CV Alexander Refsum Jensenius
Research output
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
|---|
| Published works | | My publications are primarily within the fields of musicology, music technology and music psychology, but also with some articles in biology, medicine, and linguistics. More specifically, I have contributed with: - a series of novel studies of peoples’ spontaneous movement to musical sound. This includes experiments on `air piano’ performance, free dance to music, and sound tracing to musical sound.
- novel research on music-related micromotion, which has received considerable attention also outside academia due to the organization of the annual Championship of Standstill as a data collection strategy.
- theoretical development of the concept of musical gesture. This includes clarifying its relation to motion and action and classifying different types of music-related body motion and their relationships to musical sound.
- development of music technology theory, which is underdeveloped compared to the amount of engineering and practice-based exploration. This has resulted in the monograph Sound Actions, the anthology A NIME Reader, and several papers with meta-perspectives on music technology.
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| Datasets | | I have been involved in open research practice since the beginning of my research career and have made many datasets available over the years. Recently, I have focused on building an extensive database with all my recordings of people standing still. This database supports various articles and allows others to explore human micromotion. |
| Software | | I have developed and shared numerous snippets of code in various programming languages. My most important software contribution can be found in the Musical Gestures Toolbox, a collection of video analysis and visualization tools available for Max, Matlab, and Python. |
| Methodologies | | Seeing the need for better methods and tools to study music-related body motion, I have developed several novel movement visualization techniques: motiongrams, motion history keyframe displays, and mocapgrams. These techniques have been implemented (open source) in different programming environments, such as Max, PureData, EyesWeb, Matlab, and Python. The motiongram technique has also been extended to a sound generation tool through sonomotiongrams, which have been used in music analysis, performance, and sonification of architecture. |
| Artistic results | | In my early career, I performed on piano and other keyboard instruments and composed pieces for dance and liturgical use. Then my attention turned to developing and performing with various types of new interfaces for musical expression. |
Research process
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
|---|
| Leadership and participation in research groups | | I have gained extensive leadership experience as lab director, head of department, and center director. This has given me insights into how the university operates at various levels and has equipped me with the skills to lead small and large research groups. It has been fascinating to understand the differences in operation between the humanities, social and natural sciences, medicine, and engineering. This has proven useful when developing interdisciplinary research projects. |
| Working across disciplines | - Cristin
- Google Scholar
- 2022-2025: UiO - AUTORHYTHM – the role of autophagy in healthy aging - PI - UiO:Life Science
- 2022-2025: UiO - Integrated technologies for tracking organoid morphogenesis - PI - UiO:Life Science
- 2019-2022: UiO - Artificial Biomimetic systems, the Niche of Islet Organoids - PI - UiO:Life Science
| I have worked cross-, multi-, and interdisciplinary throughout my research career. My core expertise is in music technology and psychology, which are both interdisciplinary. In addition, I have collaborated with researchers in the fine and performing arts, linguistics, philosophy, media studies, robotics, machine learning, physics, medicine, and physiotherapy and have published with them in various channels. |
| Editorial activity | ? | ? |
| Peer reviews | ? | ? |
| Building consortia | - 2018-2021: UiO - International Partnerships for RITMO (RITPART) - Manager - RCN INTPART
- 2018-2023: Aalborg Copenhagen - Nordic Sound and Music Computing network - PI/UiO Manager - Nordic Research Council
| ? |
| External funding | - 2021-2025: UiO - AMBIENT: Bodily Entrainment to Audiovisual Rhythms - Manager/PI - RCN FRIPRO
- 2017-2027: UiO - RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion - Deputy Director (2017-2022) / Director (2022-2027)- RCN CoE
- 2016-2021: UiO - Human Bodily Micromotion in Music Perception and Interaction - Manager/PI - RCN FRIPRO
| I have been fortunate to receive generous support for my research initiatives over the years. |
| Development of research infrastructure | - 2022-2031: UiO - fourMs Lab Upgrade - Manager - RCN Infrastructure
| In 2008 I started up the fourMs lab with Prof. Rolf Inge God?y, and we have developed this into a world-class facility with a range of state-of-the-art motion capture systems, including optical, infrared systems (Vicon, Qualisys, Optitrack) and inertial systems (Xsens, Delsys, AX3). My knowledge of methods and tools for studying music-related motion has been summarized in a book chapter, which is finding its way into curricula worldwide. |
Pedagogical competence
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
|---|
| Pedagogical training | | I found the formal university pedagogy training to be rewarding, particularly the parts on developing novel teaching strategies. I also completed an additional module on supervision, supported by a peer network throughout the university. |
| Planning, executing, evaluating, and developing lectures | | Throughout my academic career, I have worked to provide my students with research-led education and have experimented with a range of novel educational practices. |
| New teaching forms | ? | In 2015 we launched the free online course Music Moves, summarizing all our research to date in an accessible format. |
| Program development | ? | Establishing the novel master’s program Music, Communication & Technology, a joint initiative between UiO and NTNU, is also part of my wish to unite research and education. |
| Supervision and mentoring | | Most of my supervision has been at the Department of Musicology, UiO. I have also supervised students at other UiO departments (informatics, physics, psychology, media studies) and at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and NTNU. In recent years, I have also mentored multiple postdoctoral fellows and two MSCA fellows. |
| Teaching-based research | - 2017-2020: NTNU - Student active learning in two-campus organization - UiO Manager
| I have published several papers with students and one article based on my action-sound theory development of the course MUS2830. |
Impact and innovation
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
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| Innovation | | Some of my tools for analyzing music-related body motion have been implemented in CIMA, a tool to help diagnose infants with cerebral palsy developed by Lars Adde and colleagues at St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim. |
| Entrepreneurship | ? | This has led to the development of a series of new instruments for musical expression based on ideas from embodied cognition, including Cheapstick, Music Troll, a series of Music Balls, muscle instruments, and self-playing guitars. My research into micromotion has also resulted in a series of music/dance performances based on sonic micro-interaction, exploring the potential of unconscious/involuntary actions. |
| Citizen Science | | ? |
| Textbooks | | ? |
| Innovation in the public sector | ? | Together with Anne Danielsen, I was awarded UiO's innovation prize in 2018 based on our work on developing RITMO as an interdisciplinary centre at UiO. |
Leadership
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
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| Institutional leadership | | ? |
| Leadership in academic networks | 2011-2022: Chair of the NIME Steering Committee | ? |
| Leadership outside academia | ? | ? |
| Leadership in panels and committees | ? | ? |
Other experience
| Results and competencies | Documentary evidence | Reflection |
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| Outreach | Personal blog | I have been writing in my blog since the early 2000s. |
| Experience outside academia | ? | ? |
| Studies | ? | My interdisciplinary research approach is based on a varied background, including undergraduate studies in musicology, music performance, mathematics, physics, informatics, and French language. I have two master's degrees, one in music and one in applied informatics. This has led to my combination of theories and methods from the humanities, the natural and human sciences, practice-based technology development, and the performing arts. |
Published June 5, 2023 3:45 PM
- Last modified Dec. 27, 2025 9:31 AM