Analysis of intrapersonal synchronization in full-body movements displaying different expressive qualities

Intrapersonal synchronization of limb movements is a relevant feature for assessing coordination of motoric behavior. In this paper, we show that it can also distinguish between full-body movements performed with different expressive qualities, namely rigidity, uidity, and impulsivity. For this purpose, we collected a dataset of movements performed by professional dancers, and annotated the perceived movement qualities with the help of a group of experts in expressive movement analysis. We computed intra personal synchronization by applying the Event Synchronization algorithm to the time-series of the speed of arms and hands. Results show that movements performed with different qualities display a significantly different amount of intra personal synchronization: Impulsive movements are the most synchronized, the uid ones show the lowest values of synchronization, and the rigid ones lay in between

Using the Audio Respiration Signal for Multimodal Discrimination of Expressive Movement Qualities

In this paper we propose a multimodal approach to distinguish between movements displaying three different expressive qualities: fluid, fragmented, and impulsive movements. Our approach is based on the Event Synchronization algorithm, which is applied to compute the amount of synchronization between two low-level features extracted from multimodal data. In more details, we use the energy of the audio respiration signal captured by a standard microphone placed near to the mouth, and the whole body kinetic energy estimated from motion capture data. The method was evaluated on 90 movement segments performed by 5 dancers. Results show that fragmented movements display higher average synchronization than fluid and impulsive movements

Automated Analysis of Synchronization in Human Full-body Expressive Movement

The research presented in this thesis is focused on the creation of computational models for the study of human full-body movement in order to investigate human behavior and non-verbal communication. In particular, the research concerns the analysis of synchronization of expressive movements and gestures. Synchronization can be computed both on a single user (intra-personal), e.g., to measure the degree of coordination between the joints\u2019 velocities of a dancer, and on multiple users (inter-personal), e.g., to detect the level of coordination between multiple users in a group. The thesis, through a set of experiments and results, contributes to the investigation of both intra-personal and inter-personal synchronization applied to support the study of movement expressivity, and improve the state-of-art of the available methods by presenting a new algorithm to perform the analysis of synchronization

Attunement in Music Therapy for Young Children with Autism: Revisiting Qualities of Relationship as Mechanisms of Change

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Bridging the gap between emotion and joint action

Our daily human life is filled with a myriad of joint action moments, be it children playing, adults working together (i.e., team sports), or strangers navigating through a crowd. Joint action brings individuals (and embodiment of their emotions) together, in space and in time. Yet little is known about how individual emotions propagate through embodied presence in a group, and how joint action changes individual emotion. In fact, the multi-agent component is largely missing from neuroscience-based approaches to emotion, and reversely joint action research has not found a way yet to include emotion as one of the key parameters to model socio-motor interaction. In this review, we first identify the gap and then stockpile evidence showing strong entanglement between emotion and acting together from various branches of sciences. We propose an integrative approach to bridge the gap, highlight five research avenues to do so in behavioral neuroscience and digital sciences, and address some of the key challenges in the area faced by modern societies

The pedagogical use of technology-mediated feedback in a higher education piano studio: an exploratory action case study

Existing research evidence suggests that the application of technology can be beneficial in instrumental and vocal learning. However, it is not clear how technology-based feedback might be used in advanced level piano lessons to enhance learning and teaching. An exploratory action case study approach was undertaken in Brazil to investigate systematically the pedagogical use of technology-mediated feedback in a piano studio. Technology-based data were provided by the researcher as a facilitator for three pairs of higher education teachers and students across two lessons each in order to evaluate possible/actual changes and improvement in participant students' performance. Three data sets were captured: video recorded piano lessons, technology-generated data regarding keyboard and pedalling activity, and audio-recorded interviews with teacher and student participants. Two piano lessons for each case study were conducted, and semi-structured interviews were also undertaken with each participant separately after each piano lesson. Qualitative analysis involved a multi-methods approach which focused on reporting and comparing the process and outcomes for each pair of participants. Findings suggest that technology-enhanced feedback provides potentially useful additional feedback, both in real-time and post-hoc. The usefulness of such additional feedback was shown to relate to the individual and to the shared priorities of the particular teacher and student pair. Whilst user biases revealed preferences for either visual or auditory cues, it was shown that shared experience which draws on enhanced sensory modalities can decrease discrepancies between teacher and student perspectives of learning priorities, and increase awareness of appropriate learning foci

The effects of projected films on singers' expressivity in choral performance

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on July 23, 2013Dissertation advisor: Charles RobinsonVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 224-259)Thesis (Ph.D.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance and School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2013The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of projected film visuals on singers' expressivity in choral performance. The study was divided into three phases. In Phase One, university choir singers (N = 21) viewed eight audiovisual pairings (two film excerpts and four choral etudes) and rated these pairings according to perceived music to film congruency. Based on these ratings, two choral etudes were identified that elicited the broadest congruency contrasts when paired with the film segments. In Phase Two, a different group of university choir singers (N = 116) rehearsed and prepared both of the selected choral etudes referred to as “Doh” and “Noo.” Subsequently, these singers were organized into smaller chamber ensembles (n = 11), and performed each choral etude three times under the following conditions: (1) while viewing congruent film, (2) while viewing incongruent film, and (3) with no film projected. After each performance, singers reported their level of self-expression. At the completion of all three performances, singers reported their preferred performance condition. Finally, participants listened to their audio-recorded performances and rated these for performance expressivity and personal preference. During Phase Three, choral experts (N = 8) rated performance expressivity and reported personal preference for each audio-recorded performance. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures found significant main effects of both etude and film visual performance condition on participants' expressivity ratings (p < .001). Additionally, a significant etude x film visual performance condition interaction was discovered (p = .001). Participants rated self-expression significantly higher when singing with a congruent film compared with other conditions for both etudes (p < .001). Chi-square tests found most preferred experiences during congruent performances, and least preferred experiences during incongruent performances for both etudes (p < .001). Expressivity ratings for audio-recorded performances indicated significantly higher expressivity ratings for the performances influenced by the congruent film visual of etude “Doh” (p < .05), while no significant differences were found for etude “Noo” (p > .05). Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to filmmaking techniques, music education curriculum, choral rehearsal pedagogy, and composition/performance practice, with recommendations for future research.Introduction -- Review of literature -- Methodology -- Results -- Discussion -- Appendix A. Phase one - Recruitment script -- Appendix B. Film segments one and two - snapshot images -- Appendix C. Four choral etudes -- Appendix D. Phase one - script -- Appendix E. Phase one - consent form -- Appendix F. Phase one - Survey tool -- Appendix G. Phase two - singers recruitment script -- Appendix H. Rehearsal lesson plan -- Appendix I. Room and material dimensions -- Appendix J. Phase two - singer consent form -- Appendix K. Phase two - script -- Appendix L. Phase two - self-report survey tool -- Appendix M. Phase two - listening perception survey tool -- Appendix N. Phase three -- choral expert recruitment script -- Appendix O. Phase three - Choral expert consent form -- Appendix P. Phase three - script -- Appendix Q. Phase three - listening perception survey too