Abstract/Conceptual Overview

Breath, both physically and conceptually, is a fundamental element of all music. However, it is rarely engaged with as such in theoretical analysis, and, in performance, it is typically considered only in a supportive role. Prana[1] is a musical control device that engages the breath as the primary means of communication of musical ideas, enabling both performer and audience to reconnect with breath as the basis of the musical phrase.

Technically speaking, Prana is a custom-made shirt fit with stretch sensors that surround the performer’s entire upper torso. The performer manipulates her breath patterns to engage with the sounds that her breath triggers, shaping a composition through the subtlest of movements. Prana, therefore, is not an instrument in itself, but instead enables the direct use of the body--specifically the breath--as instrument.

While Prana has many potential applications[2], the interest in this context lies in part in the virtuosity of the breath. Typically, virtuosity in musical performance impresses and entertains the audience with seemingly impossible feats of speed, endurance and dexterity. Here, the virtuosity[3] is in the subtlety, the ability of the performer to sustain intense concentration and a slow control of the breath. To gain a true appreciation for the most basic element of the performance, therefore, the audience must be highly engaged. The reward for sustained attention is a more intimate connection between performer and audience, an intense awareness of the performer’s internal state of being--the ability to sense her focus and her energy through the observation of the nature of her breath--and a newfound appreciation of the body’s internal rhythms.

[1] Prana is Sanskrit for life-force or energy. In yoga, one hears of prana most often in the context of Pranayama, which is the practice of stretching, extending and of restraint and control of the breath. In this project, Prana refers to a breath sensor control device and its paired algorithms.

[2] In early experiments, a simplified version of the breath sensor was worn by dancers. In this context, breathing patterns are either unconscious, or are controlled only in a limited manner. While this application merits further research, with more sophisticated sensors, and a more detailed approach to analysis of incoming data, part of the desire to pursue the current approach is to create a more conscious and dynamic control of the sound.

[3] Virtuosity cannot be achieved in the space of time in which one prepares for a single performance, but rather over a lifetime of study and practice. As used here it refers to a performance ideal rather than reality. It is hoped, though, that as the performer practices, engaging over time with the sounds triggered by various qualities of breath, that she will gradually learn something not only about the digital instrument, but also about the unique nature of her own breath.






Initial test of breathing belt with dancer improvisation.


















The breathing belt.