Interaction with Sound and Pre-Recorded Music: Novel Interfaces and Use Patterns

By Tue Haste Andersen

Abstract:

Computers are changing the way sound and recorded music are listened to and
used. The use of computers to playback music makes it possible to change and
adapt music to different usage situations in ways that were not possible with
analog sound equipment. In this thesis, interaction with pre-recorded music is
investigated using prototypes and user studies.
First, different interfaces for browsing music on consumer or mobile devices
were compared. It was found that the choice of input controller, mapping and
auditory feedback influences how the music was searched and how the interfaces
were perceived. Search performance was not affected by the tested interfaces.
Based on this study, several ideas for the future design of music browsing interfaces
were proposed. Indications that search time depends linearly on distance
to target were observed and examined in a related study where a movement
time model for searching in a text document using scrolling was developed.
Second, work practices of professional disc jockeys (DJs) were studied and a
new design for digital DJing was proposed and tested. Strong indications were
found that the use of beat information could reduce the DJ’s cognitive workload
while maintaining flexibility during the musical performance. A system for
automatic beat extraction was designed based on an evaluation of a number of
perceptually important parameters extracted from audio signals.
Finally, auditory feedback in pen-gesture interfaces was investigated through
a series of informal and formal experiments. The experiments point to several
general rules of auditory feedback in pen-gesture interfaces: a few simple functions
are easy to achieve, gaining further performance and learning advantage
is difficult, the gesture set and its computerized recognizer can be designed to
minimize visual dependence, and positive emotional or aesthetic response can
be achieved using musical auditory feedback.

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