May 2024 — SABRe Residency - Zürich University of the Arts ZHdK - working with Matthias Mueller in implementing parameters for live improvisation with this brilliant motion sensor for live electronic diffusion.

Sensor Augmented Clarinet Research

Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST)

Matthias Mueller

Matthias Mueller is a dynamic and persuasive performer known worldwide as an interpreter, composer, Artistic Director, and Professor for Clarinet at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). As a composer, Matthias Mueller has followed a line of development in his own aesthetics, and will soon publish a book on this topic entitled “Trotz der Schönheit”. Mueller endeavors to reflect this aesthetic in his original compositions for music theater, orchestra, chamber music, electronic music, and opera. Matthias Muller is the initiator of the SABRE project which developed out of an artistic need to complement the acoustic qualities of the clarinet with ergonomic control of live electronics on stage. Mr. Mueller has performed more than 15 world premieres of SABRE pieces on stages of major concert halls and venues in Europe, Asia, and the USA. Matthias is now the founder and CEO of SABRE GmbH (LLC), offering a patented version of SABRE to all musicians interested in this new technology.

SABRE consists of a sensor connected to the computer via bluetooth. The main sensor measures movements in all three dimensions (pitch, roll, yaw) and the air pressure in the mouth cavity of wind players. The remote consists of 2 buttons with which signals can be sent in real time. The SABRE software receives the data and process it directly. The sound produced can be either the instrumental sound or a soundfile, which can then be processed live using the sensors and built-in sound modules. The data can also be fed into other programs and used in combination with the SABRE software.

The idea of SABRE was born in 1995. In 2008 the first prototypes were begun in a research project supported by the Swiss National Fund by the Institute for Computermusic and Soundtechnology (ICST) of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). In the first phase, a bass clarinet was adapted with fixed sensors. In the second phase, an industrially ready product was developed, which is distributed by SABRE GmbH (since 2014). Since 2022, SABRE is entering a third phase. A new software, which is adaptable for different devices, was developed and larger multimedia projects are realized. SABRE was designed for clarinet and saxophone, but the sensor can also be easily adapted for use on other instruments. https://www.sabre-mt.com