Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Approaching The Norns Shield As A Laptop Alternative For Democratizing Music Technology Ensembles, Anthony T. Marasco

School of Music Faculty Publications and Presentations

Music technology ensembles—often consisting of multiple laptops as the performers’ primary instrument—provide collaborative artistic experiences for electronic musicians. In an effort to remove the significant technical and financial barriers that laptops can present to performers looking to start their own group, this paper proposes a solution in the form of the Norns Shield, a computer music instrument (CMI) that requires minimal set-up and promotes immediate music-making to performers of all skill levels. Prior research centered on using alternative CMIs to supplant laptops in ensemble settings is discussed, and the benefits of adopting the Norns Shield in service of democratizing and …