Block Jam is a musical interface controlled by the arrangement of 25 tangible blocks. By arranging the blocks, musical phrases and sequences are created, allowing multiple users to play and collaborate. We believe in a future where music will no longer be considered a linear composition, but a dynamic structure and musical composition will extend to interaction.

We want to put the group experience back into music. We understand that the musical experience changes with technology. Musical technology allows greater control and more possibilities than ever before and greater access for the beginner or novice. The way we receive and listen to music is also changing, not just in terms of Low-Fi to Hi-Fi or Phono to Tape to CD to MD to MP3, but also in terms of experience; music is moving from a social experience to a personal experience, from campfire to orchestra to living room to Walkman. Degrees of separation have occurred between the composer and the performer, the performer and the audience. This trend is continuing. Inversely, technology is moving towards community, towards the group, towards the network.

We envision a musical experience that can be shared equally by the novice or the musically adept, retaining a notion of author and composer, yet allowing the user enough creative flexibility to add their own stamp. When the user's actions are contextualised by the collaborative actions of others, the experience will become shared, and perhaps not so far from the campfire of yore.

Henry Newton-Dunn (GB), is an associate design researcher for Sony Computer Science Laboratories Interaction Lab, where he specializes in interactive music. He is also an active member of the Creative Development Group at Sony Corporation.

Hiroaki Nakano (J) works in interface design and development for Sony Corporation. He has spent time in the development of professional video editing systems and joined several project teams, which released innovative consumer products such as the VAIO home computer.

James Gibson is a senior designer at the Sony Design Center Europe Human Interface Group, where he has led projects for digital TV and mobile handsets based around the community building. Before joining Sony, he was a director of a leading European Web design and development company.