A peça musical como uma instância : ensaios acerca da análise musical assistida por computador

Orientadores: Jônatas Manzolli, Moreno AndreattaTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes e Université Pierre et Marie Curie (França)Resumo: A partir de uma interpretação musicológica do conceito científico de "modelagem e simulação", esta tese apresenta uma abordagem para a análise musical assistida por computador onde partituras são reconstruídas a partir de processos algorítmicos e então simuladas através do uso de diferentes valores paramétricos resultando na geração de variações chamadas "instâncias". Investigar uma obra musical empregando "modelagem e simulações" significa buscar a sua compreensão através da uma atividade "recomposição", aproximando assim perspectivas analíticas e criativas. Esta abordagem foi aplicada em três casos de estudo: uma técnica isolada, a "multiplicação de acordes" usada pelo compositor francês Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) que foi explorada através do prisma formado pelas teorias de H. Hanson, S. Heinemann e L. Koblyakov e sua respectiva implementação computacional; a peça "Spectral Canon for Conlon Nancarrow" (1974) escrita pelo compositor americano James Tenney (1934-2006) na qual a simulação computacional a partir de diferentes valores paramétricos é levada às últimas consequências quando um "espaço de instâncias" é criado e estratégias de visualização são esboçadas; e por último a peça Désordre (1985), o primeiro estudo para piano escrito pelo austro-húngaro György Ligeti (1923-2006) onde os conceitos de "tonalidade combinatória" e "decomposição de um número inteiro (duração) em dois primos" são usados para maximizar o potencial de gerar diferentes variações através do respectivo modelo computacionalAbstract: From a musicological interpretation of the scientific notion of "modeling and simulation", this thesis presents an approach for computer-aided analysis where musical scores are reconstructed from algorithmic processes and then simulated with different sets of parameters from which neighboring variants, called instances, are generated. Studying a musical piece by modelling and simulation means to understand the work by (re)composing it again, blurring boundaries between analytical and creative work. This approach is applied to three case studies: an isolated technique, Pierre Boulez¿ (1925¿2016) Chord Multiplication, which was explored through the prism formed by the theories of H. Hanson, S. Heinemann and L. Koblyakov and by its computational implementation; the piece Spectral Canon for Conlon Nancarrow (1974) by the American composer James Tenney (1934¿2006) to which the computa- tional simulation from different sets of parameters was taken to its ultimate consequences when a "space of instances" is created and strategies of visu- alization and exploration are devised; and finally D ?esordre (1985), the first piano ?etude written by Austro-Hungarian Gyo ?rgy Ligeti (1923¿2006) in which the concepts of "combinatorial tonality" and "decomposition of a number (duration) into two prime numbers" were used to maximize the potential that a model has to produce different variations of the original pieceDoutoradoMúsica, Teoria, Criação e PráticaDoutor em Música2014/08525-8FAPES

Xenakis

Xenakis: His Life in Music is a full-length study of the influential contemporary composer Iannis Xenakis. Following the trajectory of Xenakis’s compositional development, James Harley, who studied with Xenakis, presents the works together with clear explanations of the technical and conceptual innovations that shaped them. Harley examines the relationship between the composer and two early influences: Messiaen and Le Corbusier. Particular attention is paid to analyzing works which were vital to the composer’s creative development, from early, unpublished works to the breakthrough pieces Metastasis and Pithoprakta, through the oft-discussed decade of formalization and the evolving styles of the succeeding three decades

Musical Forces in Claude Vivier’s Wo bist du Licht! and Trois airs pour un opéra imaginaire

