Digital adaptations to arts programme delivery for people living with dementia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Learning from the challenges and successes of online arts delivery during the pandemic is crucially important for considering long-term sustainable solutions that enable people living with dementia to remotely participate in meaningful activities. METHODS: Twenty-eight arts workers responded to an online survey exploring i) the meaning of face-to-face arts activities that were replicated online, ii) perceived motivations to attend, iii) successes and challenges in adapting arts for online/socially distanced setting. RESULTS: Responses described arts giving structure and purpose to people living with dementia and their carers, a sense of community, and a way to reduce physical isolation. Success on digital delivery of arts depended on how inclusive practices were in relation to different abilities, technology experience and support levels. CONCLUSIONS: Despite challenges, the range of interactions across activities demonstrated various ways for people living with dementia to make a contribution, feeding into the feelings of purpose and belonging in the online/digital community.

The use of technology for arts-based activities in older adults living with mild cognitive impairment or dementia: A scoping review.

For older adults living with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, creative arts-based activities can offer many benefits from enjoyment as leisure/recreation to an avenue to maintain cognitive, social and emotional wellbeing. With growing interest and recognition that technology could have potential to assist in delivering these activities in more accessible and personalised ways, a scoping review was undertaken to systematically examine the scientific literature for technology-assisted creative arts activities for older adults living with dementia. We searched PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and ACM Digital Library databases using keywords centering on population with dementia, an intervention using technology, and a context of creative arts, with no restrictions on the type of outcome measured. We retrieved 3739 records, with an additional 22 from hand-searching. 51 full-text articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings of the review indicate technologies principally being designed for music activities (listening, and music-making), as well as storytelling and visual arts. The majority of devices were custom-made, with studies mainly reporting on validating the success of the device/intervention. This suggests most work in the field is currently at prototyping stage, although a few devices are now commercially available. Recommendations for future research includes involvement of participants reporting on their previous experiences in the arts and how this influences co-design choices, and inclusion of different severities of dementia in the participant/co-design group. Furthering device development past prototyping stage as well as collaboration between teams would enable comparisons to be made across different types of devices used for the same activity, and comparisons across arts-based activities that could lead to cross-disciplinary outcomes for the design of creative arts-based assistive technologies.

New musical interfaces for older adults in residential care: assessing a user-centred design approach.

Purpose:For older adults in aged-care, group music-making can bring numerous physical and psychological benefits, ultimately improving their quality of life. However, personalising music-making to optimise these benefits is often difficult given their diverse ages, experiences, abilities, cognitive and motor skills, and their experience with music technology.Materialsandmethods:In this study, we conducted a 10-week group music-making intervention with twenty participants in an aged-care home, using a prototype digital musical instrument that we iteratively refined by following a user-centred design approach from direct resident feedback. The prototype instrument adopted a novel method for errorless learning in music-making settings, which we also refined, by increasing the difficulty level of the instrument's operation. We also assessed the residents' engagement with the sessions by obtaining feedback from caregivers and facilitators.Results:Results show that residents' enjoyment decreased as the complexity (difficulty) of our errorless learning implementation increased. We also found that resident engagement increased when changes to the prototype digital musical instrument were provided, but not when residents were giving feedback. Results also found that participation over the course of the intervention, and the number of songs played during each session also enhanced engagement.Conclusions: Overall, our results show the intervention was beneficial to residents, although we note some areas of enhancement for further interventions in designing prototype musical instruments for group music-making in aged-care settings. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONOlder adults positively engage with novel music technology, and do so increasingly over subsequent sessions. Repeated sessions may have the potential to enhance longer-term adoption of technologies as well as any rehabilitative effects of the group music-making activity.There is significant potential for residents with different abilities to all make music together, although to maximise the sustainability of the devices, the sessions, and the subsequent rehabilitative benefits, residents must be given the right adaptation for individual interfaces that balances ambition and ability.Rapid DMI prototyping positively enhances engagement among older adults, suggesting that in the case of a custom DMI, an upgrade schedule should be aligned with key rehabilitative milestones. Similarly, in the case of pre-developed digital music systems, resident exposure to new features or functionality should be strategically introduced, so as to maximise engagement for key phases of resident rehabilitation.

