Linking Music Metadata.

PhDThe internet has facilitated music metadata production and distribution on an unprecedented scale. A contributing factor of this data deluge is a change in the authorship of this data from the expert few to the untrained crowd. The resulting unordered flood of imperfect annotations provides challenges and opportunities in identifying accurate metadata and linking it to the music audio in order to provide a richer listening experience. We advocate novel adaptations of Dynamic Programming for music metadata synchronisation, ranking and comparison. This thesis introduces Windowed Time Warping, Greedy, Constrained On-Line Time Warping for synchronisation and the Concurrence Factor for automatically ranking metadata. We begin by examining the availability of various music metadata on the web. We then review Dynamic Programming methods for aligning and comparing two source sequences whilst presenting novel, specialised adaptations for efficient, realtime synchronisation of music and metadata that make improvements in speed and accuracy over existing algorithms. The Concurrence Factor, which measures the degree in which an annotation of a song agrees with its peers, is proposed in order to utilise the wisdom of the crowds to establish a ranking system. This attribute uses a combination of the standard Dynamic Programming methods Levenshtein Edit Distance, Dynamic Time Warping, and Longest Common Subsequence to compare annotations. We present a synchronisation application for applying the aforementioned methods as well as a tablature-parsing application for mining and analysing guitar tablatures from the web. We evaluate the Concurrence Factor as a ranking system on a largescale collection of guitar tablatures and lyrics to show a correlation with accuracy that is superior to existing methods currently used in internet search engines, which are based on popularity and human ratingsEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Travel grant from the Royal Engineering Society

BabelBox: un système dédié aux partitions distribuées sur Raspberry Pi, avec INScore, SmartVox et Babelscores

International audienceThe slow but steady shift away from printed text into digital media has not yet modified the working habits of chamber music practitioners. If most instrumentalists still heavily rely on printed scores, audiences increasingly access notated music online, with printed scores synced to an audio recording on youtube for instance. This paper proposes to guide the listener and/or the performer with a cursor scrolling on the page with INScore, in order to examine the consequences of representing time in this way as opposed to traditional bars and beats notation. In addition to its score following interest for pedagogy and analysis, the networking possibilities of today's ubiquitous technologies reveal interesting potentials for works in which the presence of a conductor is required for synchronization between performers and/or with fixed media (film or tape). A Raspberry Pi-embedded prototype for animated/distributed notation is presented here as a score player (such as the Decibel ScorePlayer, or SmartVox), in order to send and synchronize mp4 scores to any browser capable device connected to the same WIFI network. The corpus will concern pieces edited at BabelScores, an online library for contemporary classical music. The BabelScores pdf works, composed in standard engraving softwares, will be animated using INScore and video editors, in order to find strategies for animation or dynamic display of the unfolding of time, originally represented statically on the page.L'abandon lent mais certain du texte imprimé au profit des médias numériques n'a pas encore modifié les habitudes de travail des instrumentistes en musique de chambre. Si la plupart s'appuie encore fortement sur les partitions imprimées, le public a de plus en plus accès aux partitions en ligne, synchronisées sur un enregistrement audio sur youtube par exemple. Cet article propose de guider l'auditeur et/ou l'interprète à l'aide d'un curseur défilant sur la page (avec INScore), afin d'examiner ce qu'implique de représenter le temps de cette manière, par opposition à la notation traditionnelle des mesures rythmiques du solfège. Outre son intérêt pour la pédagogie et l'analyse, les possibilités de mise en réseau des technologies omniprésentes d'aujourd'hui révèlent des potentiels intéressants pour des œuvres dans lesquelles la présence d'un chef d'orchestre est requise pour la synchronisation entre interprètes et/ou avec des supports fixes (film ou bande). Un prototype pour la notation animée/distribuée intégré sur Raspberry Pi est présenté ici comme lecteur de partition (tel que le Decibel ScorePlayer ou SmartVox), afin d’envoyer et de synchroniser les partitions mp4 à n’importe quel appareil compatible avec un navigateur connecté au même réseau WIFI. Le corpus concernera des pièces éditées sur BabelScores, une bibliothèque en ligne de musique classique contemporaine. Les œuvres pdf de BabelScores, composées de logiciels de gravure standard, seront animées à l'aide d'éditeurs INScore et vidéo, afin de trouver des stratégies d'animation ou d'affichage dynamique du déroulement du temps, initialement représentées de manière statique sur la page