Claude Vivier’s (1947–1983) idiosyncratic and moving composition style often evades traditional, pitch-centred approaches to music-theoretical analysis; however, the somatic and sensual qualities of his style encourage a metaphorical appreciation of his music. This study analyses Wo bist du Licht! (1981) and the first two airs from Trois airs pour un opéra imaginaire (1982), which both feature his technique sinusoïdale, from the perspective of conceptual metaphor and musical forces. At the centre of this study are the dominant conceptual metaphors that linguist George Lakoff and philosopher Mark Johnson identify as being integral to our understanding of time, and which music theorist Arnie Cox demonstrates also underlie our concept of motion and change in music. My approach builds on Steve Larson’s theory of musical forces, which qualifies the musical motion metaphor by invoking musical analogues to gravity, magnetism, and inertia. These, Larson demonstrates, operate in a predictable way in tonal music. The post-tonal context of Vivier’s music requires modification of Larson’s approach. To this end, I incorporate concepts borrowed from Robert Hatten and Matthew BaileyShea. From Hatten, I borrow the notion of a musical agent, and analogues to friction and momentum, only I qualify musical momentum as a combined perception of musical mass (manifested as register, density, and texture) and velocity (manifested as tempo). From BaileyShea, I borrow the concept of water and wind as non-sentient, unpredictable environmental forces. The wave and wind metaphors are particularly adept at conveying the changes in texture and intensity that the technique sinusoïdale affords. Because they complement force metaphors, I also include energy and other embodied, non-motion metaphors (e.g., kinetic/potential energy, pressure, timbre). Although not forces-based, timbre metaphors have corporeal connotations that are helpful in converying the changing mental states suggested in the second air of Trois airs. These metaphors rely on our intuitive understanding of motion and embodied experience to convey musical change. They enable us to discuss more phenomenological, abstract musical attributes by drawing on a familiar vocabulary rooted in sensorimotor experience. This approach resonates particularly well with the sensual nature of Vivier’s music

Modality and Chromaticism in the Madrigals of Don Carlo Gesualdo

Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, (1566–1613) is celebrated for his idiosyncratic use of chromaticism. Yet, the harmony of Gesualdo's madrigals evades modal rules and his chromatic style has perplexed analysts. This thesis reappraises the modal and chromatic features in his madrigals and expands on their significance by employing pitch-class set theory analysis to enhance a more traditional modal approach. Whilst analysis of the music through modal features and pitch-class set theory may appear to use contradictory analytical methods, the two can complement each other through the recognition of certain interval patterns regarded as significant by cinquecento music theorists. Ultimately, this analytical technique provides a language with which to articulate the modal and chromatic processes occurring in his music. In order to consolidate the results of the analyses, elements of compositional process are delineated and explored in the dissection of the madrigal '"Io parto" e non più dissi.

The complex use of tonal consonance in music: microscopic and macroscopic rules in harmony and melody

Abstract: This thesis contributes to the understanding of the connection between the tonal consonance phenomenon and the rules associated to the construction of musical pieces. It begins from the tonal consonance properties of sounds and ends with the emergence of macroscopic phenomena. The systems studied are: the marimba de chonta music, melodic lines of Western music, and secco recitatives of operas. At the microscopic level, we show how tonal consonance connects the timbre of marimba de chonta with traditional tunings and musical practices. At this level, we also extended the traditional concept of interval size, and we used chords as the unit of analysis for the harmony of secco recitatives. On the macroscopic level, we found that the new representation of intervals, together with an entropy extremalization principle, is suitable for approximately reproducing the selection of intervals in melodic lines. Besides, a conserved macroscopic quantity emerges, which is empirically related to the mean dissonance of a melodic line, hence connecting psychoacoustics with complexity.Esta tesis contribuye al entendimiento de la conección entre el fenómeno de la consonan-cia tonal y las reglas asociadas a la construcción de piezas musicales. Ésta comienza desde las propiedades de consonancia de los sonidos y termina con la emergencia de fenómenos macroscópicos. Los sistemas estudiados son: música de marimba de chonta, líneas melódicas de música occidental, y recitativos seccos de óperas. En el nivel microscópico, mostramos cómo la consonancia tonal conecta el timbre de la marimba de chonta con las afinaciones y prácticas musicales tradicionales. En éste nivel, también extendemos el concepto tradi-cional de tamaño interválico, y usamos acordes como unidad de análisis para la armonía de recitativos seccos. En el nivel macroscópico, encontramos que la nueva representación de intervalos, junto con un principio de extremalización de la entropía, es apropiada para reproducir aproximadamente la selección de intervalos en líneas melódicas. Además, una cantidad macroscópica conservada emerge, la cual está empíricamente relacionada con la disonancia promedio de una línea melódica, por tanto conectando psicoacústica con complejidad.Doctorad

Structure-Property Relationships in Sea Urchin Spines and Implications for Technical Materials

