Project

PurrfectPitch: Exploring Musical Interval Learning through Multimodal Interfaces

Copyright

Cathy Fang

Cathy Fang; Model: Ibrahim Ibrahim

We demonstrate a multimodal approach for perceptual learning that supplements a perceptually-ambiguous audio stimulus with haptics. In our study, participants hear an interval (a sequence of two tones) while simultaneously receiving a vibrotactile stimulus from a custom-designed wearable device. The results suggest that novice learners who experienced the multimodal auditory and haptic feedback could identify intervals more accurately and consistently than those who only received audio. Future work can leverage this insight to investigate the longer-term effects of multimodal learning, such as the retention of the ability to identify musical intervals after haptic feedback is removed. 

Copyright

Ibrahim Ibrahim