Attempting interactivity and immersion through online musical performance

This opinion piece reflects on the workshop “The Cromarty Firth - An Immersive Musical Journey” which was part of UHI’s “Festival of Creativity” (2024). The intention of the workshop was to experiment with methods that foster online engagement and creativity: a way of working together, through interactivity at “singing a world into existence” (Bradely 2011). The workshop featured a variety of audience participation techniques which facilitated an online creative environment where active engagement was evident. Creative models are explained which attempt to break down the 4th wall of the screen and use specific techniques and an ethos focused on participation. The piece aims to highlight the potential of digital creative approaches to go beyond passive viewing of online activity to a place where remote experiences can feel inclusive and participatory. The piece focuses on the principles behind the interactions and reflects on their relative success and how they might be applied more widely. The methods explored were developed in online classroom settings although on this occasion the participants of the workshop were teachers rather than students. The short clips included to demonstrate the effects were specifically created for this paper and are completely anonymised (fake names) with all music/lyrical content being written and performed by the author.