Designing for the Mindbody in Technology-Mediated Music-Making

Abstract

The mind and body have an important joint role to play in how we experience, understand and create music. Our bodily experiences in the world shape how we comprehend music. In turn, our mind's music cognition and intentionality, which are based on our bodily experiences, are mediated through the body when we make music. This mind-body interaction has provided important contributions to the intelligibility, relatability and embodiment of our musical experiences, yet this dynamic is not always intact in today's technology-mediated music-making. Employing practice-based and practice-led methodologies, my research explores the potential of considering the "mindbody" in the design of interactive computer systems for music-making. This paper outlines the motivation, context, research methodology, and completed and future projects of my research towards a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with a specialization in Computational Media Design.