This repository contains materials for a workshop on music and physiological signals, presented by members of the BEAT Lab (Dr. Fink, Joshua Schlichting, Maya Flannery, & Shreshth Saxena) at McMaster University's Large Interactive Virtual Environment, or LIVELab. Support for the development and implementation of the workshop was provided by funding from the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Corporate Community Investment Fund, as part of LIVELab's Science & Tech Outreach for Underserved Youth grant.
The workshop was first presented November 22 and 23, 2024; LIVELab, Department Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
One-Day Workshop for ages 16+
Music and the responses it evokes in the brain and body can all be thought of as signals that vary over time. In this hands-on workshop, we will discuss how to measure and interact with these time-varying signals. Additionally, we will create our own musical interfaces using touch sensors and mobile eye-tracking glasses connected to programmable circuit boards!
Students will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of music cognition, digital signal processing, and computer programming from experts in the LIVELab. They will exercise creative autonomy in developing new musical interfaces and will have the opportunity to work collaboratively to form multi-instrument ensembles.
What do all of these words mean? Signals are everywhere; sensors allow us to measure them--but what gets lost when we convert one signal into another? How can we analyse the signals we record? Why should we want to? Is music just sound? The workshop starts with an introduction to the physics and psychology of music, highlighting the LIVELab's incredible virtual acoustics system, and providing the necessary background for subsequent aspects of the workshop.
How do we analyze audio and music signals? In this segment, students learn the basics of Python (e.g., variables, functions, libraries). Then, they dive into some computational music analysis, like extracting the "beat", and source-separating different instruments.
What can physiological responses tell us about how music is affecting us? In this portion of the workshop, students learn about how to measure cardiac signals and what the heart can tell us about perception and subjective experience. Students get to work with open-source programmable smart watches and to monitor incoming cardiac data in real-time.
- Lecture: Cardiac Signals
- Code Demo: Real-Time Cardiac Monitoring NOTE: This demo will not function without a watch present.
What do the eyes tell us about a listener's, performer's, or audience's attention and subjective experience? How can we measure eye activity in live concert settings? In this segment of the workshop, students get hands-on experience with mobile eye-tracking glasses!