early prototypes and artistic practice with the mubone

Abstract

The mubone (lowercase "m") is a family of instruments descended from the trombone family, a conceptual design space for trombone augmentations, and a growing musical practice rooted in this design space and the artistic affordances that emerge from it.We present the design of the mubone and discuss our initial implementations. We then reflect on the beginnings of an artistic practice: playing mubone, as well as exploring how the instrument adapts to diverse creative contexts. We discuss mappings, musical exercises, and the development of Garcia, a sound-and-movement composition for mubone.