Sea urchin spines have been studied for numerous reasons including their crystallographic and chemical composition, their aesthetic appearance and their enigmatic growth at ambient conditions. Depending on the species, sea urchins use their spines for protection against predators, for burial in the substrate, for locomotion and for withstanding wave energy by wedging into reef cervices. Hence, sea urchin spines are in most cases optimized for bearing load. This study deals with the mechanical properties of the unique spines of Heterocentrotus mamillatus, a large Indo-Pacific Echinoid. They consist as all skeletal elements of Echinoids of Mg-calcite arranged in a porous meshwork (stereom) with very little organic material incorporated (<0.5 wt%). By the overall porosity of 0.6-0.7 their density is similar to sea water and the large and thick spines are not a burden to carry. These properties make the spines of H. mamillatus a promising biomimetic role model for high performance, intelligently structured, lightweight ceramics. Since biological role models are usually a lot smaller than the technical application they inspire, the question of how properties change with an increase in size, is intimately linked to biomimetic research. In contrast to man-made materials, biological materials gain much of their mechanical performance from the elaborate structuring on many hierarchical levels. Therefore, the relation between structure and property was analysed in depth before addressing the question of scaling. Mechanical properties were tested with uniaxial compression, 3-point bending and resonance frequency damping analysis. The structure was visualized by optical microscopy, secondary scanning microscopy and computer tomography. X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and dilatometry gave insight into the crystallography and chemical composition. For scaling analyses theories of Weibull and Bažant were applied. The spines generally derive their high strength, high stiffness and exceptional damage tolerance from their construction out of >107 struts/cm3. The µm sized struts can be bent elastically, demonstrating that they are practically free of surface flaws. The struts are separated by pores which restrict crack growth and keep damage localised. The porous meshwork is covered irregularly by dense layers, the “growth layers” marking earlier growth stages. They provide the spines with additional stiffness and strength. Spines with many growth layers have a significantly higher strength and stiffness. The strength of the spines seems not to decrease significantly with increasing size, contradicting scaling theories. To test this unexpected finding, compression tests on samples with and without growth layers were conducted. A novel micro-compression test, the pin indentation was also applied. Despite the uncertainties induced by natural heterogeneities, it seems that spines of H. mamillatus counteract the size effect by adding more and denser growth layers to larger (older) spines. By this they work against the decrease in strength with increasing size. This hypothesis was confirmed by segments lacking growth layers that show a size effect

Music Encoding Conference Proceedings 2021, 19–22 July, 2021 University of Alicante (Spain): Onsite & Online

Este documento incluye los artículos y pósters presentados en el Music Encoding Conference 2021 realizado en Alicante entre el 19 y el 22 de julio de 2022.Funded by project Multiscore, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Sparse machine learning methods with applications in multivariate signal processing

This thesis details theoretical and empirical work that draws from two main subject areas: Machine Learning (ML) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP). A unified general framework is given for the application of sparse machine learning methods to multivariate signal processing. In particular, methods that enforce sparsity will be employed for reasons of computational efficiency, regularisation, and compressibility. The methods presented can be seen as modular building blocks that can be applied to a variety of applications. Application specific prior knowledge can be used in various ways, resulting in a flexible and powerful set of tools. The motivation for the methods is to be able to learn and generalise from a set of multivariate signals. In addition to testing on benchmark datasets, a series of empirical evaluations on real world datasets were carried out. These included: the classification of musical genre from polyphonic audio files; a study of how the sampling rate in a digital radar can be reduced through the use of Compressed Sensing (CS); analysis of human perception of different modulations of musical key from Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings; classification of genre of musical pieces to which a listener is attending from Magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain recordings. These applications demonstrate the efficacy of the framework and highlight interesting directions of future research

Ihmiskehonjatkesoittimet. Instruments extending the body in sonic performance: creation and development of three tangible string instruments for performative sound art

