Expanding the role of the instrument

The traditional role of the musical instrument is to be the working tool of the professional musician. On the instrument the musician performs music for the audience to listen to. In this paper we present an interactive installation, where we expand the role of the instrument to motivate musicking and co-creation between diverse users. We have made an open installation, where users can perform a variety of actions in several situations. By using the abilities of the computer, we have made an installation which can be interpreted to have many roles. It can both be an instrument, a co-musician, a communication partner, a toy, a meeting place and an ambient musical landscape. The users can dynamically shift between roles, based on their abilities, knowledge and motivation.