Exploring older adult needs and preferences for technology-assisted group music-making. A qualitative analysis of data collected during the participatory user-centred design process.

PURPOSE: Engagement with arts, recreation and leisure is highly valued by older adults, with positive links to their continued wellbeing. Despite an availability of new music technology, these devices are rarely designed with older adults in mind. This project explores the needs and preferences of older adults in residential care as they interact with digital music interfaces in a group music-making context. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty participants at an Australian residential aged-care facility were involved in a user-centred design process (20 sessions across six months) to develop digital music interfaces suitable for group music-making. Participants' verbal comments were audio-recorded and transcribed, supported by further written observation notes made by the activity facilitators. RESULTS: A hybrid inductive and deductive approach to thematic analysis revealed three main themes: individual music-making, ensemble music-making and social engagement. Our results suggest that when interfaces are designed with older adults in mind, technology-assisted group music-making can facilitate bringing together residents with different experiences and abilities. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest implications for rehabilitation in developing a range of musical devices for older adults to account for required flexibility, whilst maintaining an appropriate and satisfyingly "rich" musical outcome.Implications for rehabilitationOlder adults positively engage with music technology, showing distinct personal preferences for aspects of physical interaction, balance and quality of sound. Rehabilitation and/or wellbeing-based musical activities for older adults in residential care may benefit from considering tools that allow for personal adaptations such as these to be made.Preferences for musical interaction can be influenced by previous musical experiences, as well as physical and/or cognitive abilities. However, on any given day musical preferences can also be subject to change.Within a group music-making context, there is a significant capacity for older adults to feel agency in contributing to the overall sound; rehabilitation activities and/or technologies could be designed where this individual contribution to the group can be enhanced.Group music-making using new digital music interfaces has the potential to encourage interpersonal social connections that are most likely made over repeated sessions.

The influence of a conductor and co-performer on auditory-motor synchronisation, temporal prediction, and ancillary entrainment in a musical drumming task.

Interpersonal coordination is exemplified in ensemble musicians, who coordinate their actions deliberately in order to achieve temporal synchronisation in their performances. However, musicians also move parts of their bodies unintentionally or spontaneously, sometimes in ways that do not directly produce sound from their instruments. Musicians' movements-intentional or otherwise-provide visual signals to co-performers, which might facilitate temporal synchronisation. In large ensembles, a conductor also provides a visual cue, which has been shown to enhance synchronisation. In the present study, we tested how visual cues from a co-performer and a conductor affect processes of temporal anticipation, synchronisation, and ancillary movements in a sample of primarily non-musicians. We used a dyadic synchronisation drumming task, in which paired participants drummed to the beat of tempo-changing music. We manipulated visual access between partners and a virtual conductor. Results showed that the conductor improved synchronisation with the music, but synchrony with the music did not improve when partners could see each other. Temporal prediction was improved when partners saw the conductor, but not each other. Ancillary movements of the head were more synchronised between partners when they could see each other, and greater ancillary synchrony at beat-related frequencies of movement was associated with greater drumming synchrony. These results suggest that compatible audio-visual cues can improve intentional synchronisation, that ancillary movements are affected by seeing a partner, and that attended vs. incidental visual cues thus have partially dissociable effects on temporal coordination during joint action.

Neural multimodal integration underlying synchronization with a co-performer in music: Influences of motor expertise and visual information.

