Feeling the beat where it counts: fostering multi-limb rhythm skills with the haptic drum kit

This paper introduces and explores a tool known as the Haptic Drum Kit. The Haptic Drum Kit employs four computer-controlled vibrotactile devices, one attached to each limb via the wrists and ankles. In the mode of use discussed in this paper, haptic pulses are used to guide the playing, on a drum kit, of rhythmic patterns that require multi-limb co-ordination. The immediate aim is to foster rhythm skills and multi-limb coordination. A broader aim is to systematically develop skills in recognizing, identifying, memorizing, retaining, analyzing, reproducing and composing monophonic and polyphonic rhythms. We consider the implications of three different theories for this approach: the work of the music educator Dalcroze (1865-1950 [1]; the entrainment theory of human rhythm perception and production [2,3]; and sensory motor contingency theory [4]. In this paper we introduce the Haptic Drum Kit; consider the implications of the above theories for this approach; report on a design study; and identify and discuss a variety of emerging design issues. As part of the design study, audio and haptic guidance was compared for five people learning to play polyphonic drum patterns of varying complexity. The results indicate that beginning drummers are able to learn intricate drum patterns from the haptic stimuli alone, although haptic plus audio is the mode of presentation preferred by subjects

Improvisation Pedagogy: An Epistemological Perspective of the 4‘E’ Model within Digital Musical Instruments

Recent years have witnessed the appearance of many new digital musical instruments (DMIs) and other interfaces for musical expression (NIME). This paper highlights a well-established music educational background theory that we believe may help DMI developers and users better understand DMIs in the context of music cognition and education. From an epistemological perspective, we present the paradigm of enactive music cognition related to improvisation in the context of the skills and needs of 21st century music learners. We hope this can lead to a deeper insertion of DMIs into music education, as well as to new DMIs to be ideated, prototyped and developed within these concepts and theories in mind. We specifically address the theory generally known as the 4E model of cognition (embodied, embedded, extended and enactive) within DMIs. The concept of autopoiesis is also described. Finally, we present some concrete cases of DMIs and NIMEs, and we describe how the experience of musical improvisation with them may be seen through the prism of such theories

The Haptic Bracelets: learning multi-limb rhythm skills from haptic stimuli while reading

The Haptic Bracelets are a system designed to help people learn multi-limbed rhythms (which involve multiple simultaneous rhythmic patterns) while they carry out other tasks. The Haptic Bracelets consist of vibrotactiles attached to each wrist and ankle, together with a computer system to control them. In this chapter, we report on an early empirical test of the capabilities of this system, and consider de-sign implications. In the pre-test phase, participants were asked to play a series of multi-limb rhythms on a drum kit, guided by audio recordings. Participants’ per-formances in this phase provided a base reference for later comparisons. During the following passive learning phase, away from the drum kit, just two rhythms from the set were silently 'played' to each subject via vibrotactiles attached to wrists and ankles, while participants carried out a 30-minute reading comprehen-sion test. Different pairs of rhythms were chosen for different subjects to control for effects of rhythm complexity. In each case, the two rhythms were looped and alternated every few minutes. In the final phase, subjects were asked to play again at the drum kit the complete set of rhythms from the pre-test, including, of course, the two rhythms to which they had been passively exposed. Pending analysis of quantitative data focusing on accuracy, timing, number of attempts and number of errors, in this chapter we present preliminary findings based on participants’ sub-jective evaluations. Most participants thought that the technology helped them to understand rhythms and to play rhythms better, and preferred haptic to audio to find out which limb to play when. Most participants indicated that they would pre-fer using a combination of haptics and audio for learning rhythms to either mo-dality on its own. Replies to open questions were analysed to identify design is-sues, and implications for design improvements were considered

Electrifying Opera, Amplifying Agency: Designing a performer-controlled interactive audio system for opera singers

