Striking a chord: digitisation in music heritage

Musical instruments have long proved a source of fascination for adults and children alike. Who amongst us hasn’t felt the urge to reach out and tap a drum or rattle off a quick rendition of ‘chopsticks’ when confronted with a keyboard? However, for curators and custodians, musical instruments present something of a challenge. On the one hand, they have a duty of care to preserve historical instruments for future generations, but if this is achieved from behind the safety of a glass case, the very things that make the instrument interesting are stripped from it and it becomes just an ornate piece of furniture. This is where music technology can lend a hand, and in this talk Dr Kenny Mcalpine will explore a method for capturing and repackaging the sound and playing characteristics of historic keyboard instruments, and how the resulting digital models might complement a traditional music collection.