Music Biofeedback Experiment (Part 1)

January 2nd, 2009

To see what sort of results I might expect from monitoring biofeedback from a user listening to music I have selected several tracks to be listened to while running a biofeedback grapher. I’ve tried to select a broad selection of very random tracks ranging from game music (this is good because they usually have a purpose creating a specific atmosphere like a movie sound track) through to more traditional pieces.

Once I’ve tried it out myself I intend testing other people to look for any form of correlation. Additionally, I would have them fill out a form of questionnaire during the session to quickly gather what mood each piece puts them in, and whether they are familiar with a particular track already.

The Experiment

The user will listen to the music via headphones for stereo fidelity however my main speaker system will also be live to produce the all-encompassing range of bass that headphones cannot produce. Hopefully this will make the music as immersive as possible.

The music itself will be played from my PC using Windows Media Player. The media player itself will have the Bars visualisation maximised onscreen to focus attention on the music itself rather than any interface distractions.

The layout of the tracks will follow a rough theme based on my own interpretation of the tracks, in a wachowski/matrix-esque format of birth, life and death followed by a transformation or rebirth. Alternatively you could view it in more traditional terms of a Shakespearian/Greek tragedy, although really the main purpose of following such a narrative structure would be to group emotionally similar tracks together. For example:

Introduction, birth, exploration –> life, strife, fear –> movement, triumph, happiness –> tragedy, death –> catharsis, climax

Continue to Part 2: The music list