Building a feedback loop between electrical stimulation and percussion learning

Abstract

A sense of rhythm is essential for playing instruments. However, many beginners learning how to play musical instruments have difficulty with rhythm. We have proposed "Stimulated Percussions," which is a musical instrument performance system using electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) in the past. In this study, we apply it to the learning of rhythm. By the movement of muscles stimulated using EMS, users are able to acquire what kind of arms and legs to move at what timing. In addition to small percussion instruments such as castanets, users can play the rhythm patterns of drums that the require the simultaneous movement of their limbs.