When Mickey Hart isn’t out on the road with Dead & Company, he can generally be found collaborating with Neuroscience researchers at institutions like the University of California San Francisco, studying the ways that music – particularly rhythm – influences cognitive development. In doing so, Hart collaborated with Dr. Adam Gazzaley’s Neuroscape lab to develop RHYTHMICITY, a mobile game that is designed to improve rhythmic coordination. With help from Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation as well, RHYTHMICITY is just one of the many fascinating projects to come from Hart’s dedication to Neuroscience.
Rhythm is a core aspect of how our brain functions at the highest of levels, from perception to attention to memory. This includes not just the rhythmic fluctuations of neural activity observable in every brain area, but also the very mechanism by which brain areas communicate with each other, now appreciated to involve long-distance synchronization of rhythms across the brain. Rhythmicity is a mobile cognitive training platform designed to teach rhythm with the goal of improving cognitive function more broadly.
Inspired by a collaboration with Mickey Hart, percussionist from the Grateful Dead, immersive graphics and adaptive gameplay keep participants engaged in tapping rhythms on a touch screen tablet or drum kit to the music of Thievery Corporation, Rob Garza and Mickey Hart. Rhythmicity challenges various forms of synchronization and increases in speed and complexity as the player progresses.
Though the game isn’t yet publicly available, technologies like these are critical for pushing the boundaries of potential music learning. Keep up the good work, Mr. Hart!
