Soma-based Non-Physical Instrument Design in Electronic Music Performance

Leonardo ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Mary Mainsbridge
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Design ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Motion Sensors

Attention to the role of the body and bodily awareness in human-computer interaction is increasing. Broader availability of cost-effective motion sensors in mobile and gaming applications has prompted a shift to body-centred design methods. This article examines the relevance of embodied sketching activities drawn from soma-based and sonic interaction design to digital musical instrument (DMI) development. It focuses specifically on the Telechord, a novel motion-controlled system that promotes exploratory methods for exploring connections between movement and sound. By emphasising the felt aspects of movement-based design and performance, this approach places performer experience at the forefront, complementing technical efforts to enhance nuance and coherence in current DMI design research. Keywords: Whole body movement, soma-based design, sonic interaction design; embodied sketching; vocal sketching; digital musical instrument (DMI) design.

Tuning of a Basic Coordination Pattern Constructs Straight-Ahead and Curved Walking in Humans

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1524-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégoire Courtine ◽  
Marco Schieppati
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Coordination Pattern ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Coordination Patterns ◽  
Straight Ahead

We tested the hypothesis that common principles govern the production of the locomotor patterns for both straight-ahead and curved walking. Whole body movement recordings showed that continuous curved walking implies substantial, limb-specific changes in numerous gait descriptors. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to uncover the spatiotemporal structure of coordination among lower limb segments. PCA revealed that the same kinematic law accounted for the coordination among lower limb segments during both straight-ahead and curved walking, in both the frontal and sagittal planes: turn-related changes in the complex behavior of the inner and outer limbs were captured in limb-specific adaptive tuning of coordination patterns. PCA was also performed on a data set including all elevation angles of limb segments and trunk, thus encompassing 13 degrees of freedom. The results showed that both straight-ahead and curved walking were low dimensional, given that 3 principal components accounted for more than 90% of data variance. Furthermore, the time course of the principal components was unchanged by curved walking, thereby indicating invariant coordination patterns among all body segments during straight-ahead and curved walking. Nevertheless, limb- and turn-dependent tuning of the coordination patterns encoded the adaptations of the limb kinematics to the actual direction of the walking body. Absence of vision had no significant effect on the intersegmental coordination during either straight-ahead or curved walking. Our findings indicate that kinematic laws, probably emerging from the interaction of spinal neural networks and mechanical oscillators, subserve the production of both straight-ahead and curved walking. During locomotion, the descending command tunes basic spinal networks so as to produce the changes in amplitude and phase relationships of the spinal output, sufficient to achieve the body turn.

Caudal Fin and Body Movement in the Propulsion of some Fish

1963 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD BAINBRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
Body Movement ◽  
Wave Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Tail Region ◽  
Caudal Fin ◽  
A Value ◽  
Total Thrust ◽  
Transverse Movement ◽  
Relationship Of

1. Observations made on bream, goldfish and dace swimming in the ‘Fish Wheel’ apparatus are described. These include: 2. An account of the complex changes in curvature of the caudal fin during different phases of the normal locomotory cycle. Measurements of this curvature and of the angles of attack associated with it are given. 3. An account of changes in area of the caudal fin during the cycle of lateral oscillation. Detailed measurements of these changes, which may involve a 30 % increase in height or a 20 % increase in area, are given. 4. An account of the varying speed of transverse movement of the caudal fin under various conditions and the relationship of this to the changes in area and amount of bending. Details of the way this transverse speed may be asymmetrically distributed relative to the axis of progression of the fish are given. 5. An account of the extent of the lateral propulsive movements in other parts of the body. These are markedly different in the different species studied. Measurements of the wave length of this movement and of the rate of progression of the wave down the body are given. 6. It is concluded that the fish has active control over the speed, the amount of bending and the area of the caudal fin during transverse movement. 7. The bending of the fin and its changes in area are considered to be directed to the end of smoothing out and making more uniform what would otherwise be an intermittent thrust from the oscillating tail region. 8. Some assessment is made of the proportion of the total thrust contributed by the caudal fin. This is found to vary considerably, according to the form of the lateral propulsive movements of the whole body, from a value of 45% for the bream to 84% for the dace.

scholarly journals Automated Analysis of Body Movement in Emotionally Expressive Piano Performances

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ginevra Castellano ◽  
Marcello Mortillaro ◽  
Antonio Camurri ◽  
Gualtiero Volpe ◽  
Klaus Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
The Body ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Upper Body ◽  
Musical Score ◽  
Motion Cues

EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE includes important cues arising from the body movement of the musician. This movement is related to both the musical score execution and the emotional intention conveyed. In this experiment, a pianist was asked to play the same excerpt with different emotionally expressive intentions. The aim was to verify whether different expressions could be distinguished based on movement by trying to determine which motion cues were most emotion-sensitive. Analyses were performed via an automated system capable of detecting the temporal profiles of two motion cues: the quantity of motion of the upper body and the velocity of head movements. Results showed that both were sensitive to emotional expression, especially the velocity of head movements. Further, some features conveying information about movement temporal dynamics varied among expressive conditions allowing emotion discrimination. These results are in line with recent theories that underlie the dynamic nature of emotional expression.

