{"ID":2874265,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05145","arxiv_id":"2509.05145","title":"Exploring Situated Stabilities of a Rhythm Generation System through Variational Cross-Examination","abstract":"This paper investigates GrooveTransformer, a real-time rhythm generation system, through the postphenomenological framework of Variational Cross-Examination (VCE). By reflecting on its deployment across three distinct artistic contexts, we identify three stabilities: an autonomous drum accompaniment generator, a rhythmic control voltage sequencer in Eurorack format, and a rhythm driver for a harmonic accompaniment system. The versatility of its applications was not an explicit goal from the outset of the project. Thus, we ask: how did this multistability emerge? Through VCE, we identify three key contributors to its emergence: the affordances of system invariants, the interdisciplinary collaboration, and the situated nature of its development. We conclude by reflecting on the viability of VCE as a descriptive and analytical method for Digital Musical Instrument (DMI) design, emphasizing its value in uncovering how technologies mediate, co-shape, and are co-shaped by users and contexts.","short_abstract":"This paper investigates GrooveTransformer, a real-time rhythm generation system, through the postphenomenological framework of Variational Cross-Examination (VCE). By reflecting on its deployment across three distinct artistic contexts, we identify three stabilities: an autonomous drum accompaniment generator, a rhythm...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05145","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.05145v1","authors":"[\"Błażej Kotowski\",\"Nicholas Evans\",\"Behzad Haki\",\"Frederic Font\",\"Sergi Jordà\"]","published":"2025-09-05T14:38:02Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\",\"cs.AI\",\"cs.SD\",\"eess.AS\"]","methods":"[\"Transformer\"]","has_code":false}