Organised Sound 10(3): 255–266 © 2005 Cambridge University Press. Printed in the United Kingdom. doi:10.1017/S1355771805000993 Informed by a proposed theoretical framework for the field of interconnected musical networks (Weinberg 2005), I describe a set of local musical networks that utilise novel gestural controllers for interdependent collaborative performance. The paper begins by contextualising developments in the field of musical networks in correlation with development of technological innovations, leading to the utilisations of gestural controllers in local musical networks. This introduction leads to the definition and categorisation of theoretical and practical approaches for the design of local gestural networks, addressing motivations, social strategies, network architectures, musical content, and control software and hardware. Based on this theoretical framework I describe the evolution of four local musical networks that utilise newly developed gestural controllers, titled ‘Squeezables’, ‘Musical Fireflies’, ‘Beatbugs’ and ‘Voice Patterns’. The paper discusses the design and development process of these projects and ends with a comparative analysis of the networks and controllers based on conceptual and practical criteria. 1. INTRODUCTION The development of musical networks in the last fifty years is closely related to a number of technological developments that took place during this period. In particular, I see four major technological innovations – analogue electronics, the personal computer, the Internet, and alternate controllers – as principal enablers for the artistic development of the field. When these technologies became widespread and commercially available they inspired musicians to look for new ways for expanding the vocabulary of socio-musical expression. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Cage, Stockhausen, Tudor and Rosenboom utilised a variety of analogue musical devices such as the radio transistor, the microphone, and the synthesizer to create the early crude interde- pendent musical networks, allowing players, for the first time, to control not only their own musical output, but also their peers’ (see details in Weinberg 2002). In the 1970s, with the introduction of the affordable personal computer, groups such as the League of Automatic Music Composers and later the Hub used digital technology to create more accurate and detailed interpersonal connections among players (Bischoff, Gold and Horton 1978; Gresham-Lancaster 1998). These early networks tended to pose high entrance barriers for players, requiring specialised musical skills and theoretical knowledge in order to take part in and follow the inter- action in a meaningful manner. Often, these networks featured complex interconnections among participant, leading to high-art musical products that were not aimed at wide audiences. The Internet explosion of the 1990s, on the other hand, enabled new kind of musical networks that focused on challenges such as large- scale group interaction and novice participation (see, for example, Gang et al. 1997, Konstantas et al. 1997, Jorda 1999 or Pazel et al. 2000). These online networks demonstrated the difficulty in creating coherent and easy-to-follow musical interactions in a medium that does not support real-time gestural performance cues. It soon became evident that the graphical user inter- face, most common in online networks, falls short in comparison to the tactile, interpersonal and unmedi- ated interconnections provided by gestural interaction with physical instruments in a local space. In an effort to facilitate such expressive gestural networked communication, many current collaborative musical networks utilise exceedingly more affordable, robust and easy-to-use alternate controllers in applications that are aimed at novices and the general public (see, for example, Bongers 1998, Feldmier 2002 or Jorda 2003). My investigation of such recent local perfor- mance networks suggests a number of challenges that network designers find difficult to address. For example, it is not trivial to provide novices with simple and intuitive control that could also grow into rich and meaningful interdependent group collaborations, nor is it easy to create a coherent and aesthetic musical outcome while allowing large groups of untrained players to participate in the creative process. 2. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES In order to address these challenges, and in an effort to create effective and successful gestural musical networks, I decided to investigate three anchoring theoretical questions: ‘Why’ – what are the goals Local Performance Networks: musical interdependency through gestures and controllers GIL WEINBERG Georgia Institute of Technology, Music Department, 840 McMillan St, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA E-mail: gil.weinberg@coa.gatech.edu