Interactive sonification of a fluid dance movement: an exploratory study

In this paper we present three different experiments designed to explore sound properties associated with fluid movement: (1) an experiment in which participants adjusted parameters of a sonification model developed for a fluid dance movement, (2) a vocal sketching experiment in which participants sketched sounds portraying fluid versus nonfluid movements, and (3) a workshop in which participants discussed and selected fluid versus nonfluid sounds. Consistent findings from the three experiments indicated that sounds expressing fluidity generally occupy a lower register and has less high frequency content, as well as a lower bandwidth, than sounds expressing nonfluidity. The ideal sound to express fluidity is continuous, calm, slow, pitched, reminiscent of wind, water or an acoustic musical instrument. The ideal sound to express nonfluidity is harsh, non-continuous, abrupt, dissonant, conceptually associated with metal or wood, unhuman and robotic. Findings presented in this paper can be used as design guidelines for future applications in which the movement property fluidity is to be conveyed through sonification.