Ihmiskehonjatkesoittimet is an artistic research on tangible instruments extending the human body. The starting point is to research if the intertwined relationship between a musician and a musical instrument could be emphasized by creating instruments that physically extend the body. The author’s own experiences as a musician lead to discussion about the ergonomics of instruments, which is introduced in the theoretical framework of the thesis. As a context and inspiration for this thesis, instruments and artworks by other artists are being presented. The research is based on reflection of the author during the process of designing and build-ing the instruments, and practising and performing with them. Extensive documentation material of the process has been used as a tool for recalling the process and to illustrate the process for the reader. Two main goals were set for the project by the author: (1) to build durable and innovative instruments that physically can be seen as body extensions and (2) to develop as a performing musician by viewing the new instruments from the perspective of performance art. The results of the thesis support these set goals. Each of the instruments has a different approach to them both from the viewpoint of building and strategies of playing – the instruments provide a diverse view on the topic. The instruments are durable, but some different choices in the design would have made the instruments more practical and ergonomic. The amplification of the instruments as well as the design of the sound manipulation makes the instruments sonically versatile. The concept of extending and freeing the body while playing is felt by the performer, and the documentation material suggests that performing with the instruments create interesting visual images of the musician-instrument relationship while creating new sonic ideas and playing techniques. Performing with these instruments has broadened the author’s skills on planning a performance and being a performer – how to make the gestures on stage more meaningful and how to seek contact with the audience as a performer. The thesis aims to give inspiration and knowledge to artists and instrument builders with the emphasis on embodiment and criticism on unergonomic music making. It sends a message that instrument building can be regarded as innovative art and meaningful tool for musicians to develop as performers.Ihmiskehonjatkesoittimet on taiteellinen tutkimus ihmiskehoa jatkavista soittimista. Tutkimuksen lähtökohtana on tutkia, että voiko soittajan ja soittimen välistä yhteenpunoutunutta suhdetta korostaa kehoa jatkavien soitinten avulla. Kirjoittajan omat kokemukset muusikkona taustoittavat tutkimuksessa esiteltyjä teoreettisia pohdintoja soittamisen ergonomiasta. Tämän lisäksi teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä kontekstualisoidaan tutkimusta tutustumalla muihin soittimiin ja taideteoksiin, jotka ovat inspiroineet maisterityötä. Tutkimus perustuu kirjoittajan pohdintaan liittyen soittimien suunnitteluun ja rakentamiseen sekä niiden kanssa harjoitteluun ja esiintymiseen. Tutkimuksen aikana kerättyä laajaa dokumentaatioaineistoa on käytetty työkaluna prosessin muistiin palauttamisessa sekä projektin kuvaamisessa lukijalle. Tutkimukselle asetettiin kaksi tavoitetta: (1) fyysisesti kehoa jatkavien soittimien rakentaminen kestäviksi ja kekseliäiksi, ja (2) esiintymistaitojen kehittäminen tarkastelemalla soittimia performanssitaiteen näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tulokset tukevat asetettuja tavoitteita. Jokainen soitin on rakennettu eri näkökulmasta ja niitä soitetaan eri tavoin – soittimet tarjoavat laajan näkökannan tutkimusaiheesta. Soittimet ovat kestäviä, mutta muuttamalla muutaman yksityiskohdan soitinten suunnittelussa soittimet voisivat olla käytännöllisempiä ja ergonomisempia. Soittimien äänen vahvistaminen ja äänen muokkaaminen tekevät soittimista soinnillisesti monipuolisia. Ajatus kehon jatkamisesta ja kehon vapautumisesta toteutuu soittaessa esiintyjän näkökulmasta ja dokumentaatiomateriaalien perusteella soittaminen muodostaa mielenkiintoisia visuaalisia kuvia soittajan ja soittimen välisestä suhteesta luoden samalla uusia äänellisiä ideoita ja soittotekniikoita. Soitinten kanssa esiintyminen on laajentanut kirjoittajan taitoja suunnitella performansseja sekä kartuttanut tietotaitoa siitä, että miten lavalla tehtävistä eleistä voi tehdä merkityksellisimpiä, ja miten etsiä kontaktia yleisöön. Tutkimus pyrkii inspiroimaan ja antamaan tietoa taiteilijoille ja soitinrakentajille näkökulmasta, joka korostaa soittamisen kehollisuutta ja on samalla kriittinen epäergonomisuutta kohtaan. Projekti pyrkii lähettämään viestin – soitinten rakentaminen voidaan nähdä innovatiivisena taiteena ja merkittävänä työkaluna muusikoille esiintymistaitojen kehittämiseen