One of the most compelling performances at the NIME 2007, Concert 1, in New York City this past week was EyeMusic v1.0, an eye-controlled composition. The project makes use of an eye tracking device (the LC Technologies Eyegaze Communication System) that reports where the performer is looking on the computer screen, as well as other parameters pertaining to the status of the eyes. It reports these data in real time to a computer program (written using Max/MSP/Jitter) which then generates and modifies sounds and images based on these data.

As Hornof, Rogers and Halverson remark in their paper, “EyeMusic: Performing Live Music and Multimedia Compositions with Eye Movements“, the eye is ordinarily an organ of perception, but in EyeMusic it becomes a manipulator as well and creates an eye-controlled musical and visual composition.

As the piece progresses, clusters of dots and shapes move about a screen, with a central animated eye following and influencing their movements. The eye animation is a rendering of the tracking data taken from the movement of the performer’s pupils. In one section of the piece, the performer must avoid looking at certain objects on the screen. The challenge of such a performance requirement is made evident to the audience as they see the animated eye dart around in an attempt to avoid focusing on the object. If the focus and the object intersect, it has musical consequences. In other sections, the coordinates of the eye’s focal point on the screen affect pitch, timbre, and rhythm and as such, the piece explores a range of performative modes using its unique ocular interface. It is fascinating to watch and to listen to.