Sensorimotor synchronization is a general skill that musicians have developed to the highest levels of performance, including synchronization in timing and articulation. This study investigated neurocognitive processes that enable such high levels of performance, specifically testing the relevance of 1) motor resonance and sharing high levels of motor expertise with the co-performer, and 2) the role of visual information in addition to auditory information. Musicians with varying levels of piano expertise (including non-pianists) performed on a single piano key with their right hand along with recordings of a pianist who performed simple melodies with the left hand, synchronizing timing and articulation. The prerecorded performances were presented as audio-only, audio-video, or audio-animation stimuli. Double pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) was applied to test the contribution of the right dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), an area implicated in motor resonance with observed (left-hand) actions, and the contribution of the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS), an area known for multisensory binding. Results showed effects of dTMS in the conditions that included visual information. IPS stimulation improved synchronization, although this effect was found to reverse in the video condition with higher levels of piano expertise. dPMC stimulation improved or worsened synchronization ability. Level of piano expertise was found to influence this direction in the video condition. These results indicate that high levels of relevant motor expertise are required to beneficially employ visual and motor information of a co-performer for sensorimotor synchronization, which may qualify the effects of dPMC and IPS involvement.

Cognitive, Motor and Social Factors of Music Instrument Training Programs for Older Adults' Improved Wellbeing.

Given emerging evidence that learning to play a musical instrument may lead to a number of cognitive benefits for older adults, it is important to clarify how these training programs can be delivered optimally and meaningfully. The effective acquisition of musical and domain-general skills by later-life learners may be influenced by social, cultural and individual factors within the learning environment. The current study examines the effects of a 10-week piano training program on healthy older adult novices' cognitive and motor skills, in comparison to an inactive waitlisted control group. Fifteen participants completed piano training led by a music facilitator in small groups (max n = 4 per lesson class; two experimental, two waitlisted control groups). Data was collected using an explanatory sequential design: quantitative data from a battery of cognitive and motor tests was collected pre/post-test on all participants, with further post-test data from the waitlisted control group (n = 7). Qualitative data included weekly facilitator observations, participant practice diaries, and an individual, semi-structured, post-experiment interview. Bayesian modelling demonstrated moderate evidence of a strong positive impact of training on part A of the Trail Making test (TMT), indicating improved visuo-motor skills. Moderate evidence for negative impacts of training on part B of the Trail Making Test (and difference score delta) was also found, suggesting no benefit of cognitive switching. Qualitative results revealed that the group learning environment motivated participants to play in musical ensembles and to socialize. Motivation was optimal when all participants were happy with the chosen repertoire (participants reported they were motivated by learning to play familiar music) and when the facilitator observed that groups had formed cohesive bonds. Informed by these factors, exploratory analyses demonstrated strong evidence that a participant's lesson class had an impact on post-test scores (TMT part A). These results not only demonstrate the extent of cognitive benefits of a short-term piano training intervention for older adults, but also the importance of considering the group dynamics in the learning environment.

The influence of visual cues on temporal anticipation and movement synchronization with musical sequences.

Music presents a complex case of movement timing, as one to several dozen musicians coordinate their actions at short time-scales. This process is often directed by a conductor who provides a visual beat and guides the ensemble through tempo changes. The current experiment tested the ways in which audio-motor coordination is influenced by visual cues from a conductor's gestures, and how this influence might manifest in two ways: movements used to produce sound related to the music, and movements of the upper-body that do not directly affect sound output. We designed a virtual conductor that was derived from morphed motion capture recordings of human conductors. Two groups of participants (29 musicians and 28 nonmusicians, to test the generalizability of visuo-motor synchronization to non-experts) were shown the virtual conductor, a simple visual metronome, or a stationary circle while completing a drumming task that required synchronization with tempo-changing musical sequences. We measured asynchronies and temporal anticipation in the drumming task, as well as participants' upper-body movement using motion capture. Drumming results suggest the conductor generally improves synchronization by facilitating anticipation of tempo changes in the music. Motion capture results showed that the conductor visual cue elicited more structured head movements than the other two visual cues for nonmusicians only. Multiple regression analysis showed that the nonmusicians with less rigid movement and high anticipation had lower asynchronies. Thus, the visual cues provided by a conductor might serve to facilitate temporal anticipation and more synchronous movement in the general population, but might also cause rigid ancillary movements in some non-experts.

Negotiating between individual and joint goals in ensemble musical performance.

