Week4

Ritardando is a musical term (from Italian) for a deceleration in tempo. In the following a ritardando in a song is analysed in accordance to the theory presented in this course.

In the previous videos in the terminology track we have looked at different types of music-related body movement in performers. This week we will look more at the perceivers, that is, people experiencing music.

Sometimes, it is relevant to capture the movement of performers or perceivers outside of a laboratory setting. This can be for research purposes - studying how performers or perceivers move in a real concert - or it can be an interactive part of the performance, tracking the movement of a performer or perceiver to influence visual displays or the musical sound. This article presents some of the technologies you will see in the next video step.

Do you ever nod your head or tap your feet when you hear music? This activity usually follows a certain pulse in the music. But how do we find this pulse within a complex musical landscape of sounds? What sounds in the music are most vital? And how de we transfer this (mostly unconscious) understanding of pulse into a muscular activity that causes us to nod our head or tap our feet?

Although our ability to entrain to an external rhythm might be innate, the perception of an underlying reference structure in music - for example, the underlying pulse - is also highly dependent on the music culture. Our perception is determined by our previous experience, and by repeated regularities in our environment.

How can you capture motion out in the field? Kristian Nymoen is demonstrating a mobile motion capture system.

This week you will learn about the concepts of pulse and entrainment in the theory track. The terminology track will focus on the motion of perceiver's, people experiencing music.