One of my more unusual gigs, giving a Barbican Science on Screen presentation on Tuesday, 7 May 2019 about my research on abnormal heartbeats and rhythms given how musicians mark and shape time just before the screening of Whiplash (15). The series is curated by London Mathematical Laboratory Fellow Dr. Rosemary Harris.
Whiplash (15) + presentation by Professor Elaine Chew
Science on Screen
A promising young drummer enrols at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing in pursuit of perfection.
At an elite New York music conservatory, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons, in his Oscar®-winning role), an instructor known for his terrifying teaching methods, discovers Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), an ambitious young jazz drummer, and transfers him into the top jazz ensemble. As Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, his ruthless teacher pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.
Rhythm pervades our everyday experience, from the beating of the heart to the cadence of human speech, from synapses firing in the brain to natural sleep-wake cycles. Through music making, we play with rhythms, shaping and transforming them. Professor Elaine Chew will discuss how we use computers to understand how musicians mark and shape time, and how these methods allow us to study rhythms in abnormal heartbeats.
Photo by Sonia Zadurian. Barbican Cinema 2, 7 May 2019.