Postrum II: A Posture Aid for Trumpet Players (original) (raw)

POSTRUM: DEVELOPING GOOD POSTURE IN TRUMPET PLAYERS THROUGH DIRECTIONAL HAPTIC FEEDBACK

Proceedings of 9th Conference on International Musicology (CIM14)., 2014

The literature of brass pedagogy has identified the typical posture problems found in trumpet players and arrived at a consensus regarding optimal body alignment. The suggestion is that poor posture may not only hinder performance but also lead to long-term injuries. This is supported by a growing body of evidence from fields as diverse as biomechanics and pervasive healthcare. After a review of the literature, we focus on the design process used to develop Postrum; a wearable system for trumpet players that uses real-time haptic feedback to encourage better posture. In response to the multifaceted nature of the activity, the design process combines two aspects from different fields: the ‘sketching in hardware’ approach developed by Moussette and Dore in the context of Interaction Design (IxD), and sensing technologies from the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) field. We follow this with a brief overview of the Postrum system. This includes a 3D camera, custom software that compares the posture of the player to an idealized model, and two vibrotactile arrays mounted on the torso. Three different types of problem can be detected, their categories based on the literature. If player posture deviates from the ideal, haptic feedback is applied. Directional pulses used to indicate the corrective action needed. Finally, we offer some remarks about our experiences in relation to player engagement and performance, discuss emerging design issues, and outline implications for what Hochenbaum and Kapur term the ‘practice room of the future.’

Technology inspired design for pervasive healthcare

Pervasive healthcare technologies are increasingly using novel sensory devices that are able to measure phenomena that could not be measured before. To develop novel healthcare applications that use these largely untested technologies, it is important to have a design process that allows proper exploration of the capabilities of the novel technologies. We focus on the technology-inspired design process that was used in the development of a system to support posture and provide guidance by nudging people, and how this has lead us to explore pervasive healthcare applications.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF RESONANT FREQUENCY TO TRUMPETER'S PERFORMANCE

Previous work by the authors explored the bodily posture of trumpet players, its effect on performance , and how it might be improved. This project sharpens the focuses to look primarily at the sound output of the trumpet player. The quality of the sound produced by a trumpeter is the result of the combination of the instrument acoustic properties with the performing techniques of the player. Specifically, we investigate the resonant frequencies as they provide a good indication of timbre stability. Focusing on the way that the vocal tract, as the airstream source, is modified by the trumpeter, the tone quality of the trumpet performance is examined by means of comparisons of spectral analysis. For this purpose, and in order to limit the various parameters that can affect the acoustic properties of the instrument, one performer has been recorded playing musical excerpts, scales and arpeggios with the same instrument. The experiment is then expanded by including different trumpet mouthpieces played by the same participant. In this paper, we present the differences in the spectral energy observed for these case studies, and suggest how the results obtained from the statistical analyses of the observed resonant frequencies will contribute to the design of an experimental software application aiming to help performers improving their tone quality.

BLURRING THE LINES: AN INTEGRATED COMPOSITIONAL MODEL FOR DIGITAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN

Proceedings of 9th Conference on International Musicology (CIM14), 2014

Computer-based interactive music systems date back as far as the late 1960s, but increasingly accessible technologies have prompted significant growth in interest in digital musical instruments (DMIs) over the last decade. To date, the designers of DMIs have generally borrowed paradigms from acoustic instruments or the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). However, it can be argued that DMIs are a fundamentally different case and the suitability of these paradigms is debatable at best. For instance, DMIs lack the haptic feedback of acoustic instruments. Musical instruments are also highly specialized rather than general-purpose tools, and musical performance is not typically task-based. Additionally, Jordà notes that their designers have tended to focus on isolated parts of the problem, to the detriment of instrumental cohesion and character. While a few authors have considered DMIs as more fully rounded constructions, and the term ‘composed instruments’ has been used to describe the specification of the input-output relationship as an intentional act of composition, we argue that this is insufficient. Drawing on theories of affordances and ecological music creation, we describe an alternative model that considers DMI design as part of a broader compositional process that also includes text and hybrid acoustic-digital space. The traditionally distinct roles of designer, composer and performer are seen to blur, and the notion of composition-specific instruments is discussed. As an example of the model in practice, the interdisciplinary collaborative piece Desire Lines is described. This serves to aid an initial assessment of the model and its implementation, and informs some remarks around its limitations and future possibilities.

Envisioning Smart Musical Haptic Wearables to Enhance Performers' Creative Communication

This article presents our concept of smart musical haptic wearables for performers (P-SMHWs), a novel class of wearable devices for music performers encompassing haptic stimulation, gesture tracking, and wireless connectivity features. P-SMHWs were conceived to enhance communication between performers as well as between performers and audience members by leveraging the sense of touch. We present our design approach and describe the architecture of the system enabling both co-located and remote interactions. We present a prototype of P-SMHW and discuss various types of creative interactions between performers and audience members that P-SMHWs will facilitate as illustrated by several use cases. This is followed by an overview of the implications and challenges posed by the vision.

The Haptic iPod: passive learning of multi-limb rhythm skills

Text, 2011

Recent experiments showed that the use of haptic vibrotactile devices can support the learning of multi-limb rhythms [Holland et al., 2010]. These experiments centred on a tool called the Haptic Drum Kit, which uses vibrotactiles attached to wrists and ankles, together with a computer system that controls them, and a midi drum kit. The system uses haptic signals in real