Split Point: The Piano Reimagined as an Inclusive Hyper-Instrument

Split Point is a quiet ambient work which explores inclusion and constraint and the redistribution of musical processes in contemporary piano music. In a collaboration between inclusive music collective The Wired Ensemble and experimental pianist Alex Lucas, the piano is played collectively, over a network, through the use of reductionist, accessible interfaces. In this configuration, the piano is considered a hyper-instrument with parameters such as pitch, rhythm and timbre, split and redistributed amongst the group. We invite the audience to consider if it is musically interesting to split the piano in such a way and if an individual can communicate independent creative expression when using binary on-off controllers; a common goal in inclusive music.