Tuning to Trust: System Calibration as Creative Enabler

This paper presents a mixed-music composition methodology emerging from the author’s latest practice-based research in the field over the last five years. The calibration of the interactive performance systems has enabled trust in reproducible sound quality for both the composer and the performers, enhancing the portability and adaptability of the works, and permitting increasingly daring creative experiments without compromising the rehearsal and concert experiences. A set of general, transferable responsibilities and solutions are presented and assessed against clear design criteria in the author’s latest pieces.