Ephemerides - A Microtonal Feedback Instrument Based on Trans Voice Training Technique

This video introduces Ephemerides, a microtonal feedback instrument based on trans voice training technique, and concludes with a performance. June Kuhn and Andrew McPherson (2026) Augmented Instruments Lab https://instrumentslab.org Videography: @ohkestrel_film on Insta Abstract from the forthcoming paper: Digital musical instruments afford new opportunities in exploring experiences of `otherness', like defamiliarisation, unusual microtonal intervals, and gender dysphoria, through more-than-human design. Transgender voice training is an emerging practice assisting in the modification of voice presentation for trans people, often grappling with this sense of otherness. We present Ephemerides, a microtonal feedback instrument based on transgender voice training technique as a product of practice-based research. This instrument does not require the use of vocal cords; the musician manipulates resonances in the vocal tract to change pitch with the help of audio feedback. Concerning this unusual way of producing voice, the instrument questions what constitutes intention, agency, and gender in singing. Designed with the intention of unpacking social stigma surrounding gender exploration in voice, we argue for a stronger role of digital instruments in challenging dominant narratives surrounding marginalised bodies through queering cultural contexts.