The rapid development and availability of low-cost technologies have created a wide interest in virtual reality. In the field of computer music, the term “virtual musical instruments” has been used for a long time to describe software simulations, extensions of existing musical instruments, and ways to control them with new interfaces for musical expression. Virtual reality musical instruments (VRMIs) that include a simulated visual component delivered via a head-mounted display or other forms of immersive visualization have not yet received much attention. In this article, we present a field overview of VRMIs from the viewpoint of the performer. We propose nine design guidelines, describe evaluation methods, analyze case studies, and consider future challenges.

The merits of user-driven design have long been acknowledged in the field of human–computer interaction (HCI): Closely involving target users throughout the lifecyle of a project can vastly improve their experiences with the final system. Thus, it comes as no surprise that a growing number of music technology researchers are beginning to incorporate user-driven techniques into their work, particularly as a means of evaluating their designs from the perspectives of their intended users. Many, however, have faced the limitations that arise from applying the task-based, quantitative techniques typically encountered in classical HCI research to the evaluation of nonutilitarian applications. The nature of musical performance requires that designers reevaluate their definitions of user “goals,” “tasks,” and “needs.” Furthermore, within the context of performance, the importance of creativity and enjoyment naturally supersedes that of efficiency, yet these concepts are more difficult to evaluate or quantify accurately. To address these challenges, this article contributes a set of key principles for the user-driven design and evaluation of novel interactive musical systems, along with a survey of evaluation techniques offered by new directions in HCI, ludology, interactive arts, and social-science research. Our goal is to help lay the foundation for designers of new musical interfaces to begin developing and customizing their own methodologies for measuring, in a concrete and systematic fashion, those critical aspects of the user experience that are often considered too nebulous for assessment.

Michel Waisvisz's The Hands is one of the most famous and long-lasting research projects in the literature of digital music instruments. Consisting of a pair of data gloves and exhibited for the first time in 1984, The Hands is a pioneering work in digital devices for performing live music. It is a work that engaged Waisvisz for almost a quarter of a century and, in turn, has inspired many generations of music technologists and performers of live music. Despite being often cited in the relevant literature, however, the documentation concerning the sensor architecture, design, mapping strategies, and development of these data gloves is sparse. In this article, we aim to fill this gap by offering a detailed history behind the development of The Hands. The information contained in this article was retrieved and collated by searching the STEIM archive, interviewing close collaborators of Waisvisz, and browsing through the paper documentation found in his personal folders and office.