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Robotic drumstick keeps novices on the beat
newscientist.com — A machine that controls a novice's drumstick to help them learn how to play could be the first of a string of robotic musical teachers. The device has also been found to cut the time it takes to pick up new rhythms, according to a study.
adrian67- 306 diggs
- digg it
- Zarokima, on 03/11/2008, -5/+2When I first read the headline I thought it was talking about birds.
- oceanographer, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Agreed. I was thinking KFC
- mbrindam, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Funny... I didn't think that at all.
- Spuy767, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Today, novices. Tomorrow, the latest hit "rock" band.
- SpeedingSkills, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1That'll make them stick to it?
- mediaspree, on 03/11/2008, -1/+10Def Leppard will be twice as good.
- Ledfndr, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2and that will make as good as they were before?
- i4ybrid, on 03/11/2008, -1/+2This is awesome, it's kind of like learning through muscle memory!
- hawk0168, on 03/11/2008, -0/+6That's a good way to get carpal tunnel syndrome. You need to let your wrist AND your fingers move.
- badqat, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2Exactly...which isn't always what a drummer will do. Often, you use your fingers without bending your wrist at all.
- surKaz, on 03/11/2008, -5/+1Ok... I understand the Digg Algorithm has been updated so that it is more objective in front-paging submissions... But less than 50 diggs brought this on the front page.. Maybe different types of users (not so active, types of articles dugg etc...) digged it so that carries more weight... But still. The article is slightly above average IMO..
About the device it self.. A lot of drumming is done by flicking the wrists.. the device grabs the forearm and unless the skilled drummer recording doesn't consciously try not to flick his wrist, it might not be as realistic as actual drumming without machines.- Tochi, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2"unless the skilled drummer recording doesn't consciously try not to flick his wrist"
I think you missed the "novices" part of the title...- surKaz, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1FTA: "A skilled drummer can use HAGUS to "record" a specific set of beats for it to later teach to a beginner. When the novice uses HAGUS and tries to play the same beats, the device guides the drumstick using its motors."
It seems that some beats may not be recorded if the "skilled" worker flicks his wrist while recording. That's what I meant.
Then again, you could be saying "it doesn't matter, the learner would suck anyway for starters"..
BTW. .Referring to my original commet above, Maybe I shoulda rephrased that.. After snooping on Digg a little more, I realize that the articles getting to the front page are much more diverse in nature than they originally were. That is a good thing.. That means that Digg is working properly.. And on second thought.. Eh, it's not a bad article.. I guess I just felt like bashing everything then...
- surKaz, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1FTA: "A skilled drummer can use HAGUS to "record" a specific set of beats for it to later teach to a beginner. When the novice uses HAGUS and tries to play the same beats, the device guides the drumstick using its motors."
- Tochi, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2"unless the skilled drummer recording doesn't consciously try not to flick his wrist"
- spyrochaete, on 03/11/2008, -1/+27EXTRA EXTRA
Man builds metronome slightly larger than usual!- zaduma, on 03/11/2008, -5/+2Dugg for truth.
- bzaks, on 03/11/2008, -5/+2Dugg for Truth.
- DiggyWiggy, on 03/11/2008, -2/+0I've been waiting for a good neo-analog drum machine...
- NathanMahdavi, on 03/11/2008, -0/+4wow, now i dont even need any skill to be good at anything. sweeeet.
- elhaf, on 03/11/2008, -4/+3Rock Band ftw.
- AndrewJC, on 03/11/2008, -3/+1You aren't kidding. I've got a little more training than the average Rock Band drummer does (I had a friend who was an excellent drummer give me some lessons ten years ago when I was in high school), so I was okay as far as technique, but I ALWAYS had a problem with staying on the beat. Rock Band has helped me SO MUCH for keeping the beat; as I get better at rhythms, I find myself sticking to the beat much better with less variation than I used to. I used to speed up and slow down when the beat got more complex, but now I find that even with pretty wild fills, I end up coming back to it on the beat.
- VonCali, on 03/11/2008, -0/+0This machine definitely has the potential to be used the wrong way... O.o
- PhilMoskowitz, on 03/11/2008, -0/+6Battery operated battery replacer. I'm a drummer and I don't see how this would help the student in the least. Anything that interferes with the freedom of the stick is unnatural and would likely end up creating more problems for the student than it solved through automation. You have to build muscles you don't normally use to begin with. There's no substitute for good instruction and practice in my opinion. Just another nifty gadget to look at on digg.
- chubbybubba, on 03/11/2008, -1/+2They need to make robotic legs for white people so they can keep rhythm when they dance.
