The Impact of User Expertise on Immersion and Usability in an Interactive VR Music Experience

Hedges J, Sazdov R, Johnston A. The Impact of User Expertise on Immersion and Usability in an Interactive VR Music Experience. In: AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 10329. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23291

@inproceedings{Hedges2026_23291,
  author = {Hedges, Jacob and Sazdov, Robert and Johnston, Andrew},
  title = {{The Impact of User Expertise on Immersion and Usability in an Interactive VR Music Experience}},
  booktitle = {AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games},
  note = {Paper 10329},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23291}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - The Impact of User Expertise on Immersion and Usability in an Interactive VR Music Experience
AU  - Hedges, Jacob
AU  - Sazdov, Robert
AU  - Johnston, Andrew
T2  - AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games
M1  - Paper 10329
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/30
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23291
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Designing interactive music systems in Virtual Reality (VR) requires balancing intuitive entry points with expressive depth, yet it remains unclear how domain-specific knowledge (Music Expertise) and medium-specific experience (VR Familiarity) distinctly shape the user experience within these environments. This paper investigates how user expertise impacts engagement with an interactive VR music experience. We conducted a mixed-methods study with 32 participants, categorized by these two factors, to systematically evaluate their influence on perceived usability, immersion, and interaction behavior. Results indicate that Music Expertise significantly enhanced perceived usability, whereas VR Familiarity had no significant effect. Perceived immersion was reported as universally high across all groups, regardless of background. Behavioral data revealed distinct engagement patterns: Experts and VR-familiar users focused more on 6DoF spatial mixing controls, while novices required significantly more time and physical exploration. These findings suggest that for creative VR tools, domain knowledge is a stronger predictor of usability than technical fluency. We discuss the success of a Low Floor, High Ceiling, and Wide Walls design and propose critical design implications for onboarding, interaction metaphors, and aligning user intent in embodied music systems.
ER  -