Successful joint action requires negotiation, especially in the event of goal incongruence. This article addresses goal incongruence in joint musical performance by manipulating the congruence of score instructions (congruent/incongruent) regarding tempo (speed) and dynamics (sound intensity) given to piano duos. The aim is to investigate how co-performers negotiate incongruent instructions for tempo and dynamics by balancing the prioritisation of individual goals versus the joint outcome and how this negotiation is modulated by musical expertise and personality (locus of control). In total, 14 pairs of pianists, who were not informed of the congruence manipulation, were placed back-to-back and were directed to achieve a successful performance over four repeated performances without verbal communication. Interpersonal coordination generally improved from the first to final performance in the congruent and incongruent conditions for both the tempo and dynamics tasks. Furthermore, in incongruent conditions, results suggest that performers prioritise the joint performance in the tempo task, but prioritise their own performance in the dynamics task. Although individual performance appears to be modulated by musical expertise, the balance of individual/joint performance across the duo is not influenced by musical part (melody vs accompaniment), expressive instruction, musical expertise or locus of control.

Integrating optical finger motion tracking with surface touch events.

This paper presents a method of integrating two contrasting sensor systems for studying human interaction with a mechanical system, using piano performance as the case study. Piano technique requires both precise small-scale motion of fingers on the key surfaces and planned large-scale movement of the hands and arms. Where studies of performance often focus on one of these scales in isolation, this paper investigates the relationship between them. Two sensor systems were installed on an acoustic grand piano: a monocular high-speed camera tracking the position of painted markers on the hands, and capacitive touch sensors attach to the key surfaces which measure the location of finger-key contacts. This paper highlights a method of fusing the data from these systems, including temporal and spatial alignment, segmentation into notes and automatic fingering annotation. Three case studies demonstrate the utility of the multi-sensor data: analysis of finger flexion or extension based on touch and camera marker location, timing analysis of finger-key contact preceding and following key presses, and characterization of individual finger movements in the transitions between successive key presses. Piano performance is the focus of this paper, but the sensor method could equally apply to other fine motor control scenarios, with applications to human-computer interaction.

Using historical accounts of harpsichord touch to empirically investigate the production and perception of dynamics on the 1788 Taskin.

This article investigates the extent of production and perception of dynamic differences on a French historical harpsichord, extensively revised in 1788 by Pascal Taskin. A historical review reports on the descriptions of two different types of touch found in treatises of the 18th century. These two touches (loud/struck and soft/pressed) were used to perform single tones on the lower, upper, peau de buffle (PDB) registers (the last of which Taskin is credited with having invented) and the coupled 8-foot registers to investigate differences in dynamics. Acoustic measurements show varied differences of up to 11 dB for the two types of touch over different pitches in each register. The strongest difference is measured in the first harmonic of note F2 on the PDB. A listening experiment was conducted to test whether these differences are perceivable. Participants performed a discrimination task using pairs of single tones. Participants were able to perform significantly better than chance in correctly identifying whether pairs of single tones were same or different with respect to loudness [t(24) = 12.01, p < 0.001]. Accuracies were influenced by pitch and register, the PDB providing the strongest accuracies over the four registers tested.

Trumpet mouthpiece manufacturing and tone quality.

This article investigates the relationship between the shape of the mouthpiece and its acoustical properties in brass instruments. The hypothesis is that not only different volumes but also particular cup shapes affect the embouchure and the tone quality in both a physical and perceivable way. Three professional trumpet players were involved, and two different internal cup contours characterized by a "U" and a "V" shape with two types of throat junction (round and sharp) were chosen, based on a Vincent Bach 1 [1/2] C medium mouthpiece. A third intermediate contour was designed as a combination of these. Over 600 sound samples were produced under controlled conditions, the study involving four different stages: (1) Simulation of air-flow, (2) analysis of the sound spectra, (3) study of the players' subjective responses, and (4) perceptual analysis of their timbral differences. Results confirm the U shape is characterized by a stronger air recirculation and produces stronger spectral components above 8 kHz, compared to the V shape. A round throat junction may also be preferable to a sharp one in terms of playability. There is moderate agreement on the aural perception of these differences although the verbal attributes used to qualify these are not shared.