Violinist making music for the first time in 26 years

In 1988, violinist Rosemary Johnson was a rising star with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra. But a horrific car crash in that year left her in a coma for seven months, and the ability to speak and move was taken from her. Her music career was over.

However, thanks to incredible technology developed by a team from the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability and Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, Rosemary is now able to make music using her brainwaves.

A group of researchers and doctors have created a brain computer music interface (BCMI) that makes this possible. The BCMI is an EEG cap that monitors brain activity, and allows Ms. Johnson's brain to be connected to a computer. She can focus on different areas of a computer screen to select notes and phrases which are performed by live musicians. She can also change speed and volume through this interface.

It is the first time Ms. Johnson has been able to make music in decades, and it's been an incredibly moving experience for her and all involved with the project.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Professor Eduardo Miranda, Composer and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research at Plymouth University, said, "The first time we tried with Rosemary we were in tears. We could feel the joy coming from her at being able to make music. It was perfect because she can read music very well and make a very informed choice.

"The great achievement of this project is that it is possible to perform music without being able to actually move. She is essentially controlling another musician to play it for her. It's not yet possible to read thoughts but we can train people to use brain signals to control things."

This video below was produced by Professor Miranda, and explains how the BCMI technology works:

Gallery

Fullscreen SlideshowPrevious Slide

1 of 1

Next Slide