Matthias Heyne – Language and Music

Today I want to highlight the work of my former PhD student and always-colleague, Matthias Heyne.  Matthias is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Boston University (more specifically, the Speech Neuroscience Laboratory, PI Prof. Frank Guenther).

Matthias has done amazing research into the relationship between native language and trombone play style. To quote him, Matthias’ “research explores the relationship of referential and non-referential forms of communication, such as language and (instrumental) music, respectively.”

Matthias and I have published an overview of visualization research in how people play brass instruments.  In addition, Matthias and I helped improve the way we analyze tongue contour shapes, and most recently, Matthias Heyne, Xuan Wang, myself, Kieran Dorreen, and Kevin Watson published an article demonstrating that /r/ production in non-rhotic New Zealand English follows many of the patterns found in the rhotic North American English.

Over the next year you can expect many more publications from Matthias, demonstrating the relationship between both acoustics and articulation of Tongan and English vowels and tongue position in steady-state trombone notes.  Expect research into diffusion MRI to follow as Matthias will be adding brain imagery research to his repertoire.

Matthias is an excellent new researcher, and I expect great things from him throughout a long career.  I am very proud to have had him as a PhD student, and to continue working and publishing with him.

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