June 1st, 2016 - August 15th, 2016
This project’s purpose was to investigate the ability of virtual reality to teach music. An application was developed for the CAVE2™ and Microsoft Hololens, and their ability to teach music effectively was analyzed. Both the applications teach the user how to play ’Mary Had a Little Lamb’on the viola, and each virtual reality platform had itrsquo;s own benefits and drawbacks. An interface was created for both platforms that shows the user the correct bow direction, tempo, fingering, and sheet music. Additional features included adjustable tempo and a metronome that can be turned on and off. The application was helpful since the user could get visual cues from the graphics while still keeping an eye on his/her instrument. Future goals for the application include songs that can be uploaded by the user, microphone input, more instruments, and better graphics. The results of this research show that music instruction is a viable possibility in a virtual reality environment and will spark developers and musicians to work together to further explore this field.
YouTube video of Microsoft Hololens version of this application:
YouTube video of CAVE2 version of the application: