Exploring the Benefits of 2D Visualizations for Drum Samples Retrieval.

This paper explores the potential benefits of using similarity-based two-dimensional classifications and their corresponding GUIs, for drum samples retrieval in a creativity-oriented context. Preliminary user studies with professional electronic music producers point up the frustration and laboriousness of finding suitable drum samples in the increasingly large libraries of sounds available, and suggest the need for alternative interfaces and approaches. To address this issue, two novel spatial visualizations (respectively organized by name and by timbre-similarity) are designed as potential alternatives to the traditional 1D list-based browsers. These visualizations are implemented and compared in a music creation task, in terms of both the exploration experience and the resulting production quality, within a system for drum kit configuration. Our study shows that spatial visualizations do improve the overall exploration experience, and reveals the potential of similarity-based arrangements for the support of creative processes.