This artistic research project examines the artistic, technical, and pedagogical challenges of developing a performer-controlled interactive technology for real-time vocal processing of the operatic voice. As a classically trained singer-composer, I have explored ways to merge the compositional aspects of transforming electronic sound with the performative aspects of embodied singing. I set out to design, develop, and test a prototype for an interactive vocal processing system using sampling and audio processing methods. The aim was to foreground and accommodate an unamplified operatic voice interacting with the room's acoustics and the extended disembodied voices of the same performer. The iterative prototyping explored the performer's relationship to the acoustic space, the relationship between the embodied acoustic voice and disembodied processed voice(s), and the relationship to memory and time. One of the core challenges was to design a system that would accommodate mobility and allow interaction based on auditory and haptic cues rather than visual. In other words, a system allowing the singer to control their sonic output without standing behind a laptop. I wished to highlight and amplify the performer's agency with a system that would enable nuanced and variable vocal processing, be robust, teachable, and suitable for use in various settings: solo performances, various types and sizes of ensembles, and opera. This entailed mediating different needs, training, and working methods of both electronic music and opera practitioners. One key finding was that even simple audio processing could achieve complex musical results. The audio processes used were primarily combinations of feedback and delay lines. However, performers could get complex musical results quickly through continuous gestural control and the ability to route signals to four channels. This complexity sometimes led to surprising results, eliciting improvisatory responses also from singers without musical improvisation experience. The project has resulted in numerous vocal solo, chamber, and operatic performances in Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. The research contributes to developing emerging technologies for live electronic vocal processing in opera, developing the improvisational performance skills needed to engage with those technologies, and exploring alternatives for sound diffusion conducive to working with unamplified operatic voices. Links: Exposition and documentation of PhD research in Research Catalogue: Electrifying Opera, Amplifying Agency. Artistic results. Reflection and Public Presentations (PhD) (2023): https://www.researchcatalogue.net/profile/show-exposition?exposition=2222429 Home/Reflections: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2222429/2222460 Mapping & Prototyping: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2222429/2247120 Space & Speakers: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2222429/2222430 Presentations: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2222429/2247155 Artistic Results: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2222429/222248

Ecologies of Practice in Musical Performance

This article presents an ecological model of musical performance drawn from the field of Gibsonian Ecological Psychology and the techniques of Actor-Network Theory as explicated by Bruno Latour and others. Citing a wide body of empirical research, it is argued that musicians and their musical instruments exist in an ecological relationship at the level of embodied gesture. Furthermore, it is proposed that every act of musicking amounts to a construction of a network of actors that define an “Ecology of Practice,” a thick description more fully encompassing the complexities of musicking than traditional notions of performance practice.Cet article présente un modèle écologique de l’interprétation musicale inspiré du champ de la psychologie écologique gibsonienne et des techniques de la théorie de l’acteur- réseau telle que définie par Bruno Latour et d’autres. Sur la base d’un large corpus de recherche empirique, il avance que les musiciens et leurs instruments existent dans une relation écologique au niveau du geste incarné. En outre, il propose que chaque acte consistant à jouer de la musique corresponde à la construction d’un réseau d’acteurs qui définissent une « écologie de la pratique », description dense qui englobe plus pleinement les complexités du fait de jouer de la musique que les notions de pratiques performancielles

Measuring the added value of haptic feedback

While there is an increased appreciation for integrating haptic feedback with audio-visual content, there is still a lack of understanding of how to quantify the added value of touch for a user’s experience (UX) of multimedia content. Here we focus on three main concepts to measure this added value: UX, emotions, and expectations. We present a case study measuring the added value of haptic feedback for a standardized set of audio-visual content (i.e., short video clips), comparing two haptic stimulation modalities (i.e., mid-air vs. vibro-tactile stimuli). Our findings demonstrate that UX of haptically-enhanced audio-visual content is perceived as a more pleasant, unpredictable, and creative experience. The users’ overall liking increases together with a positive change of the users’ expectations, independently from the haptic stimulation modality. We discuss how our approach provides the foundation for future work on developing a measurement model to predict the added value of haptic feedback for users’ experiences within and beyond the multimedia context

Music expression with a robot manipulator used as a bidirectional tangible interface

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