Unfinder, a prototypical interface that allows users to search and improvise music with audio files from a large local repository using music information retrieval based on content and metadata. The research is part of an ongoing project (IRESAP) concerned with tools incorporating current music information retrieval strategies that both support artistic practices and have utility outside of a performance setting. In The Unfinder, we aim to exploit the balance between accurately and reliably retrieving audio material from a file search system, and the potential for failure in the system to do so. Our prior research is used to frame design choices which are measured with a user study used to evaluate the interface. In the study we observed nine users of varying musical backgrounds playing with the instrument while taking notes of their utterances and ideas. The transcriptions of the user's comments were analyzed using a thematic analysis method and five (5) themes were identified: perception, parameterization, identity, agency, and imaginaries. These themes indicate that the interface design is promising for artistic output, the use of a single feature for searching does not have much perceptual relevance, and the chosen features are useful for discovering audio files within serendipitous musical situations.