Augmented Reality to Facilitate Learning of the Acoustic Guitar

[Abstract] Many people wishing to learn a musical instrument opt to learn using alternative or informal methods instead of the traditional Master–Apprentice model that requires a greater cognitive load. This paper presents an augmented reality (AR)-based application designed to teach and train guitar chords, with the novelty that it is also used to teach short melodies consisting of four chord transitions so that users have to change hand and finger positions. The app uses high-quality 3D models of an acoustic guitar and animated hand to indicate correct finger positions and the movements required when changing from one chord to another. To follow the animated instructions, the learner overlaps the 3D model onto the neck of the physical guitar and his or her own hand. A system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire was used to measure the usability of the application. A score of 82.0 was obtained, which is higher than the average of 68 points that indicates the application is good from a user experience perspective, thus satisfying the purpose for which it was created. Having analysed the data for both groups—individuals with no prior experience of playing a musical instrument versus individuals with prior experience—it was concluded that the application provided a useful learning approach for all participants involved in the study, regardless of experience. That said, those possessing prior experience of playing an instrument learnt faster. It should be noted that the research revealed significant difference in learning by gender, with male participants learning faster than female participants. Similar results have been detected in other research performed in the field of music, as well as in other fields. As this study required spatial reasoning when viewing the 3D model, the differences identified this case may well have arisen as a consequence of differences in men and women’s spatial awareness, thereby leaving open an alternative line of research

ADEPT:Exploring the Design, Pedagogy, and Analysis of a Mixed Reality Application for Piano Training

(Abstract to follow

Enhanced Learning of Jazz Chords with a Projector Based Piano Keyboard Augmentation

Published version: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030353421acceptedVersio

Επαυξημένο ηλεκτρικό μπάσο και εφαρμογές στον τζαζ αυτοσχεδιασμό

Η παρούσα διπλωματική ερεύνα έχει ως στόχο, να εξετάσει το κατά πόσο και με ποιον τρόπο ένα όργανο όπως το ηλεκτρικό μπάσο μπορεί να αποκτήσει μέσω της τεχνολογίας, δυνατότητες που θα επιτρέψουν στον εκτελεστή να παίξει με τους λιγότερους δυνατούς περιορισμούς. Μερικοί περιορισμοί του ηλεκτρικού μπάσου έχουν να κάνουν με την αύξηση και την μείωση της έντασης σε μια σταθερή νότα και την διάρκεια των νοτών. Πολλοί από αυτούς τους περιορισμούς περιγράφονται στο βιβλίο του Elias Brambles “The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass”, αλλά αποτελούν και προσωπική άποψη που έχω αποκτήσει ως μπασίστας στην τριβή μου με το όργανο, αλλά και στην συζήτηση με άλλους μουσικούς του ηλεκτρικού μπάσου. Σε ένα βιολί ή ένα σαξόφωνο, ο εκτελεστής έχει την δυνατότητα να αυξήσει την ένταση, αφού έχει ακουστεί η ατάκα της νότας, κάτι που στο ηλεκτρικό μπάσο είναι ανέφικτο. Επίσης σε ένα όργανο με δοξάρι ή ένα πνευστό όργανο μπορεί να κρατηθεί μια νότα για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα, μια δυνατότητα που στο ηλεκτρικό μπάσο είναι επίσης αδύνατη, καθώς μετά από μια σύντομη ατάκα (attack), ο ήχος του μπάσου θα φθίνει μέχρι να σταματήσει να δονείται η χορδή. Αυτό γίνεται αρκετά γρήγορα λόγω των φυσικών τριβών και αντιστάσεων (του αέρα κτλ.) που ασκούνται στην χορδή. Στην παρούσα εργασία διερευνάται η επίλυση αυτού του προβλήματος με τη χρήση εξωτερικών αισθητήρων που θα ελέγχουν τη διάρκεια και την ένταση της νότας και άλλων παραμέτρων (Breath Controller). Στην συνέχεια εξετάζεται ο τρόπος με τον οποίον το όργανο που σχεδιάσαμε επιλύει αυτά τα προβλήματα και δίνει περισσότερες δυνατότητες σε έναν εκτελεστή ο οποίος αυτοσχεδιάζει ένα τζαζ σόλο ή παίζει μια τζαζ μελωδία .The present thesis examines if and in what way an instrument like the electric bass can acquire, through technology, possibilities that will allow the performer to play with the least possible restrictions. Some existing limitations of the electric bass have to do with raising and lowering the volume on a fixed note as well as the duration of the notes. Many of these limitations are described in Elias Brambles' book “The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass”. These agree also with the opinion of the author which resulted from the yearly experience performing and experimenting with the instrument as well as conversation with other electric bass players. On other instruments such as a violin or a saxophone, the performer has the ability to increase the volume after the note has been played, which is impossible on the electric bass. Also, in a bowed instrument or a wind instrument a note can be held for a long time, a possibility that in the electric bass is also impossible, since after a short attack, the sound of the bass will decrease until it stops. This happens quite quickly due to the natural frictions and resistances (air etc.) exerted on the string. The current work investigates the use of external sensors that will control the duration and intensity of the note and other parameters (Breath Controller) in order to overcome the limitations of the electric bass. After an experimental setup, the work showcases how the design of the new instrument minimizes the limitations and provides more possibilities to a performer who is improvising a jazz solo or playing a jazz tune.

