Performance Philosophy Vol 10, Issue 1 (2025)

I argue that, from the perspective of the performer, there are important differences between analogue and digital instruments. The peculiar nature of relations that pertain to the latter transforms the instrumentalist’s practice in ways that aesthetic discourse is yet to adequately account for. In accordance with a post-phenomenological perspective, I will demonstrate how the relationship between a performer and digital instruments differs from that with analogue instruments, as it prioritizes reading over bodily sensations. Contrary to a post-phenomenological perspective, I will demonstrate that the concept of digital instruments as extensions of the human body remains ambiguous, while even further removed from notions of skills and virtuosity. Although the case presented concerns musical instruments, I stress that the argument applies to all art practices that develop in constant relation to all kinds of digital instruments. In this respect, the article is of interest to theorists of digital media, digital art practitioners, historians and philosophers of technology