Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Based Musical Composition

In this paper we present, for the first time in Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) research, a novel application for music composition. We developed, based on the I$^2$R NeuroComm BCI platform, a novel Graphical User Interface (GUI) to allow composition of short melodies by selecting individual musical notes. The user can select any individual musical key (quarter note with Do, R\'{e}, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, Do, etc.), insert a silence (quarter rest), delete (Del) the last note to correct the composition, or listen (Play) to the final melody, shown in text form and as a musical partition. Our BCI system for music composition has been successfully demonstrated and shown to be, with very short training time, effective and easy to use. This work is the first step towards a more intelligent BCI system that will extend current BCI-based Virtual Reality (VR) navigation for e.g. exploring a Virtual Synthesizer Museum/shop, in which the user would first move around within the virtual museum/shop and at the point of interest would try the synthesizer by composing music. More advanced modes (e.g. musical puzzle) with various levels of difficulty will be added in future developments as well as using the Open Vibe environment and mobile platforms such as the Apple's iPAD.

[1]  T W Picton,et al.  The P300 Wave of the Human Event‐Related Potential , 1992, Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society.

[2]  Eduardo Reck Miranda,et al.  Toward Direct Brain-Computer Musical Interfaces , 2005, NIME.

[3]  Keng Peng Tee,et al.  Augmenting cognitive processes in robot-assisted motor rehabilitation , 2008, 2008 2nd IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics.

[4]  E Donchin,et al.  The mental prosthesis: assessing the speed of a P300-based brain-computer interface. , 2000, IEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[5]  J. Toole,et al.  A pianist's recovery from stroke. , 2007, Archives of neurology.

[6]  Anatole Lécuyer,et al.  Exploring Large Virtual Environments by Thoughts Using a BrainComputer Interface Based on Motor Imagery and High-Level Commands , 2010, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[7]  Dean J Krusienski,et al.  A comparison of classification techniques for the P300 Speller , 2006, Journal of neural engineering.

[8]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  Analysis of functional MRI time‐series , 1994, Human Brain Mapping.

[9]  Brahim Hamadicharef.  Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) literature - a bibliometric study , 2010, 10th International Conference on Information Science, Signal Processing and their Applications (ISSPA 2010).

[10]  Justin C. Williams,et al.  Massively Parallel Signal Processing using the Graphics Processing Unit for Real-Time Brain–Computer Interface Feature Extraction , 2009, Front. Neuroeng..

[11]  Brahim Hamadicharef.  AUC confidence bounds for performance evaluation of Brain-Computer Interface , 2010, 2010 3rd International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Informatics.

[12]  Cuntai Guan,et al.  Asynchronous P300-Based Brain--Computer Interfaces: A Computational Approach With Statistical Models , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[13]  S. Roberts,et al.  On generating EEG for controlling musical systems , 2004 .

[14]  H. Jasper,et al.  The ten-twenty electrode system of the International Federation. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. , 1999, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology. Supplement.

[15]  Gert Pfurtscheller,et al.  Motor imagery and direct brain-computer communication , 2001, Proc. IEEE.

[16]  D J McFarland,et al.  An EEG-based brain-computer interface for cursor control. , 1991, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[17]  Antoine J. Shahin,et al.  Music training leads to the development of timbre-specific gamma band activity , 2008, NeuroImage.

[18]  Helge Ritter,et al.  SONIFICATIONS FOR EEG DATA ANALYSIS , 2002 .

[19]  J J Vidal,et al.  Toward direct brain-computer communication. , 1973, Annual review of biophysics and bioengineering.

[20]  Guillaume Gibert,et al.  OpenViBE: An Open-Source Software Platform to Design, Test, and Use BrainComputer Interfaces in Real and Virtual Environments , 2010, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[21]  Luca Citi,et al.  Prospects of brain-machine interfaces for space system control , 2006 .

[22]  Bodis-Wollner,et al.  International Federation of Societies for Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. , 1974, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[23]  Cuntai Guan,et al.  Introduction to NeuroComm: a Platform for Developing Real-Time EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface Applications , 2007, 2007 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[24]  Helge J. Ritter,et al.  2009 Special Issue: The MindGame: A P300-based brain-computer interface game , 2009 .

[25]  Christian Laugier,et al.  Controlling a Wheelchair Indoors Using Thought , 2007, IEEE Intelligent Systems.

[26]  A. Kübler,et al.  Motivation modulates the P300 amplitude during brain–computer interface use , 2010, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[27]  Anton Nijholt,et al.  BCI for Games: A 'State of the Art' Survey , 2008, ICEC.

[28]  L. Lundqvist,et al.  Effects of vibroacoustic music on challenging behaviors in individuals with autism and developmental disabilities , 2009 .

[29]  Febo Cincotti,et al.  Vibrotactile Feedback for Brain-Computer Interface Operation , 2007, Comput. Intell. Neurosci..

[30]  W. Heller,et al.  Searching for Music's Potential: A Critical Examination of Research on Music Therapy with Individuals with Autism. , 2007 .

[31]  Benjamin Blankertz,et al.  A Note on Brain Actuated Spelling with the Berlin Brain-Computer Interface , 2007, HCI.

[32]  Stefan Koelsch,et al.  Adults and children processing music: An fMRI study , 2005, NeuroImage.