2017 Participants
Simon Hirst
Music is viewed by many in society as either groups of highly skilled musicians playing or singing classical pieces in expensive concert halls or performing musical shows in up-market theatres. Musicians need to try to challenge perceptions and educate society that music is neither elitist nor X-Factor, but a medium that everyone can take part in, be inventive and enjoy. Interactive music provides a novel mechanism to engage young, old, those with a musical training and those with none, and allow them to experiment, uninhibited, with musical sounds in everyday locations. In this project the student will create a digital interactive instrument within the student forum to allow the public to create music that reflects their movement. The zone will contain movement sensors, which, when triggered, will result in sounds being played back live according to how the user interacts. Once the user has experienced the instrument they will complete a short questionnaire about their experience focusing on their personal experience of the zone to investigate whether this method could be as a new form of music therapy.
Funding source: Newcastle University
Supervisor: Dr Bennett Hogg