Pocket Gamelan: a Blueprint for Performance using Wireless Devices

Mobile phone handsets have introduced new possibilities for musical interaction between multiple performers, as we reported in previous papers. Wireless communication between handsets now extends these possibilities even further. This paper describes development and implementation of a new performance scenario that involves remote instrument control using a Bluetooth connection. The paper proposes a low-level functional control protocol designed primarily around the current state of the mobile phone handset. The protocol makes provision for extended musical functionalities developed around tuning systems that are not adequately served by existing musical performance interfaces based on twelve equal divisions of the octave. Development is also driven by enhancements in handset technology as new hands-free devices are developed. The way is also left open to include Bluetooth wireless communications protocols in a wide variety of musical applications that take advantage of the mobility offered by personal networks and enable new kinds of musical interactivity.