Here is a very, very quick sketch of what I have in mind:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatstone_bridge

http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/ee476/FinalProjects/s2007/jsc59_ecl37/jsc59_ecl37/report2.html

View the large version here. Basically, it’s a case of spot the correlations!

Image of the Experiment

In order to compare the biofeedback data with the sounds being heard I needed an image of the entire sound heard throughout the experiment:

10: The Passenger (Iggy Pop)

This provides a significant change in tempo and tone from the previous tracks. I also think there is a difference in style from the active language rather than the passive ambience.

11: Other Side of the World (K.T. Tunstall)

Nicely continues the theme, and also providing the first female vocal track. It also provides the last sad undertones before the next set of tracks. I wasn’t sure whether to swap this around with the previous track, but it stays here.

12: In Dulce Jubilo (Mike Oldfield)

A jubilant celebration of the winter solstice, this track is designed to feel uplifting during the cold and dark winter months, and does the job effectively.

13: Wine (Unknown Origin)

Is now omitted from the playlist. It is a very short track (7 seconds) with loud and punchy notes.

14: Paddy McGinty’s Goat (Sibin)

An amusing Irish folk song, it will be interesting to see what effect this has as a humourous track.

15: Track 36

A continuation of the national music theme, the sound of drums.

16: High Hopes (Pink Floyd)

17: Another One Bites the Dust (Queen)

18: Swan Song (Within Temptation)

19: Venus de Milo (Michael Nyman)

20: Track 37 (Tomb Raider II)

21: Track 29 (Tomb Raider II)

A scary ambient background track for Tomb Raider II featuring echoing noises and a consistent heavy heartbeat sound throughout.

22: Secrets (Mike Oldfield) and 23: Far Above the Clouds (Mike Oldfield)

These last two tracks are essentially two halves to the same track providing the finale to the experiment as well as being the finale to Tubular Bells III. It involves a long buildup and a final multiple-instrument crescendo to produce a very powerful and loud sound, especially that incredible A-note bell…

Continue to part 4: Initial results

01: Three Minutes of Silence

This track will make no sound for three minutes as a form of control piece, to see what sort of feedback response is produced while not listening to the music.
It also provides time for the user to relax and buffer from any previous activity.
Three minutes is fairly arbitrary but I’m basing it on the fact that a 2 minutes silence memorial ‘feels’ rather long but at the same time I want long enough to get a reasonable reading.

02: Let Us Proclaim His Majesty (Majesty Fantasy Kingdom Simulation)

This first track will provide a gentle introduction to the experiment, hopefully encouraging an initial relaxed state. From the computer game Majesty, it provides a sleepy awakening and exploration atmosphere.

03: Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield)

Described by some as haunting, it could be an expression of the unknown. This track features a classic form of climactic crescendo, building until it fades out for the continuation of the album.

04: Dungeon Keeper Level Music

A fervent pace and dark undertones, this takes on from the haunting sound of Mike Oldfield into a more active and darker themed ambience.

05: Track 41 (Tomb Raider II)

The purpose of this introductory music from the Tomb Raider II game CD is to suddenly change the tempo of the previous track to lead onto the next.

06: Track 52 (Tomb Raider II)

This track begins softly with a ghostly new area exploration style of sound, but the end of the track is highly damaged by clicks and stutters, with a gradual build-up between. I cannot say that that the damage to the very old game CD was deliberate, but the use of the track here is.

07: i wish i could throw shapes (Age of Mythology)

This is a highly aggressive track used during times of combat during the Age of Mythology campaign that leads on perfectly from the jarring and stressed previous track.

08: never mind the slacks and bashers (Age of Mythology)

This track I would consider the natural anti-climax to the previous, gradually calming the pace of music, and ending in acoustic guitar notes similar to the start of the next track.

09: Where Do You Think You’re Going (Dire Straits)

This is the first track with ‘verbal’ input, continuing the progression of a dark theme but leading into the next phase of tracks with a nice guitar crescendo at the end.

Continue to Part 3: The music list continued

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

Here is the data compared against the actual waveform of Dire Straits’ Where Do You Think You’re Going?:

The User

The user will be represented in virtual reality as a sort of hybrid avatar/visualisation, but their digital presence cannot be interacted with by the traditional means such as mouse and keyboard inputs. Instead it will be responsive to their physiological readings while listening to their music and change accordingly to their mood.

This project should be accessible to the average computer user in the sense that anyone can come along and interact with the final interface.

Biofeedback

The measurement of physiological signs in humans has been used for a number of decades mostly for medical reasons.

My project software should be able to take measurements of biofeedback data and respond accordingly.

But first things first, here is an idea of how I might get biofeedback data into the computer in the first place:

Processing and Visualisation

I’d like to think that because Media Player and DirectX are Microsoft products and share a base language of C++ that calling DirectX and 3D things are possible in media player and hence can be distributed widely as a visualisation…

Otherwise I would have to build my own app which wouldn’t be any more difficult, in fact possibly easier, but I don’t think the final solution would be as graceful.