Kinect-ed Piano

We describe a gesturally-controlled improvisation system for an experimental pianist, developed over several laboratory sessions and used during a performance [1] at the 2011 Conference on New Inter- faces for Musical Expression (NIME). We discuss the architecture and performative advantages and limitations of our gesturally-controlled improvisation system, and reflect on the lessons learned throughout its development. KEYWORDS: piano; improvisation; gesture recognition; machine learning

MindMusic: Brain-Controlled Musical Improvisation

MindMusic explores a new form of creative expression through brain controlled musical improvisation. Using EEG technology and a musical improviser system, Impro-Visor (Keller, 2018), MindMusic engages users in musical improvisation sessions controlled with their brainwaves. Brain-controlled musical improvisation offers a unique blend of mindfulness meditation, EEG biofeedback, and real-time music generation, and stands to assist with stress reduction and widen access to musical creativity

Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation

Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvisation? IPA of semi-structured interviews with the singers resulted in two superordinate themes which both related to the flow state: 1) singers experienced flow when improvisation “went well”; 2) singers experienced flow as meaningful—flow provided singers with both the freedom to express the self and the opportunity to contribute to something beyond the self. These findings reveal a new context for flow experiences. Implications for vocal jazz education and practice are discussed

Interfaith-Cross-Cultural Improvisation: Music and Meaning Across Boundaries of Faith and Culture

This article explores the social value and meaning of interfaith-cross-cultural improvisation (musical improvisation between people from differing cultural and faith traditions) and its unique quality of engaging widely different cultural and faith-based groups. It draws concepts from evolutionary biology, ethnomusicology, religious experience, the emerging field of community music, and the insight of first-hand participants. Interfaith-cross-cultural improvisation can be seen as a form of “deep play” with the ability to signal and evoke empathy across participants who identify with divergent beliefs, cultures, and practices. The article attempts to illuminate the process of interfaith-cross-cultural improvisation as a meaningful undertaking of interfaith and multicultural practice, important to the formation of group empathy, sense of connection, and ultimately creating a deep sense of community

Improvising Linguistic Style: Social and Affective Bases for Agent Personality

This paper introduces Linguistic Style Improvisation, a theory and set of algorithms for improvisation of spoken utterances by artificial agents, with applications to interactive story and dialogue systems. We argue that linguistic style is a key aspect of character, and show how speech act representations common in AI can provide abstract representations from which computer characters can improvise. We show that the mechanisms proposed introduce the possibility of socially oriented agents, meet the requirements that lifelike characters be believable, and satisfy particular criteria for improvisation proposed by Hayes-Roth.Comment: 10 pages, uses aaai.sty, lingmacros.sty, psfig.st

What Are The Overall Benefits of Dance Improvisation, and How Do They Affect Cognition and Creativity?

The purpose of this thesis is to define the terms improvisation, cognition, and creativity, and therefore find the direct correlation between all three, and how they can all be involved within dance. The main intention is to determine whether or not improvisational dance can positively influence one’s creative mindset, thus improving the cognitive learning process. Furthermore, it is to discover if the development of a creative mindset can be established through dance improvisation at an early age. In this exploration, the majority of my research will come from the examination of previously conducted experiments, as well as guiding and observing an improvisation class of young adults, gaining insight simply from a dance teacher’s perspective in order to explore the idea of cognition leading to creativity through movement. In addition to the bulk of my research, I will also take a look at a class of younger students when attempting to answer the sub questions proposed, regarding the similarities within the correlation of dance improvisation and cognition, based upon different age ranges. Constructed from gathered sources, as well as my own personal explorations, research has found that there is a direct positive correlation between improvisational dance and the development of creativity, primarily due to the cognitive comprehension, retention and exploration capabilities improvisation provides for the mind. The enhancement of creativity allows for the mind to discover new and unfamiliar information that furthers one’s knowledge. This idea of creativity and the thinking/learning process stems further than just simply within the dance and arts realm. It can be influential within any part of society and can heighten the level of thinking and learning, as we know it

"It's all up here": adaptation and improvisation within the modern project

This paper considers organisational improvisation, and in particular, adaptation as a specific component of improvisational work(Miner et al., 2001), and how it may assist in resolving or assisting with some of the challenges surrounding recent shifts in our understanding of project-based management. Examples focus on the use of adaptation to cope with ambiguity and uncertainty, caused by execution in problematic and turbulent organisational environments. The literature on improvisation suggests that adapting previously successful interventions reduces and manages the risk of improvising by engaging with the 'adaptation component of organisational improvisation. This practice assists in ensuring that the additional risk of completely novel activity is avoided. This paper explores adaptation within the project domain, and also unpicks the rhetoric from the reality of adaptation within projects, confirming its benefits, setting out the circumstances where experience informs the practice, and offering readily usable and applicable insights