Oscilla: The Score as Performable Interface

Rob Canning

Oscilla: The Score as Performable Interface
Image credit: Rob Canning

Abstract:

Oscilla is a free and open source, browser-based system in which the score functions as an interactive interface and instrument. Rather than serving solely as a representational artefact, the score becomes a performable surface: visual elements operate as controls, spatial regions define sonic and structural conditions, and navigation constitutes a primary performance gesture. Notation, interaction, and audio behaviour coexist within a unified environment that runs entirely in the browser and synchronises across networked clients. This paper focuses on Oscilla’s interaction design and its implications for performed music. Spatial traversal and page-based navigation function as control structures, allowing the score to operate simultaneously as map, instrument, and controller. Path-constrained touch interactions emit high-resolution OSC data, positioning drawn curves as score-native gestural interfaces. A contribution surface enables performers to add and modify material during performance, blurring the boundary between authoring and execution. Across these modes, performers exercise selective agency — choosing when to engage and withdraw from active control within a shared musical structure.