Aura Pon | University of Calgary (original) (raw)
Papers by Aura Pon
This paper describes the motivation and process of developing a musical instrument for an unborn ... more This paper describes the motivation and process of developing a musical instrument for an unborn child. Well established research shows a fetus in the womb can respond to and benefit from stimuli from the outside world. A musical instrument designed for this unique context can leverage the power of this interaction. Two prototypes were constructed and tested during separate pregnancies and the experiences are presented, and the limitation of the sensor technology identified. We discuss our discoveries about design considerations and challenges for such an instrument, and project thought-provoking questions that arise from its potential applications.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an ... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a painting metaphor to enable people to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures and effectively "see" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and opening up new ways to create and express music.
In this paper, we present Torrent, for Flutes and Water. Torrent is an embodied electroacoustic m... more In this paper, we present Torrent, for Flutes and Water. Torrent is an embodied electroacoustic music composition written to commemorate a catastrophic local flood and the spirit of the citizens who united to overcome it. To create this music, we designed and built an interactive computer system to make audible and physical that which is usually hidden but ever-present in music-making: the musicians' muscle tension as they perform, think about, and feel their music. The Torrent system musifies and physicalizes the flutists' muscle tension as live water sounds and movement that accompany the musicians as they perform. Semistructured interviews and surveys were conducted to understand the experiences of the performers and audience during one performance. The use of embodiment, as integral to the music itself, aspires to emphasize means and end, body and mind, effort and achievement in the struggle of people united against the elements.
Proceedings of the TEI '16: Tenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction - TEI '16, 2016
The mind and body have an important joint role to play in how we experience, understand and creat... more The mind and body have an important joint role to play in how we experience, understand and create music. Our bodily experiences in the world shape how we comprehend music. In turn, our mind's music cognition and intentionality, which are based on our bodily experiences, are mediated through the body when we make music. This mind-body interaction has provided important contributions to the intelligibility, relatability and embodiment of our musical experiences, yet this dynamic is not always intact in today's technology-mediated music-making. Employing practice-based and practice-led methodologies, my research explores the potential of considering the "mindbody" in the design of interactive computer systems for music-making. This paper outlines the motivation, context, research methodology, and completed and future projects of my research towards a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with a specialization in Computational Media Design.
Proceedings of the 26th Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference, Dec 2, 2014
By building a wired passive stylus we have added pressure sensitivity to existing capacitive touc... more By building a wired passive stylus we have added pressure sensitivity to existing capacitive touch screen devices for less than $10 in materials, about 1/10th the cost of existing solutions. The stylus makes use of the built-in audio interface that is available on most smartphones and tablets on the market today. Limitations of the device include the physical constraint of wires, the occupation of one audio input and output channel, and increased latency equal to the period of at least one audio buffer duration. The stylus has been demonstrated in two NIME applications thus far: a visual musical score drawing and a singing synthesis application.
What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, an... more What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, and thus the development of different ways to compose and experience music can open up new creative possibilities to people. This somewhat whimsical proposition of painting ...
utouch.cpsc.ucalgary.ca
This paper examines an approach to music education and exploration that we have called "graspable... more This paper examines an approach to music education and exploration that we have called "graspable music," whereby music is represented in a more tangible and permanent form that illustrates certain otherwise abstract musical concepts in a multisensory way. We describe one exploration of this approach in Vuzik, an interface we designed and implemented to allow children to compose music by painting using an interactive surface, and we present our findings from a preliminary design critique of our current prototype.
What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, an... more What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, and thus the development of different ways to compose and experience music can open up new creative possibilities to people. This somewhat whimsical proposition of painting ...
eecs.umich.edu
We present the integration of two musical interfaces into a new music-making system that seeks to... more We present the integration of two musical interfaces into a new music-making system that seeks to capture the experience of a choir and bring it into the mobile space. This system relies on three pervasive technologies that each support a different part of the musical experience. First, the mobile device application for performing with an artificial voice, called ChoirMob. Then, a central composing and conducting application running on a local interactive display, called Vuzik. Finally, a network protocol to synchronize the two. ChoirMob musicians can perform music together at any location where they can connect to a Vuzik central conducting device displaying a composed piece of music. We explored this system by creating a chamber choir of Choir-Mob performers, consisting of both experienced musicians and novices, that performed in rehearsals and live concert scenarios with music composed using the Vuzik interface.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower users to create digital music by painting. Through an i... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower users to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a music-painting metaphor to enable users to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures, effectively "seeing" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices and opening up new creative approaches for all.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an ... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a painting metaphor to enable people to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures and effectively "see" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and opening up new ways to create and express music.
Vuzik is an interface for creating computer music using painting gestures and graphical music rep... more Vuzik is an interface for creating computer music using painting gestures and graphical music representation on an interactive surface. We present the design and implementation of the current prototype of Vuzik, discuss the current ongoing user evaluation, and propose applications of the system in music education settings and computer music creation. We aspire for Vuzik to offer the creator and audience an alternative insight into music's construction, help make the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and open up new ways to create and express musical ideas.
