Designing for the Mindbody in Technology-Mediated Music-Making

Together as combined attributes of one entity, the mind and body determine how we experience, understand and make music. Our bodily experiences in the world shape how we comprehend music. In turn, our music cognition and expressive intentions are shaped by and mediated through the body when we make music. This inseparable mind-body interaction is essential to our sense of meaning, connection and embodiment in our musical experiences, yet this dynamic is not always intact in today's technology-mediated music-making. Digital technology offers endless possibilities for new musical sounds and the mechanisms to control them, but the relationship between musical intentions, human action and sound in such technology must be deliberately designed. Some current approaches to designing computer-based musical experiences dichotomize these mental and physical aspects of music-making, causing disembodiment and disengagement. Employing a practice-based research methodology, this thesis explores the potential of considering the "mindbody" in the design of interactive computer systems for music-making. Five interactive systems for music-making were designed and used to create and perform four original compositions. This exploratory creative and design process also yielded a set of design heuristics for holistically considering the mindbody in technology design, pertaining to (1) valuing and awareness of process; (2) integrating intention, action, and sound; and (3) whole-body engagement.

Aura Pon, Torrent, for flutes and water. (Photo © Paul Lapides)

Supplementary Material

Thesis Project Map (.png 14.1 MB)
[Click to Download] This project map displays the five practice-based research projects, Vuzik, Womba, R-oboe, Mindsets, and Torrent, that explored different facets of designing for the mindbody in technology-mediated music-making. (© Aura Pon, 2018)

Womba, Musical Instrument for an Unborn Child (.mp4 5.1 MB)
[Click to Download] This is an informational video about the Womba, a musical instrument for an unborn child to play in the womb. Three prototypes are displayed, and the audio recorded from the second prototype live testing accompanies the images. (© Aura Pon and Johnty Wang, 2014)

Torrent: Integrating Embodiment, Physicalization, and Musification in Music-Making (.mp4 14.9 MB)
[Click to Download] This is an informational video introduces Torrent, an electroacoustic music composition for flutes and water made possible by a computer-based system that links muscle tension of music performers to the sound of water turbulence that accompanies the music that they play. (© Aura Pon, 2017)