Notivo: Digital Sheet Music for Wind Instrumentalists

Abstract

The transition from traditional paper to digital sheet music has created new opportunities for musicians, including portability, immediate access to extensive libraries, and interactive functionalities like annotations and automatic scrolling. Nonetheless, it also presents challenges similar to traditional paper, with the most notable being the issue of page-turning. This particular challenge has already been addressed in previous research. However, the earlier work has primarily focused on pianists. The needs of other musicians have so far only been examined marginally. This work aims to investigate the effect of different page-turning modalities on the performance, usability, and user experience of wind players. In the prototypical web application Notivo, five interaction techniques were implemented and compared: Touch Gestures, Foot Pedal, Gaze Tracking, Ring Input, and Placeable Controls. A mixedmethods study involving woodwind and brass players utilized both quantitative measurements, such as error rates and task load, as well as qualitative feedback and preference ratings. The findings emphasize that minimally intrusive interactions are crucial for wind players, who require constant control of their hands, breath, and embouchure. Woodwind players benefited most from hands-free interactions like Foot Pedals and Gaze Tracking, while brass players favored the individualizable and hardware-dependent Placeable Controls and Ring Input. Touch Gestures, although used often in present sheet music applications, felt disruptive. Disruption-free operation, reliability, and ease of use were ranked as the most crucial design criteria across all groups. Based on these findings, several design recommendations for digital sheet music systems are derived. These suggestions emphasize the need for flexible layouts to enhance readability, contextually aware application modes, and user-customizable interaction methods to accommodate diverse instruments and playing positions. Through a comprehensive examination of page-turning strategies for wind musicians and the formulation of distinct design principles, this thesis contributes to the advancement of research in music technology, promoting the expansion of more inclusive, robust, and adaptable digital sheet music applications.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Kathrin Probst (Supervisor)