Sensorimotor Piano System for People with Disabilities

A sensorimotor training system that facilitates learning to play piano was developed and tested. The system consists of three communicating units. The first unit comprises two pianos: an E-piano with a MIDI output for the teacher and an acoustic or an E-piano for the pupil. The pupil’s piano is supplied with an LED bar that illuminates the key to be struck. The second unit is a controller providing the interface between the teacher’s piano and the LED bar. The third unit consists of two pairs of gloves: one for the teacher and one for the pupil. The teacher gloves have integrated pressure sensors at every fingertip. The pupil’s gloves have vibration motors and LEDs at every finger. The pressure sensed on the teacher’s glove is transmitted to the corresponding finger on the pupil’s glove via the vibration motors and LEDs, such that the pupil knows which finger should strike which key. Additionally, two OLED displays showing the notation of the note played by the teacher can be attached to the left and right pupil’s gloves. Initially developed for people with cerebral palsy the sensorimotor system can support the learning also to all those with sensory, cognitive, and space perception impairments

A Study of Music: Music Psychology, Music Therapy, and Worship Music

There are three specific fields related to music: the psychology of Music and how it affects human brain and functions, the methodology of Music Therapy and how it affects individuals undergoing treatment, and the psychological effects of Worship Music and how it can be used in music therapy. Music therapy is a growing field in which the therapeutic outcomes greatly benefit the patients. The overall purpose is to create a greater understanding of music and music therapy in order to a provide a system for introducing group worship services into music therapy to ultimately bring spiritual healing to individuals

Action-based effects on music perception

The classical, disembodied approach to music cognition conceptualizes action and perception as separate, peripheral processes. In contrast, embodied accounts of music cognition emphasize the central role of the close coupling of action and perception. It is a commonly established fact that perception spurs action tendencies. We present a theoretical framework that captures the ways in which the human motor system and its actions can reciprocally influence the perception of music. The cornerstone of this framework is the common coding theory, postulating a representational overlap in the brain between the planning, the execution, and the perception of movement. The integration of action and perception in so-called internal models is explained as a result of associative learning processes. Characteristic of internal models is that they allow intended or perceived sensory states to be transferred into corresponding motor commands (inverse modeling), and vice versa, to predict the sensory outcomes of planned actions (forward modeling). Embodied accounts typically refer to inverse modeling to explain action effects on music perception (Leman, 2007). We extend this account by pinpointing forward modeling as an alternative mechanism by which action can modulate perception. We provide an extensive overview of recent empirical evidence in support of this idea. Additionally, we demonstrate that motor dysfunctions can cause perceptual disabilities, supporting the main idea of the paper that the human motor system plays a functional role in auditory perception. The finding that music perception is shaped by the human motor system and its actions suggests that the musical mind is highly embodied. However, we advocate for a more radical approach to embodied (music) cognition in the sense that it needs to be considered as a dynamical process, in which aspects of action, perception, introspection, and social interaction are of crucial importance

BendableSound: An Elastic Multisensory Surface Using Touch-based interactions to Assist Children with Severe Autism During Music Therapy

Neurological Music Therapy uses live music to improve the sensorimotor regulation of children with severe autism. However, they often lack musical training and their impairments limit their interactions with musical instruments. In this paper, we present our co-design work that led to the BendableSound prototype: an elastic multisensory surface encouraging users to practice coordination movements when touching a fabric to play sounds. We present the results of a formative study conducted with 18 teachers showing BendableSound was perceived as “usable” and “attractive”. Then, we present a deployment study with 24 children with severe autism showing BendableSound is “easy to use” and may potentially have therapeutic benefits regarding attention and motor development. We propose a set of design insights that could guide the design of natural user interfaces, particularly elastic multisensory surfaces. We close with a discussion and directions for future work

Investigating the Value of DJ Performance for Contemporary Music Education and Sensorimotor Synchronisation (SMS) Abilities

Two studies were conducted to establish a more complete picture of the skills that might be accessed through learning to DJ and the potential value of those skills for music education. The first employed open-ended methods to explore perspectives on the value of DJing for music education. The second employed experimental methods to compare the ability of DJs to synchronise movement to auditory metronomes. Twenty-one participants (seven professionally trained musicians, seven informally trained DJs, seven non-musicians) took part in both studies. Qualitative data suggested that all participant groups felt DJs learn valuable musical skills such as rhythm perception, instrumental skills, knowledge of musical structure, performance skills, and a majority agreed that DJing had equal relevance with other musical forms e.g. classical music. Quantitative data showed that informally trained DJs produced more regular timing intervals under baseline and distracting conditions than the other experimental groups. The implications of the findings for the inclusion of DJing into formal music curricula are discussed

MOZART\u27S MUSIC AND MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY: A POTENTIAL EEG INDEX OF THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS

Multidrug-resistant epilepsy is a pathological condition that affects approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy, especially those with associated intellectual disabilities. Several non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to improve quality of life of these patients. In particular, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448, has been shown to decrease interictal electroencephalography (EEG) discharges and recurrence of clinical seizures in these patients. In a previous study we observed that in institutionalized subjects with severe/profound intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy, a systematic music listening protocol reduced the frequency of seizures in about 50% of cases. This study aims to assess electroencephalography as a quantitative (qEEG) predictive biomarker of effectiveness of listening to music on the frequency of epileptic discharges and on background rhythm frequency (BRF)

MOZART\u27S MUSIC AND MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY: A POTENTIAL EEG INDEX OF THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS

Multidrug-resistant epilepsy is a pathological condition that affects approximately one-third of patients with epilepsy, especially those with associated intellectual disabilities. Several non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to improve quality of life of these patients. In particular, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major, K448, has been shown to decrease interictal electroencephalography (EEG) discharges and recurrence of clinical seizures in these patients. In a previous study we observed that in institutionalized subjects with severe/profound intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy, a systematic music listening protocol reduced the frequency of seizures in about 50% of cases. This study aims to assess electroencephalography as a quantitative (qEEG) predictive biomarker of effectiveness of listening to music on the frequency of epileptic discharges and on background rhythm frequency (BRF)