Thanks to Augmented Reality, we can now create virtual/physical instrumental hybrids with a spatial clarity and visual expressiveness that were impossible before. Augmented instruments are acoustic instruments whose technical and sonic possibilities are expanded through the means of software controlled by some sensor detecting a performer's action. Experimentations in this direction started decades ago, but only now it is possible to provide a 4D interactive visual feedback.

Beyond providing a clear representation of a virtual interface, Augmented Reality also allows and demands expressive visual design, increasing the communicative affordances of the augmented instrument and of the piece of music composed for it.