Una tassonomia multidimensionale delle applicazioni per l'educazione musicale

Negli ultimi settant’anni molti sono stati i cambiamenti che si sono susseguiti nella pratica dell’educazione musicale, coinvolgendo vari aspetti quali i curriculi educativi, le tecnologie disponibili e le strategie di insegnamento. Al fine di delineare un quadro completo di tale evoluzione, questo articolo presenta un database di pubblicazioni scientifiche nel campo dell’educazione musicale che utilizzino uno o più strumenti tecnologici. Basandosi su strumenti per l’analisi e l’organizzazione dei vari contributi, si propone una tassonomia multidimensionale quale strumento utile per la ricerca e la valutazione di applicazioni relative all’educazione musicale. Inoltre, viene presentata una piattaforma web per la consultazione del database e l’analisi delle dimensioni della tassonomia, accessibile all’URL http://techmusicedu.lim.di.unimi.it

Pianosovellukset harjoittelun apuna

Tiivistelmä. Pianosovelluksia käytetään tänä päivänä paljon omatoimisen pianonsoiton harjoittelun apuna ja myös pianon pedagogiikan apuvälineenä. Tässä työssä tutkitaan, miten mobiililaitteissa toimivat pianosovellukset ja Quest 2:lla toimivat lisättyä todellisuutta eli AR-teknologiaa hyödyntävät pianosovellukset pelillistävät pianonsoittoa, ja miten ne voivat helpottaa pianonsoiton harjoittelua. Pelillistäminen on sitä, että peleistä tutut elementit tuodaan ei-pelilliseen ympäristöön. Tässä tutkimuksessa tutkitaan kirjaalisuuden ja opetuspelien avulla kartoitustutkimuksessa, mitä kaikkea pelillisyyteen ja lisättyyn todellisuuteen liittyy pianonsoiton ja pianon pedagogiikan kannalta. Lisäksi tässä tutkimuksessa tutkitaan ja vertaillaan kymmentä erilaista pianosovellusta, ja tehdään niistä yhteenveto pelillisyyden ja pianon pedagogiikan kannalta. Tässä tutkimuksessa käy ilmi, että pianosovellukset pelillistävät ja helpottavat pianonsoittoa monilla eri tavoin. Sovellukset voivat seurata ja havainnoida käyttäjän toimintaa, sekä havainnoida ja helpottaa musiikin notaation lukemista. Yksi tapa helpottaa notaation lukemista on notaation havainnoiminen peleistä tutun Beatmania-näkymän avulla. Toisaalta notaation lukemista voi helpottaa play headin tai kursorin käytöllä, sekä väreillä ja muilla visuaalisilla tehosteilla. Pianosovellukset voivat opettaa käyttäjäänsä soittamaan, tai ne voivat tehdä harjoituksen niin helpoksi ymmärtää, että pelaaja voi soittaa ymmärtämättä musiikista tai teoriasta mitään. Tässä työssä todetaan, että teknologian avulla voi parantaa pianonsoiton oppimiskokemusta, ja sitouttaa ja motivoida käyttäjää harjoittelemaan. Sovellukset tarjoavat hyvän apuvälineen instrumentin opetteluun. Tutkimus toteaa myös, että ammattitasolle vaadittavaan osaamiseen tarvitaan aina pitkäjänteistä työtä. Pelkästään pelejä ja sovelluksia hyödyntämällä tällaisia tavoitteita voi olla hankalaa saavuttaa. Tämä tutkimus kuitenkin toteaa, että pianosovelluksista voi olla suurta hyötyä pianon harjoitteluun, ja niitä on hyvä kehittää lisää.Piano applications that help you to practice. Abstract. Today piano applications are used a lot for self-paced piano playing practice and for piano pedagogy. This work examines how piano applications that work on mobile devices and applications that use AR technology (augmented reality) that work on Quest 2 gamify piano playing, and how they can facilitate piano playing practice. Gamification is described as bringing familiar elements from games into a non-gaming environment. This research uses literature to investigate gamification and augmented reality in terms of piano playing and piano pedagogy. In addition, this study examines and compares ten different piano applications, and summarizes them in terms of gamification and piano pedagogy. This research shows that piano applications make piano playing gamified and easier in many different ways. Applications can monitor and observe the user’s actions, and make it easier to read the musical notation. One way to make notation reading easier is to show the notation using the familiar Beatmania view from games. On the other hand, reading the notation can be made easier by using the play head or cursor, as well as with colors and other visual effects. Piano applications can teach their users how to play, or make the exercise so easy to understand that the player can play without knowledge of music or theory. The work states that technology can improve the learning experience of playing the piano, and engage and motivate the user to practice. The applications offer a good aid for learning the instrument. This mapping study also states that longterm work is always needed to acquire the skills required for a professional level. It can be difficult to achieve such goals by using games and applications alone. However, this study states that piano applications can be very useful for practicing the piano, and it is good to develop them further

Music in Extended Realities

The intersection between music and Extended Reality (XR) has grown significantly over the past twenty years, amounting to an established area of research today. The use of XR technologies represents a fundamental paradigm shift for various musical contexts as they disrupt traditional notions of musical interaction by enabling performers and audiences to interact musically with virtual objects, agents, and environments. This article both surveys and expands upon the knowledge accumulated in existing research in this area to build a foundation for future works that bring together Music and XR. To this end, we created a freely available dataset of 260 publications in this space and conducted an in-depth analysis covering 199 works in the last decade. We conducted this analysis using a list of conceptual dimensions belonging to technical, artistic, perceptual and methodological domains. This review of the literature is complemented with a set of interviews with domain experts with the goal of establishing a definition for the emergent field of Musical XR, i.e., the field of music in Extended Realities. Based on the results of the conducted review, a research agenda for the field is proposed