Perfect sound system

Musicians can now use 3D computer analysis to improve their technique, thanks to multimedia technology from Leeds University.

Dr Kia Ng of the university’s Faculty of Engineering and School of Music has devised a way to use motion capture to record a musician’s posture and movement as they play and then map the results against ideal performance settings.

The system - the i-Maestro 3D Augmented Mirror (AMIR) - provides a tool for music teachers, students and experienced or professional musicians to improve their technique.

'Learning to play an instrument is a physical activity,' said Ng. 'If a student develops a bad posture early on, this can be potentially very damaging to their career and our system can help teachers to easily identify problems. Similarly, the system enables experienced musicians to make small changes in gesture and posture that can improve the sound they make.

'Many musicians already use video recordings of their performance to analyse technique, but this only provides a 2D image. The 3D image and analysis provided by AMIR will be of immense value to musicians and teachers alike.'