This paper describes the motivation and process of developing a musical instrument for an unborn ... more This paper describes the motivation and process of developing a musical instrument for an unborn child. Well established research shows a fetus in the womb can respond to and benefit from stimuli from the outside world. A musical instrument designed for this unique context can leverage the power of this interaction. Two prototypes were constructed and tested during separate pregnancies and the experiences are presented, and the limitation of the sensor technology identified. We discuss our discoveries about design considerations and challenges for such an instrument, and project thought-provoking questions that arise from its potential applications.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an ... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a painting metaphor to enable people to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures and effectively "see" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and opening up new ways to create and express music.
In this paper, we present Torrent, for Flutes and Water. Torrent is an embodied electroacoustic m... more In this paper, we present Torrent, for Flutes and Water. Torrent is an embodied electroacoustic music composition written to commemorate a catastrophic local flood and the spirit of the citizens who united to overcome it. To create this music, we designed and built an interactive computer system to make audible and physical that which is usually hidden but ever-present in music-making: the musicians' muscle tension as they perform, think about, and feel their music. The Torrent system musifies and physicalizes the flutists' muscle tension as live water sounds and movement that accompany the musicians as they perform. Semistructured interviews and surveys were conducted to understand the experiences of the performers and audience during one performance. The use of embodiment, as integral to the music itself, aspires to emphasize means and end, body and mind, effort and achievement in the struggle of people united against the elements.
Proceedings of the TEI '16: Tenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction - TEI '16, 2016
The mind and body have an important joint role to play in how we experience, understand and creat... more The mind and body have an important joint role to play in how we experience, understand and create music. Our bodily experiences in the world shape how we comprehend music. In turn, our mind's music cognition and intentionality, which are based on our bodily experiences, are mediated through the body when we make music. This mind-body interaction has provided important contributions to the intelligibility, relatability and embodiment of our musical experiences, yet this dynamic is not always intact in today's technology-mediated music-making. Employing practice-based and practice-led methodologies, my research explores the potential of considering the "mindbody" in the design of interactive computer systems for music-making. This paper outlines the motivation, context, research methodology, and completed and future projects of my research towards a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with a specialization in Computational Media Design.
Proceedings of the 26th Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference, Dec 2, 2014
By building a wired passive stylus we have added pressure sensitivity to existing capacitive touc... more By building a wired passive stylus we have added pressure sensitivity to existing capacitive touch screen devices for less than $10 in materials, about 1/10th the cost of existing solutions. The stylus makes use of the built-in audio interface that is available on most smartphones and tablets on the market today. Limitations of the device include the physical constraint of wires, the occupation of one audio input and output channel, and increased latency equal to the period of at least one audio buffer duration. The stylus has been demonstrated in two NIME applications thus far: a visual musical score drawing and a singing synthesis application.
What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, an... more What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, and thus the development of different ways to compose and experience music can open up new creative possibilities to people. This somewhat whimsical proposition of painting ...
utouch.cpsc.ucalgary.ca
This paper examines an approach to music education and exploration that we have called "graspable... more This paper examines an approach to music education and exploration that we have called "graspable music," whereby music is represented in a more tangible and permanent form that illustrates certain otherwise abstract musical concepts in a multisensory way. We describe one exploration of this approach in Vuzik, an interface we designed and implemented to allow children to compose music by painting using an interactive surface, and we present our findings from a preliminary design critique of our current prototype.
What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, an... more What if one could paint music? Music is often shaped by the medium we use to interact with it, and thus the development of different ways to compose and experience music can open up new creative possibilities to people. This somewhat whimsical proposition of painting ...
eecs.umich.edu
We present the integration of two musical interfaces into a new music-making system that seeks to... more We present the integration of two musical interfaces into a new music-making system that seeks to capture the experience of a choir and bring it into the mobile space. This system relies on three pervasive technologies that each support a different part of the musical experience. First, the mobile device application for performing with an artificial voice, called ChoirMob. Then, a central composing and conducting application running on a local interactive display, called Vuzik. Finally, a network protocol to synchronize the two. ChoirMob musicians can perform music together at any location where they can connect to a Vuzik central conducting device displaying a composed piece of music. We explored this system by creating a chamber choir of Choir-Mob performers, consisting of both experienced musicians and novices, that performed in rehearsals and live concert scenarios with music composed using the Vuzik interface.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower users to create digital music by painting. Through an i... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower users to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a music-painting metaphor to enable users to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures, effectively "seeing" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices and opening up new creative approaches for all.
Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an ... more Vuzik is an interface designed to empower people to create digital music by painting. Through an intuitive mapping of sound to visuals designed to be simple enough for a child to comprehend, Vuzik uses a painting metaphor to enable people to compose and perform music through simple painting gestures and effectively "see" their music as they hear it. Our paper presents the design of Vuzik, details the implementation of the current prototype, and discusses the preliminary user evaluation we performed and how it informs our coming design efforts. We envision that Vuzik will help both the creator and audience better understand music's construction, thereby making the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and opening up new ways to create and express music.
Vuzik is an interface for creating computer music using painting gestures and graphical music rep... more Vuzik is an interface for creating computer music using painting gestures and graphical music representation on an interactive surface. We present the design and implementation of the current prototype of Vuzik, discuss the current ongoing user evaluation, and propose applications of the system in music education settings and computer music creation. We aspire for Vuzik to offer the creator and audience an alternative insight into music's construction, help make the composition of music more accessible to children and novices, and open up new ways to create and express musical ideas.