A tabletop groupware system for computer-based music composition

Tabletop can be used in groupware systems in order to both provide a rich interface shared workspaces and support work with co-located and remote users. Tabletop-based groupware systems can allow users to work together over a shared horizontal display. Music composition is an application that can exploit the features of tabletops. However, there is no current tabletop groupware approach that allows remote users to collaborate in music composition. This paper presents a discussion on how to promote collaborative music composition with tabletop groupware in a distributed context. In order to support the discussion, we have built a prototype to simulate instruments and to record the notes played into a modified music editing application. The prototype allows remote users to cooperate by playing music and recording the result of the composition. Potential applications of our prototype include music playing and training, computer aided composition, education, and recreational usage.