Fostering Embodied Sense of "Maai" in Musical Ensembles: An Interactive Media Approach for Cultivating Collaborative Timing and Spacing

Maai, the subtle and dynamic sense of timing, spacing, and relational awareness among performers, plays a fundamental role in achieving cohesive and expressive ensemble performance. However, it remains difficult to convey and cultivate through verbal guidance or traditional instructional methods alone. This study explores the potential of an interactive media system to support the embodied, experiential understanding of "maai" within a non-musical, low-pressure context. The system is designed to foster spatiotemporal coordination skills that are highly relevant to ensemble music-making. Specifically, participants are invited to synchronize their hand movements with an autonomous, dynamically moving figure projected onto the surface of warm water in a tank. The system responds to users’ actions in real time by adjusting the object's speed and color, prompting continuous engagement and adaptation. This interaction encourages users to attune to subtle variations in timing and spatial alignment, akin to the mutual responsiveness required in musical ensembles. An initial experiment was conducted with ten groups of string performers, involving video analysis, pre/post questionnaires, and interviews to assess changes in coordination and awareness. While further study is necessary to generalize the results, preliminary findings suggest that such embodied media systems may effectively support the development of shared musical timing and interaction, offering a promising new tool for ensemble performance training.