MAZE



MAZE explores how the playful environment of a new board game, based on traditional Snakes and Ladders, can be used as a means of structuring a musical composition. The idea is a development of my interest in rule based musical pieces presented in the work of Cage, Xenakis and Zorn’s improvisational game pieces. The work was built using Max MSP, Javascript and has a custom control interface made using Arduino technology. The goal of MAZE is to realise an interactive composition built from game based improvisations through the development of a Max patch that analyses and reacts to the sound made by the player in real-time. The analysed audio represents a metaphorical throw of a dice to control a musical journey around the maze. The piece is brought to a close when the first player reaches the centre of the Celtic maze pattern, playing back through a modified version of the opening of the piece, marking the end of the composition.