scholarly journals Effect of Leg Dominance on The Center-of-Mass Kinematics During an Inside-of-the-Foot Kick in Amateur Soccer Players

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Zago ◽  
Andrea Francesco Motta ◽  
Andrea Mapelli ◽  
Isabella Annoni ◽  
Christel Galvani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Movement ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Body ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Upper Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Movement Velocity ◽  
Ground Support ◽  
Analysis System

Abstract Soccer kicking kinematics has received wide interest in literature. However, while the instep-kick has been broadly studied, only few researchers investigated the inside-of-the-foot kick, which is one of the most frequently performed techniques during games. In particular, little knowledge is available about differences in kinematics when kicking with the preferred and non-preferred leg. A motion analysis system recorded the three-dimensional coordinates of reflective markers placed upon the body of nine amateur soccer players (23.0 ± 2.1 years, BMI 22.2 ± 2.6 kg/m2), who performed 30 pass-kicks each, 15 with the preferred and 15 with the non-preferred leg. We investigated skill kinematics while maintaining a perspective on the complete picture of movement, looking for laterality related differences. The main focus was laid on: anatomical angles, contribution of upper limbs in kick biomechanics, kinematics of the body Center of Mass (CoM), which describes the whole body movement and is related to balance and stability. When kicking with the preferred leg, CoM displacement during the ground-support phase was 13% higher (p<0.001), normalized CoM height was 1.3% lower (p<0.001) and CoM velocity 10% higher (p<0.01); foot and shank velocities were about 5% higher (p<0.01); arms were more abducted (p<0.01); shoulders were rotated more towards the target (p<0.01, 6° mean orientation difference). We concluded that differences in motor control between preferred and non-preferred leg kicks exist, particularly in the movement velocity and upper body kinematics. Coaches can use these results to provide effective instructions to players in the learning process, moving their focus on kicking speed and upper body behavior

scholarly journals Food responsiveness regulates episodic behavioral states in Caenorhabditis elegans

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1911-1934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. McCloskey ◽  
Anthony D. Fouad ◽  
Matthew A. Churgin ◽  
Christopher Fang-Yen
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Locomotory Activity ◽  
Behavioral States ◽  
External Environments

Animals optimize survival and reproduction in part through control of behavioral states, which depend on an organism’s internal and external environments. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans a variety of behavioral states have been described, including roaming, dwelling, quiescence, and episodic swimming. These states have been considered in isolation under varied experimental conditions, making it difficult to establish a unified picture of how they are regulated. Using long-term imaging, we examined C. elegans episodic behavioral states under varied mechanical and nutritional environments. We found that animals alternate between high-activity (active) and low-activity (sedentary) episodes in any mechanical environment, while the incidence of episodes and their behavioral composition depend on food levels. During active episodes, worms primarily roam, as characterized by continuous whole body movement. During sedentary episodes, animals exhibit dwelling (slower movements confined to the anterior half of the body) and quiescence (a complete lack of movement). Roaming, dwelling, and quiescent states are manifest not only through locomotory characteristics but also in pharyngeal pumping (feeding) and in egg-laying behaviors. Next, we analyzed the genetic basis of behavioral states. We found that modulation of behavioral states depends on neuropeptides and insulin-like signaling in the nervous system. Sensory neurons and the Foraging homolog EGL-4 regulate behavior through control of active/sedentary episodes. Optogenetic stimulation of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons induced dwelling, implicating dopamine as a dwell-promoting neurotransmitter. Our findings provide a more unified description of behavioral states and suggest that perception of nutrition is a conserved mechanism for regulating animal behavior. NEW & NOTEWORTHY One strategy by which animals adapt to their internal states and external environments is by adopting behavioral states. The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is an attractive model for investigating how behavioral states are genetically and neuronally controlled. Here we describe the hierarchical organization of behavioral states characterized by locomotory activity, feeding, and egg-laying. We show that decisions to engage in these behaviors are controlled by the nervous system through insulin-like signaling and the perception of food.

scholarly journals Computation-Based Feature Representation of Body Expressions in the Human Brain

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 6376-6390
Author(s):  
Marta Poyo Solanas ◽  
Maarten Vaessen ◽  
Beatrice de Gelder
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Feature Representation ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Body Area ◽  
Extrastriate Body Area

Abstract Humans and other primate species are experts at recognizing body expressions. To understand the underlying perceptual mechanisms, we computed postural and kinematic features from affective whole-body movement videos and related them to brain processes. Using representational similarity and multivoxel pattern analyses, we showed systematic relations between computation-based body features and brain activity. Our results revealed that postural rather than kinematic features reflect the affective category of the body movements. The feature limb contraction showed a central contribution in fearful body expression perception, differentially represented in action observation, motor preparation, and affect coding regions, including the amygdala. The posterior superior temporal sulcus differentiated fearful from other affective categories using limb contraction rather than kinematics. The extrastriate body area and fusiform body area also showed greater tuning to postural features. The discovery of midlevel body feature encoding in the brain moves affective neuroscience beyond research on high-level emotion representations and provides insights in the perceptual features that possibly drive automatic emotion perception.