(just kidding, I love white people.) - ostracize, on 03/11/2008, -1/+2I'm waiting for robotic gloves that move your hands and fingers for you. This would work for piano, guitar, drums, anything!
- ElAssoWipo, on 03/11/2008, -1/+3If you can't follow a beat, you will never be a drummer.
You don't need to be a drummer to follow a beat. You need to follow a beat to be a drummer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_deafness
But hey, if you insist, count. I knew a tone deaf bassist who would just count in his mind to follow beats. He sucked!- bj1989, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1I am more and more convinced you can learn nearly everything if you really want to. If you can't follow a beat you could learn to do it. Even though some people are born with it that doesn't mean you can't learn it. You may just need a bit more dedication.
- ElAssoWipo, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1If you have to learn it you are tone deaf. It's a beat. It's just a sequence in time, there's nothing to learn. It's like seeing colors. You do or you don't.
- bj1989, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Why can't you learn / train to hear sequences in time? Timing is essential in many skills (sports for example) and its trainable.
- ElAssoWipo, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Nope. It's basically a brain malfunction. A poorly studied one, but that's what it is. And coincidentally, tone deaf people tend to lack physical coordination too. Dancing is off limits completely.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/07121 ...
- ElAssoWipo, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1If you have to learn it you are tone deaf. It's a beat. It's just a sequence in time, there's nothing to learn. It's like seeing colors. You do or you don't.
- srdrums, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1Uh, if you're a good drummer, you don't follow the beat, you are the beat.
- badqat, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1That's kind of pompous, don't you think? More to a rhythm section than simply a drummer. And indeed, with MIDI and triggering, you can forgo a drummer if you're so inclined.
- srdrums, on 03/12/2008, -0/+1Well, you're quite right about not needing a drummer in this day and age. No argument there. But programming and triggering isn't necessarily drumming. It's programming and triggering.
I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about actually playing drums. There is a reason why drumming back in the day was called "timekeeping". The drummer kept the time.
And as for the rhythm section being more than a drummer ... well of course. But have you ever heard a bad rhythm section looking to each other for the beat? I taught high school jazz and the worst thing a bassist and a drummer could do was not know where the center of the pulse was coming from. Whenever they “shared” this responsibility, the same thing happened every single time ... the tempo would drag because the other person was looking to the other person for the tempo. This would then bleed over into the other instruments who couldn’t make up their minds who to listen to. Simple solution: listen to the goddamn drummer!
Yeah, maybe I'm a little pompous.
- srdrums, on 03/12/2008, -0/+1Well, you're quite right about not needing a drummer in this day and age. No argument there. But programming and triggering isn't necessarily drumming. It's programming and triggering.
- AndrewJC, on 03/12/2008, -0/+1I was taught back in jazz band that the BASSIST keeps the beat. The drummer makes the beat INTERESTING.
- badqat, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1That's kind of pompous, don't you think? More to a rhythm section than simply a drummer. And indeed, with MIDI and triggering, you can forgo a drummer if you're so inclined.
- bj1989, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1I am more and more convinced you can learn nearly everything if you really want to. If you can't follow a beat you could learn to do it. Even though some people are born with it that doesn't mean you can't learn it. You may just need a bit more dedication.
- Hillsfar, on 03/11/2008, -2/+1And the next game after Guitar Hero? Drum Hero. Hahahah!
- djixl, on 03/11/2008, -2/+3having played drums for 18 years now....this is just depressing...im a firm believer that you either have it or you don't...and if you need a robot then you're probably *****!
- adikt, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3vS3LGH5gs
- adikt, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AESFB93Bg7E
- almk, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1How about the fact that the grip and arm placement you have to contort yourself into to be in the brace is completely wrong? So what if 18% of honkeys can be taught simple rhythms. There's no way this thing would be useful for actually teaching someone how to play drums.
- Funkleft, on 03/11/2008, -0/+2Genuinely silly. Mechanizing musicians are the last thing we need. People need to accept that music doesn't need to be easy. Being difficult is possibly the entire charm.
- leerayIG88, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1mmmm drumstick. OH NOM NOM NOM
- Rikushix, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1"OH NOM NOM NOM?"
Think you missed the point there, bud.
- Rikushix, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1"OH NOM NOM NOM?"
- mhmdkhamis, on 06/07/2008, -0/+0Ok... I understand the Digg Algorithm has been updated so that it is more objective in front-paging submissions... But less than 50 diggs brought this on the front page.. Maybe different types of users (not so active, types of articles dugg etc...) digged it so that carries more weight... But still. The article is slightly above average IMO
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