The authors report on their artistic research project TRaNsMOGRiFiER and highlight musician-specific approaches to creating with technology that privilege the sharing of tools and practical knowledge. The use of fictional narratives as a catalyst for instrument-building and art-making is at the foreground of the discussion. By rethinking DIY/maker culture with an emphasis on collaboration and collective creativity, the authors highlight the tension between the production of fixed media output and practices that resist encapsulation. TRaNsMOGRiFiER underscores the benefits of hands-on learning and presents a collaborative artistic platform with a focus on open-ended processes and ongoing change.

The Beat Machine is a hand-held music synthesizer and sequencer. We discuss the development of the Beat Machine and how creative constraints and opportunities were introduced by the particularities of low-cost microprocessors and associated electronics. The discussion is framed as an exemplar of Kåre Poulsgaard's concept of enactive individuation , a framework for relating material engagement to digital design and fabrication. In reflecting on the design and making of the Beat Machine we connect this framework with more established notions of creative interaction and the affordances of digital media.