The AirSticks Early Adopter Hackathon: Community Building Around ADMIs

Ciaran Frame; Steph O'Hara; Sam Trolland; Alon Ilsar

The AirSticks Early Adopter Hackathon: Community Building Around ADMIs
Image credit: Ciaran Frame; Steph O'Hara; Sam Trolland; Alon Ilsar

Abstract:

The AirSticks project is now marking its 21st anniversary; from a wearable gestural hat, designed specifically for a drummer’s practice, to exploring the use of mercury tilt sensors, exoskeletons, cameras, gaming controllers and IMUs in the creation of an accessible digital musical instrument used in hundreds of workshops and performances, including kids shows, audio-visual disability-led performances and percussion concerts. The AirSticks project now grounds itself in a clear purpose: to democratise music making. We invite NIME attendees to join us in this cause through a collaborative workshop that builds on this rich history and looks to the next 20 years of AirSticks and Accessible Digital Musical Instruments (ADMIs) more generally. With this rich history of diverse inclusive music making, the AirSticks team invites attendees to our Early Adopter Hackathon. The 3-hour workshop will begin with a 30-minute introduction to the AirSticks technology, followed by a 2-hour hackathon and a 30-minute debrief. Several AirSticks will be placed around the room with an open data stream available for all participants to use. MIDI and OSC messages will be shared and can be utilised in whichever way participants wish to use them.