Between listening and sounding: Exploring the limits of augmented instruments

This paper explores some of the changed relationships between body and environment that occur when instruments are augmented by electronic or digital circuits. Taking Gregory Bateson’s theorisation schizophrenic (1973) as its starting point, situations in which relationship performer, body, instrument takes on increasingly separate communicational modes, meanings come to resemble ‘unlabelled metaphor’ schizophrenic. A series instrument/personas brought before us, representing both ‘norm’ acoustic instrumental performances extreme limits identity, offering critical insight into space occupy transform. In considering these changes, reaching towards their extremities, attention is paid friction awkwardness accompanies metamorphosis. same way ability a language ‘point’ fraught with inconsistencies potentials for misunderstanding, so transformation identities does not happen smooth transparent way. However, changes do create potential new sensibilities forms ethical awareness.