ReTouche: Embodied Representations for Self-Directed Piano Learning
An embodied piano-learning system that projects guidance directly onto a player piano and studies how representation shapes agency and sustained practice.
Accepted at ACM CHI 2026
Overview
Keeping learners on the instrument, in the gesture, and inside the feedback loop.
- Projects situated, sensorimotor, and social representations directly onto the piano.
- Pairs embodied feedback with an AI-based adaptation pipeline from overhead tutorial videos.
- Triangulates evidence through comparative observation, longitudinal autoethnography, and an expert focus group.
System
ReTouche reframes self-directed piano learning by putting guidance back onto the instrument itself. Projected visuals, moving keys, and control tools work together so learners stay anchored in the embodied task.
The system’s value is not only informational. It changes where attention lives during practice.
Design evidence
The project studies how embodied representations can support agency, attention reorientation, and sustained engagement in learning.
The local assets show both qualitative and quantitative evidence across structured observation, focus groups, and longitudinal use.
Representation design
A major design contribution is the careful differentiation of representation types, and how each one supports a different learning move. The system does not simply show more information; it shapes how the learner interprets and acts on that information.
