Abstract

The body is amassed with electrical signals. These bioelectric signals are tied to both the most basic body functions such as the heart beating all the way to the highest level of processing in the brain. These signals are often rhythmic in nature and provide a means to measure the fundamental rhythms of any individual. In this performance we will generate music in real time from bioelectric signals that are read from a human subject. The ECG (heart) will set the rhythm of the music while other signals including EEG (brain waves) and EMG (muscles) will be used by an algorithm to perform melodic and rhythmic choices. The subject will participate by dancing and responding to the generated music and by virtue of their interaction will change the music produced. Additionally, the signals will be sonified and form part of the music. Musician(s) will also improvise along with the generated music with their instruments being modulated by the captured bioelectric signals.

Bio

Matthew Walsh is a musician, software engineer and neuroscientist, obtaining a PhD in Computational Neuroscience in 2020. His thesis topic was Mean Field Modelling of Epileptogenic Cortical Lesions Using The Liley Model. This thesis focussed on modelling the effects of cortical lesions on the EEG. Matthew has now broadened his research interests to include the sonification and musification of biological signals.

Matthew is vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for the Melbourne band Your Creepy Ex.