MSc Thesis

Title

The Simultaneous Perception of Music via the Tactile and Auditory Senses: Creating a Musical Experience

Student(s)

Thomas te Braake

Year

2013

Abstract

Humans enjoy the experience of music, we can see this in many cultures, on all continents. New technologies broaden the possibilities in the experience of music. In this paper we describe the project of creating a chair that combines tactile and auditory information to enhance the musical experience. Several hearing impaired people were questioned on how they perceive music and use their tactile sense in everyday life. This led to a method for the translation of music to play a ‘tactile track’ next to the music. This is accomplished with solenoid actuators in combination with audio transducers. The results indicate that hearing impaired people were able to distinguish the melody from the drums with the help of these tactile sensations. We think this approach could help the hearing impaired learn how to ‘feel’ music.

Full Reference

Thomas te Braake, "The Simultaneous Perception of Music via the Tactile and Auditory Senses: Creating a Musical Experience", Master's Thesis for the Media Technology programme, Leiden University (The Netherlands), 2013

theses