March 14, 2012: Dave Soldier: Brainwave Music

DAVE SOLDIER: BRAINWAVE MUSIC

These collaborations with Brad Garton uses brainwaves (EEGs or electroencephlograms) to control music in real time: there are no overdubs. The pieces are either "unconscious music", where one composes without being aware of creating the music , or "prosthetic music" in which you attempt to control your brainwaves (e.g., closing your eyes is a classic way to control alpha waves). http://davesoldier.com/experimental.html

Trio for Brainwaves and Percussion: original version at CUNY, 2008. Features Valerie Naranjo (gyil, an African mallet instrument), Barry Olsen (hand drums), Benny Koonyevsky (cajon, a musical box), each triggering brainwaves: this is all in real time with no overdubbing. Part 1: the players move their hands to play the instruments, but don't actually touch them, but the cortical brainwaves trigger the notes.
Part 2: they play their instruments at a range of tempos, and the EEG signals trigger sounds in part depending on their activity.
Part 3: the players try to sync up with Benny's beats from his brainwaves.
Part 4: the players imagine playing, and try to move their hands while sitting on them

First movement, Fourier Transformations: brainwaves control all of the pitches in the scherzo of Schoenberg's 2nd quartet.

Second movement, Breathe the air of other planets: brainwaves advance through different sections of the same piece. 
Performed and thought by: Mari Kimura, Curtis Stewart, violins, Heve Bronimann, viola, Dave Eggar and Ha-Yang Kim, cello.

Alpha wave mix "prosthetic" solo where I try to control samples from my string quartet by producing alpha waves from the back of my cortex: it's like playing the piano with boxing gloves.

Reading Stephen Colbert "unconscious" music that I'm producing by reading a page from Colbert's book and listening to what happens when I laugh.

Duo for sensory and motor cortex "prosthetic" music where I move my hands or pinch myself and read brainwaves from the side of the cortex

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