A Guide to
Democracy in Music
Sam Vance-Law
Guide
Full document
Overview
One sheet
Source
GitHub
Seven Prototypes
I
Piano
Democratic Instrument
30,000 people sit at a piano. Each plays a note. The note you hear is the democratic result of every choice.
I‑b
Mean Mode
Continuous Pitch
The same votes, heard through different kinds of average. Mean, mode, and chord from the same collective input.
II
MIRO
Spatial Voting
A shared canvas where each touch becomes a vote. Overlapping choices form peaks in a 3D landscape. The topography is sonified.
III
Assembly
Quadratic Voting
Five layers of pre-composed musical blocks. Participants spend voice credits to vote on which blocks to play.
IV
Parliament
Electoral Systems
Seven voices. Three systems for choosing who is heard. The votes never change. Only the rules do.
V
Choreography
Body as Instrument
Dancers' movements transcribed into sound in real time. The body as musical instrument. Multiple bodies as collective composers.
VI
Epoch
Generational Ownership
A composition that accumulates over days, months, generations. The literal ownership of cultural history.