Projects
Some text about projects that don’t have videos.
This poster, presented at the 2024 Texas Music Educators Association convention came about because I needed some data to show what most musicians already know: it’s rare for music students to watch expert musicians practice. Although observing and analyzing expert music performance is a central feature of music study, I think it’s weird that, given the central role of practice in music learning, there’s not a an effort to show music students how artist-level musicians learn.
Modified 3D Printed Mouthpieces
I had a thought one night that it would be possible to design a mouthpiece that would require the same air speed and capacity as a recorder. Such a piece would allow students with disabilities a seamless modification, possibly opening up some doors to musical expression with just a design change.
Working with ProtoBuilds, a 3D design shop in Austin, we designed and printed these three with steel dust.
From a once lofty cliff of idealism, this project was quickly shown to be a lesson in hubris. Mouthpiece making is hard. These are three of the stupidest, non-functioning mouthpieces to grace the green-turning-brown earth. At no point can one make a recognizable trumpet sound with any of them, even the one I just tried to copy from a Bach 7c.
For a $10 donation to ProPublica, I'll record any tune on one of these for you. A perfect birthday present for your friend with amusia!
Gaze Research
This is a poster from a recent eye-tracking study I did with Dr. Bob Duke. We fit expert and novice participants with PupilLabs hardware to gather data on fixations and saccades while sightreading various printed samples. The data suggest that the unseen cognitive processes likely driving attentional demands differ with expertise. More experienced readers allocate attention strategically in ways that reflect experience. Until pandemically canceled, this study was supposed to be part of the 2020 Music & Eye Tracking conference at the Max Plank Institute in Frankfurt.
Up and At Them
This was my first adventure in educational design. Predicated on my past participation in “kids” concerts that were boring, patriarchal, condescending, and euro-centric, I formed this group in 2003 to write, direct, and present live shows featuring Stravinsky, live sampling, hip-hop, and video game projection set to a short plays about bullying and cooperation. With generous support from the America Russian Young Artists Orchestra, this group performed for schools in New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Detroit. My time working on these projects was formative, incredibly demanding, and driven by purpose.
American Australian Association Veteran Scholar
I have a year of research in Australia generously underwritten by the American Australian Association. Details are currently TBD due to pandemic-related complications. Details about the program, here.