Using Haptics to Assist Performers in Making Gestures to a Musical Instrument

Haptic technology, providing force cues and creating a programmable physical instrument interface, can assist musicians in making gestures. The finite reaction time of the human motor control system implies that the execution of a brief musical gesture does not rely on immediate feedback from the senses, rather it is preprogrammed to some degree. Consequently, we suggest designing relatively simple and deterministic interfaces for providing haptic assistance. In this paper, we consider the specific problem of assisting a musician in selecting pitches from a continuous range. We build on a prior study by O’Modhrain of the accuracy of pitches selected by musicians on a Theremin-like haptic interface. To improve the assistance, we augment the interface with programmed detents so that the musician can feel the locations of equal tempered pitches. Nevertheless, the musician can still perform arbitrary pitch inflections such as glissandi, falls, and scoops. We investigate various forms of haptic detents, including fixed detent levels and forcesensitive detent levels. Preliminary results from a subject test confirm improved accuracy in pitch selection brought about by detents.