Project overview

Piano Motion Lab explores how embodied musical activities and digital technology can help piano learners feel, observe, and understand their playing between and during lessons, while giving teachers new insight into students' practice.

Why it matters

Piano Motion Lab is a teaching and research project focused on piano learning, performance analysis, and instructional support. It approaches piano learning through sound, movement, embodied experience, and the practice process.

The project grew from a persistent challenge in piano teaching: teachers see students during limited lesson time, while much of the practice that shapes learning happens elsewhere. Students may sense that something is not working, yet struggle to tell whether the cause lies in pitch, rhythm, playing posture and coordination, or their understanding of musical structure and expression. Teachers, in turn, rarely see the full process between lessons.

How it works

Piano Motion Lab is exploring a learning-support framework that connects performance, observation, feedback, and renewed practice. It brings together performance audio and MIDI information, video-based movement observation, interactive activities involving the body and rhythm, and teachers' professional judgment to help students view their playing and practice from different angles.

The project looks beyond whether a performance is correct. It also considers how students use their bodies, organize movement, and experience rhythm and music, and how these factors interact in piano learning. By connecting different kinds of information, Piano Motion Lab aims to develop a more intuitive and trackable approach to supporting practice and teaching.

The teacher's role

Piano Motion Lab does not aim to replace teachers. It seeks to extend their understanding of students' learning beyond the lesson, offer more focused feedback for independent practice, and provide additional points of reference for follow-up teaching, communication with families, and long-term observation.

The project remains in development, testing, and teaching practice. Its continuing work spans piano performance analysis, coordination and rhythm learning, multimodal information, and digital approaches to piano education.