Why?

Identifying what defines skill level is fundamental to understanding the music skill acquisition continuum and to deploying this understanding for the design of adequate and effective learning paths.

What?

To this end, the SAMuSe project will introduce an integrative (multi-sensing measurements) and development-oriented (multiple skill levels) approach to the study of skill acquisition in music performance.

How?

By conducting a focused cross-sectional study, and using psychophysiological and biomechanical methods, the physical, cognitive, and emotional engagement of musicians will be measured at different skill levels.

Impact

• We aim to elaborate a solid theoretical and methodological framework to identify and define the psychophysiological parameters (“embodiment indicators”) that change over time in relation to the different skill acquisition levels.
• We aim to contribute to novel measurement and analysis methods in music performance research, allowing a more advanced and sophisticated characterization of skill levels in music performance.
• We aim to develop innovative, smart, wearable, and flexible sensors designed to be seamlessly incorporated into clothing, gloves, and accessories.for data collection during music performance. For music performance research, these sensors could be used to capture a wide range of data, including gestures and physiological responses. These sensors would prioritize user comfort, ease of use, efficiency, and environmental friendliness.
• The project will support further research on the design and evaluation of novel educational approaches, and on the development of advanced digital monitoring applications to enhance healthy and effective performance skill acquisition.

Final Aim

The SAMuSe project ultimately aims to support several research applications, to ultimately enhance quality in music education, multimodal sensor fusion algorithms, and user models.