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The Groove Pizza

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Book cover New Directions in Music and Human-Computer Interaction

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Cultural Computing ((SSCC))

Abstract

The Groove Pizza is a widely used web application that enables users to program drum patterns on a circular grid. This visualization scheme supports playful rhythm exploration using mathematical concepts like shapes, angles, and patterns. Symmetries and patterns in the visual domain correspond to those in the aural domain and vice versa, giving novice musicians multiple paths into an understanding of rhythm. We discuss the musical and pedagogical design of the Groove Pizza. We then present a variety of real-world drum patterns and discuss how a circular visualization scheme illuminates their structure and functioning.

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Acknowledgements

The conceptual groundwork for the Groove Pizza originated in an NYU master’s thesis (Hein 2013). Adam November built early web and physical prototypes for his NYU undergraduate thesis. Under the leadership of Dr. Alex Ruthmann, the NYU Steinhardt Music Experience Design Lab developed and tested the Groove Pizza in its current form and launched it in 2015 as part of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz’s MathScienceMusic initiative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Music Experience Design Lab, New York University, New York, USA

    Ethan Hein

  2. Vimeo Inc, 555 West 18 St, New York, USA

    Sumanth Srinivasan

Authors
  1. Ethan Hein
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  2. Sumanth Srinivasan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ethan Hein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Music Computing Lab, Centre for Research in Computing, Walton Hall, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

    Simon Holland

  2. Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Tom Mudd

  3. Music Computing Lab, Centre for Research in Computing, Walton Hall, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

    Katie Wilkie-McKenna

  4. Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Andrew McPherson

  5. Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Marcelo M. Wanderley

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Hein, E., Srinivasan, S. (2019). The Groove Pizza. In: Holland, S., Mudd, T., Wilkie-McKenna, K., McPherson, A., Wanderley, M. (eds) New Directions in Music and Human-Computer Interaction. Springer Series on Cultural Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92069-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92069-6_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92068-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92069-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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