Running up Blueberry Hill: prototyping whole body interaction in harmony space

  • Authors:

  • Simon Holland;Paul Marshall;Jon Bird;Sheep Dalton;Richard Morris;Nadia Pantidi;Yvonne Rogers;Andy Clark

  • Affiliations:

  • The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK;The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction
  • Year:
  • 2009

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Musical harmony is considered to be one of the most abstract and technically difficult parts of music. It is generally taught formally via abstract, domain-specific concepts, principles, rules and heuristics. By contrast, when harmony is represented using an existing interactive desktop tool, Harmony Space, a new, parsimonious, but equivalently expressive, unified level of description emerges. This focuses not on abstract concepts, but on concrete locations, objects, areas and trajectories. This paper presents a design study of a prototype version of Harmony Space driven by whole body navigation, and characterizes the new opportunities presented for the principled manipulation of chord sequences and bass lines. These include: deeper engagement and directness; rich physical cues for memory and reflection, embodied engagement with rhythmic time constraints; hands which are free for other simultaneous activities (such as playing a traditional instrument); and qualitatively new possibilities for collaborative use.