instrumentwhat

Instrumentwhat is a term used in music technology and information science to refer to a generalized conceptual category that encompasses both traditional musical instruments and computational sound-producing devices. The term is not widely standardized and is mostly encountered in theoretical discussions, project descriptions, or cataloguing schemas that seek to compare heterogeneous sources of sound production.

Etymology: The word combines instrument with what to emphasize openness and ambiguity; it is not an established term in major musicology lexicons and lacks a formal definition in standard references.

Concept and scope: Instrumentwhat aims to capture the capabilities and interfaces of different sound-producing entities, including acoustic instruments, electronic controllers, digital audio workstations, synthesis engines, and algorithmic systems. It focuses on aspects such as gestural input, mapping to pitch, timbre, envelope, and loudness, and the metadata that describe these properties across systems.

Applications: Used in digital catalogues, interoperability studies, and music-technology research to enable cross-platform search and analysis; used in design documents for instrument interfaces and performance setups; helps analysts compare input modalities and sonic outcomes.

Limitations: Because it is unconstrained, instrumentwhat risks vagueness and inconsistent usage. Its utility depends on adopted schemas and disciplined metadata practices; without standardization, comparisons may be fragile.

Related topics include musical instrument, instrument classification, sound synthesis, music information retrieval, metadata, and taxonomy.