MINDMIX: Mapping of brain activity to congruent audio mixing features

Duncan A.H. Williams

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) offers novel methods to facilitate participation in audio engineering, providing access for individuals who might otherwise be unable to take part (either due to lack of training, or physical disability). This paper describes the development of a BCI system for conscious, or ‘active’, control of parameters on an audio mixer by generation of synchronous MIDI Machine Control messages. The mapping between neurophysiological cues and audio parameter must be intuitive for a neophyte audience (i.e., one without prior training or the physical skills developed by professional audio engineers when working with tactile interfaces). The prototype is dubbed MINDMIX (a portmanteau of ‘mind’ and ‘mixer’), combining discrete and many-to-many mappings of audio mixer parameters and BCI control signals measured via Electronecephalograph (EEG). In future, specific evaluation of discrete mappings would be useful for iterative system design.

Citation:

Duncan A.H. Williams. 2020. MINDMIX: Mapping of brain activity to congruent audio mixing features. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4813408

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{NIME20_67,
 abstract = {Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) offers novel methods to facilitate participation in audio engineering, providing access for individuals who might otherwise be unable to take part (either due to lack of training, or physical disability).  This paper describes the development of a BCI system for conscious, or ‘active’, control of parameters on an audio mixer by generation of synchronous MIDI Machine Control messages. The mapping between neurophysiological cues and audio parameter must be intuitive for a neophyte audience (i.e., one without prior training or the physical skills developed by professional audio engineers when working with tactile interfaces). The prototype is dubbed MINDMIX (a portmanteau of ‘mind’ and ‘mixer’), combining discrete and many-to-many mappings of audio mixer parameters and BCI control signals measured via Electronecephalograph (EEG). In future, specific evaluation of discrete mappings would be useful for iterative system design.},
 address = {Birmingham, UK},
 author = {Williams, Duncan A.H.},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.4813408},
 editor = {Romain Michon and Franziska Schroeder},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {July},
 pages = {349--352},
 publisher = {Birmingham City University},
 title = {MINDMIX: Mapping of brain activity to congruent audio mixing features},
 url = {https://www.nime.org/proceedings/2020/nime2020_paper67.pdf},
 year = {2020}
}