Tuning your body instrument: The alignment of tone and movement

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Hillary Keeney ◽  
Bradford Keeney
Keyword(s):  
Body Movement ◽  
Mechanical Vibration ◽  
Acoustic Vibration ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
The Body ◽  
Recorded Music ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Different Parts

In this article, we outline a movement practice we devised called ‘tonal alignment’. It invites you to regard your body as a musical instrument that produces both a mechanical vibration (movement) and an acoustic vibration (sound). The basic practice involves moving different parts of your body to various musical tones. These tones can be made with your own voice, an instrument, or you can play recorded music. Synchronizing body movement with acoustic sound is what tunes the body instrument. Body tuning, now regarded as comparable with tuning a musical instrument, can be done before any activity or ‘performance’ including the everyday tasks of work and play. Intentionally moving different parts of the body in response to particular musical tones develops a greater capacity to be spontaneously moved by music. Tonal alignment is fun, experimental, can be done alone or with others and brings a welcome inspirational reset.

scholarly journals The onset time of balance control during walking is phase-independent, but the magnitude of the response is not

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Reimann ◽  
Tyler Fettrow ◽  
David Grenet ◽  
Elizabeth D. Thompson ◽  
John J. Jeka
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Gait Cycle ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
The Body ◽  
Upper Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
The Central Nervous System

AbstractThe human body is mechanically unstable during walking. Maintaining upright stability requires constant regulation of muscle force by the central nervous system to push against the ground and move the body mass in the desired way. Activation of muscles in the lower body in response to sensory or mechanical perturbations during walking is usually highly phase-dependent, because the effect any specific muscle force has on the body movement depends upon the body configuration. Yet the resulting movement patterns of the upper body after the same perturbations are largely phase-independent. This is puzzling, because any change of upper-body movement must be generated by parts of the lower body pushing against the ground. How do phase-dependent muscle activation patterns along the lower body generate phase-independent movement patterns of the upper body? We hypothesize that in response to a perceived threat to balance, the nervous system generates a functional response by pushing against the ground in any way possible with the current body configuration. This predicts that the changes in the ground reaction force patterns following a balance perturbation should be phase-independent. Here we test this hypothesis by disturbing upright balance using Galvanic vestibular stimulation at three different points in the gait cycle. We measure the resulting changes in whole-body center of mass movement and the location of the center of pressure of the ground reaction force. We find that the whole-body balance response is not phase-independent as expected: balance responses are initiated faster and are smaller following a disturbance late in the gait cycle. Somewhat paradoxically, the initial center of pressure changes are larger for perturbations late in the gait cycle. The onset of the center of pressure changes however, does not depend on the phase of the perturbation. The results partially support our hypothesis of a phase-independent functional balance response underlying the phase-dependent recruitment of different balance mechanisms at different points of the gait cycle. We conclude that the central nervous system recruits any available mechanism to push against the ground to maintain balance as fast as possible in response to a perturbation, but the different mechanisms do not have equal strength.

Gestural Performance of Electronic Music—A “NIME” Practice as Research

Leonardo ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-85
Author(s):  
Jan C. Schacher
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Music ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
The Body ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Expressive Performance ◽  
Or Practice

The practice of gestural electronic music performance provides a valid context for artistic or practice-based investigations in the field of ’NIME.’ To this end, the material and conceptual conditions for the development of performance pieces using gestural actions need to be explored. The use of digital musical instruments and concepts for the expressive performance with digital sounds leads to questions of perception—by the musician and by the audience—of movements and actions, the body, the instruments, and of their affordances. When considering this performance mode as a topic for investigation, it becomes evident that in order to be based on practice, research in this field needs a definition and differentiation that helps to identify the specific perspectives that are only made possible through application in an actual artistic practice.

scholarly journals Motion-To-BMI: Using Motion Sensors to Predict the Body Mass Index of Smartphone Users

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumin Yao ◽  
Ling Song ◽  
Jin Ye
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Motion Sensors ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Public Datasets ◽  
Fully Connected

Obesity has become a widespread health problem worldwide. The body mass index (BMI) is a simple and reliable index based on weight and height that is commonly used to identify and classify adults as underweight, normal, overweight (pre-obesity), or obese. In this paper, we propose a hybrid deep neural network for predicting the BMI of smartphone users, based only on the characteristics of body movement captured by the smartphone’s built-in motion sensors without any other sensitive data. The proposed deep learning model consists of four major modules: a transformation module for data preprocessing, a convolution module for extracting spatial features, a long short-term memory (LSTM) module for exploring temporal dependency, and a fully connected module for regression. We define motion entropy (MEn), which is a measure of the regularity and complexity of the motion sensor, and propose a novel MEn-based filtering strategy to select parts of sensor data that met certain thresholds for training the model. We evaluate this model using two public datasets in comparison with baseline conventional feature-based methods using leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) cross-validation. Experimental results show that the proposed model with the MEn-based filtering strategy outperforms the baseline approaches significantly. The results also show that jogging may be a more suitable activity of daily living (ADL) for BMI prediction than walking and walking upstairs. We believe that the conclusions of this study will help to develop a long-term remote health monitoring system.

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