Embodied Music Cognition is a recently developed theoretical and empirical framework which in the last eight years has been redefining the role of the body in music perception. However, to date there have been very few attempts to research embodied musical experiences in early childhood. The research reported in this thesis investigated 4- and 5-year-olds’ self-regulatory sensorimotor processes in response to music. Two video-based observation studies were conducted. The first, exploratory in nature, aimed to identify levels of musical self-regulation in children’s actions while ‘playing’ in a motion-based interactive environment (Sound=Space). The interactive element of this system provided an experiential platform for the young ‘players’ to explore and develop the ability to recognise themselves as controlling musical events, and to continuously adapt their behaviour according to expected auditory outcomes. Results showed that low-level experiences of musical self-regulation were associated with more random trajectories in space, often performed at a faster pace (e.g. running), while a higher degree of control corresponded to more organised spatial pathways usually involving slower actions and repetition. The second study focused on sensorimotor synchronisation. It aimed to identify children’s free and individual movement choices in response to rhythmic music with a salient and steady beat presented at different tempi. It also intended to find the similarities and differences between participants’ repertoire and their adjustments to tempo changes. The most prominent findings indicate that children’s movements exhibited a resilient periodicity which was not synchronised to the beat. Even though a great variety of body actions (mostly non-gestural) was found across the group, each child tended to use a more restricted repertoire and one specific dominant action that would be executed throughout the different tempi. Common features were also found in children’s performance, such as, the spatial preference for up/down directions and for movements done in place (e.g. vertical jump). The results of both studies highlight the great deal of variability in the way preschoolers regulate their own sensorimotor behaviour when interacting with music. This variety of responses can be interpreted as underlining the importance of the physical nature of the cognitive agent in the perception of music. If this is indeed the case, then it will be crucial to create and develop embodied music learning activities in early years education that encourage each child to self-monitor their own sensorimotor processes and, thus, to shape their experiences of linking sound and movement in a meaningful and fulfilling way.

This paper is an explorative interaction design study focusing on the development of a wearable device for enhanced learning of bodily skills. It uses a variation of technology scouting and matchmaking to explore possible technologies related to assistive technology for learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people in the concerned fields and analysis of the interviews resulted in insights that could inform the development of the design. Research findings suggest that a wearable learning system that leverages AI to guide and assist learning of bodily skills through a haptic interface could be possible with current technology. The paper proposes a schematic diagram of the system, UX goals and evaluates user attitudes towards such a system. Overall, this design study could serve as a resource for future development of AI-assisted education for activities involving bodily movement.

Au cours des dernières années, l’avènement des technologies de captation du mouvement a radicalement transformé l’univers de la pratique artistique tout en ouvrant des perspectives inédites pour la recherche scientifique. La musique est actuellement l’un des domaines les plus impliqués dans ce renouvellement expressif et épistémologique. Dans ce cadre, les processus d’interaction entre médiation technologique, mouvement et son, semblent se décliner selon deux modalités majeures : d’une part, les technologies d’analyse du mouvement permettent d’étudier expérimentalement la connexion mutuelle entre phénomène acoustique et système sensori-moteur; de l’autre, la compréhension de la nature incarnée de l’expérience musicale oriente la conception et le développement de technologies interactives pour la performance vers un modèle plus holistique. En partant de ces prémisses, cette thèse porte sur la manière dont la transformation des aspects imperceptibles du mouvement en données perceptibles – sous forme de son – permet de prendre conscience des processus physiologiques et figuratifs qui sont à la base du geste. Dans ce contexte, la relation entre mouvement et feedback sonore est analysée selon une perspective écologique visant à mettre en lumière comment la médiation technologique induit un processus d’extension et d’intensification autopoïétique de l’anatomie corporelle. Notamment dans le cas de la pratique performative, l’interaction sonore offre alors au performeur la possibilité de redéfinir sa propre organisation perceptive sur la base d’un un nouveau répertoire des données sensorielles, lui permettant ainsi de repenser la composition expressive du mouvement. / During the last years, motion sensing technologies have radically transformed the universe of the artistic practice. This dramatic change has recently inspired new perspectives in scientific research. Music is actually among the most affected domaines by this expressive and epistemological renewal. The interactive relation between mediation technology, movement and sound, seems to be declined into two main modalities : on one hand, movement analysis’ technologies allow to study mutual connections between acoustic phenomenon and sensorimotor system, on the other hand, embodied understanding of musical experience can help to devise an holistic approach to interactive systems conception and development. Given this background scenario, this thesis focuses on how movement’s qualities transformation into sound allows the performer to become aware of physiological and imaginative processes in gesture composition. In this framework, sound feedback-movement relation is analyzed from an ecological point of view. According to this approach, mediation technology seems to elicit an autopoietic process of extension and intensification of corporeality. Especially in the artistic performance, sound interaction offers to performer a new sensorial geography that allows him/her to renew his/her perceptive organization and thereby rethink expressive composition of movement.