Criteria for Evaluating Physical Modelling Schemes for Music Creation

The success recently encountered by physically-based modeling (or model-based approaches) for music should not mask the deep challenges that remain in this area. This article first proposes an overview of the various goals that researchers and musicians, respectively operating from scientific and end-user perspectives, may pursue. Among these goals, those recently proposed or particularly critical for the coming years of research are highlighted. The article then introduces ten criteria that summarize the main features an optimal physically-based modeling scheme or language should present. With respect to these, it proposes an evaluation of the major approaches to physically-based modeling.