Audio-scores, a resource for composition and computer-aided performance

This submission investigates computer-aided performances in which musicians receive auditory information via earphones. The interaction between audio-scores (musical material sent through earpieces to performers) and visual input (musical notation) changes the traditional relationship between composer, conductor, performer and listener. Audio-scores intend to complement and transform the printed score. They enhance the accuracy of execution of difficult rhythmic or pitch relationships, increase the specificity of instructions given to the performer (for example, in the domain of timbre), and may elicit original and spontaneous responses from the performer in real-time. The present research is inspired by, and positions itself within traditional European notational practices. Through a reflection on the nature and function of notation in a variety of repertoires, this study examines how my own compositional research – and its reliance on audio-scores— relates to and differs from the models considered. Following the realisation of pieces investigating complex rhythms and the use of recorded samples as borrowed/found material, results have proven to be highly effective with a group of vocalists, with works in which audio-scores facilitated the precise realisation of microtonal material. Audio-scores also proved particularly useful in sitespecific ‘immersive’ concerts/installations. In these settings, audio-scores mitigate challenges associated with placing musicians at an unusual distances from one another, e.g. around the audience. This submission constitutes an original contribution to knowledge in the field of computer-aided performance in that it demonstrates how musical notation and current ubiquitous audio technologies may be used in tandem in the conception and performance of new works. Recent findings include a Web application currently being developed at IRCAM. The application is based on a local server and allows the synchronous delivery of audio/screen-scores via the browser of the performers’ smartphones, tablets, or computers. Keywords: audio-score, click track, composition, computeraided performance, earpiece, microtonality, music, notation, performance, screen-score, server, voice

Playing the Field: An Australian Case Study of Student Popular Musicians’ Informal Learning in Senior Secondary Classroom Music Education

This thesis explores the field of classroom music education in order to foreground the learning experiences of student popular musicians. The Australian, New South Wales (NSW) context is well able to contribute to the global discussion that is underway in popular music education, as senior secondary curriculum here acknowledges the inclusion of students with “informal learning” backgrounds. Over the past decade, research globally has sought to qualify the nature of informal learning, and develop classroom pedagogies relevant to the study of popular music. Utilising these as a starting point, this thesis examines the relationship between these students’ informal learning and the dynamics of the formal classroom. Research was undertaken on three levels: historical, through an investigation of curriculum documents, reforms and matriculation trends; empirical, through a classroom research project exploring a range of informal and formal tasks; and theoretical, via an overarching explanatory tool known as Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). The research revealed that NSW curricular pathways and classroom pedagogies employed result in the maintenance of a ‘code’ distinction: cultivating traditional knowledge and skills for WAM, but not providing adequate knowledge-building opportunities for student popular musicians. Considering the range of cross-genre music-making evident in the study, and the delineation of a spectrum of knowledge and skills spanning code distinctions, findings highlight the need for a re-evaluation of NSW curriculum and pedagogy, with implications beyond the specificities of the case. A recognition and theorisation of the relationship between different forms of musical knowledge across the informal-formal range is believed to be key to providing both socially relevant, and epistemically challenging classroom music education inclusive of all students in the future

Proceedings of the 19th Sound and Music Computing Conference

Proceedings of the 19th Sound and Music Computing Conference - June 5-12, 2022 - Saint-Étienne (France). https://smc22.grame.f

Evaluating Embodiment in Musical Instrument Modification and Augmentation

This PhD seeks to identify key aspects that optimise the learning process of new musical interfaces by professional musicians. Modifying or extending an existing musical instrument can impact players' skills. Fluency of execution or pitch accuracy can deteriorate due to demands on the performer's attention from the unfamiliarity of the instrument. As a result, players may require additional training on a modified instrument before they regain their fluency. The problem is that performers, especially professional players who have already invested many years in the unmodified musical instrument, might prefer to start from a high level. Thus, designing a new instrument that builds upon existing skills can be appealing. However, which design strategies might support such a goal? Which aspects of the original design should be preserved? How can we assess whether the resulting modified instrument allows the performer to retain their skills? This research presents four studies that tackle these questions. Results from the first two studies suggest that the design strategy should focus on participants’ sensorimotor imagery rather than the instrument's auditory feedback. During these studies, participants were still able to retain their fluency and pitch accuracy even in the presence of disrupting or irrelevant auditory feedback. Two additional studies propose quantitative methods to evaluate skill retention in instrument modification. This research can advise designers on whether they are on the right track in crafting an interface that builds upon existing skills. This challenge may apply to augmented instruments, the modification of existing musical instruments, or new digital instruments