A mechatronic system for the visualisation and analysis of orchestral conducting

This paper quantitatively analysed orchestral conducting patterns, and detected variations as a result of extraneous body movement during conducting, in the first experiment of its kind. A novel live conducting system featuring data capture, processing, and analysis was developed. Reliable data of an expert conductor’s movements was collected, processed, and used to calculate average trajectories for different conducting techniques with various extraneous body movements; variations between extraneous body movement techniques and controlled technique were definitively determined in a novel quantitative analysis. A portable and affordable mechatronic system was created to capture and process live baton tip data, and was found to be accurate through calibration against a reliable reference. Experimental conducting field data was captured through the mechatronic system, and analysed against previously calculated average trajectories; the extraneous movement used during the field data capture was successfully identified by the system

Toward an understanding of musical gesture : mapping expressive intention with the digital baton

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-136).Teresa Anne Marrin.M.S

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Music conducting pedagogy and technology : a document analysis on best practices

This document analysis was designed to investigate pedagogical practices of music conducting teachers in conjunction with research of technologists on the use of various technologies as teaching tools. I sought to discern how conducting teachers and pedagogues are applying recent technological advancements into their teaching strategies. I also sought to understand what paths research is taking about the use of software, hardware, and computer systems applied to the teaching of music conducting technique. This dissertation was guided by four main research questions: (1) How has technology been used to aid in the teaching of conducting? (2) What is the role of technology in the context of conducting pedagogy? (3) Given that conducting is a performative act, how can it be developed through technological means? (4) What technological possibilities exist in the teaching of music conducting technique? Data were collected through music conducting syllabi, conducting textbooks, and research articles. Documents were selected through purposive sampling procedures. Analysis of documents through the constant comparative approach identified emerging themes and differences across the three types of documents. Based on a synthesis of information, I discussed implications for conducting pedagogy and made suggestions for conducting educators.Includes bibliographical references

Towards a multimodal repository of expressive movement qualities in dance

In this paper, we present a new multimodal repository for the analysis of expressive movement qualities in dance. First, we discuss guidelines and methodology that we applied to create this repository. Next, the technical setup of recordings and the platform for capturing the synchronized audio-visual, physiological, and motion capture data are presented. The initial content of the repository consists of about 90 minutes of short dance performances movement sequences, and improvisations performed by four dancers, displaying three expressive qualities: Fluidity, Impulsivity, and Rigidity

Conductor Follower: Controlling sample-based synthesis with expressive gestural input

Vuosien mittaan on kehitetty useita järjestelmiä, jotka seuraavat kapellimestarin liikkeitä, ja soittavat musiikkia keräämänsä tiedon perusteella. Koska orkesterinjohto on pohjimmiltaan kommunikaatiota kapellimestarin ja muusikkojen välillä - sisältäen muutakin kuin eleiden kautta kommunikointia - on selvää, että ongelman täydellinen hallinta on hyvin monimutkaista. Tietokonepeliteollisuuden viimeaikaisen kehityksen myötä kuluttajatason liikesensoreita on helposti saatavilla, ja niille on helppo kehittää ohjelmistoja. Siksi ne ovat hyvin varteenotettava vaihtoehto kapellimestariseuraajan syötteen tuottamiseksi. Tässä tutkimuksessa suunniteltiin ja toteutettiin kyseisenlaista liikesensoria, sekä korkealaatuista sample -pohjaista syntetisaattoria käyttävä kapellimestariseuraaja. Nämä komponentit antavat hyvän perustan luonnolliselle käyttäjäkokemukselle, eikä niitä ole aikaisemmin käytetty vastaavanlaisissa sovelluksissa. Työn tulos on VST-liitännäinen, joka käyttää MIDI-tiedostoja syötteenään. Oikeilla asetuksilla liitännäistä on mahdollista käyttää lähes minkä tahansa samplepohjaisen syntetisaattorin kanssa. Järjestelmän toimintaa arvioitiin ammattikapellimestarin avustuksella, ja vaikka järjestelmän ekspressiiviset ominaisuudet ovat jokseenkin rajoittuneet, sopivilla asetuksilla sen temponseuraamisominaisuuksien todettiin muistuttavan oikeaa orkesteria.Over the years, several systems that follow conductor movement and play back a score accordingly have been implemented. Since conducting is essentially communication between the conductor and the musicians - including more than only gestural communication - it is clear that the problem is very complex to master completely. Recent developments in the computer gaming industry have made consumer grade motion sensing devices commonly available and easy to use in software development, making such a device an intriguing choice for using as the input of a conductor follower system. A system using such a device together with a high quality sample based synthesis engine was designed and implemented. These building blocks provide a solid foundation for a natural user experience, and have not been previously used in a similar way. The result is a VST plugin which uses MIDI scores as input, and may be configured to work with any sample based synthesis engine supporting patch switching via keyswitch events. The system was evaluated by a professional conductor, and while the expressive features of the system are somewhat limited, the tempo following functionality was concluded to resemble a real orchestra when adjusted correctly

A quest for the holy grail: Tactile precision, natural movement and haptic feedback in 3D virtual spaces

Three-dimensional immersive spaces such as those provided by virtual worlds, give unparalleled opportunities for learners to practically engage with simulated authentic settings that may be too expensive or too dangerous to experience in the real world. The potential afforded by these environments is severely constrained by the use of a keyboard and mouse moving in two dimensions. While most technologies have evolved rapidly in the early 21st century, the mouse and keyboard as standard navigation and interaction tools have not. However, talented teams from a range of disciplines are on serious quests to address this limitation. Their Holy Grail is to develop ways to interact with 3D immersive spaces using more natural human movements with haptic feedback. Applications would include the training of surgeons and musical conductors, training elite sports people and even physical rehabilitation. This paper reports on the cutting-edge technology projects that look most likely to provide a solution for this complex problem, including the Wiimote and the Microsoft's Project Natal. © 2009 Helen Farley and Caroline Steel

Music Technology and Alternate Controllers for Clients with Complex Needs

ABSTRACT: Music technology can provide unique opportunities to allow access to music-making for clients with complex needs. While there is a growing trend of research in this area, technology has been shown to face a variety of issues leading to underuse in this context. This literature review is a collation of information from peer-reviewed publications, gray literature, and practice. Focusing on active music-making using new types of alternate controllers, this re- view aims to bring together information regarding the types of tech- nology available, categorizes music technology and its use within the music therapy setting for clients with complex needs, catalogues work occurring within the eld, and explores the issues and poten- tials surrounding music technology and its use in practice

Gestural musical interfaces using real time machine learning

Master of ScienceDepartment of Computer ScienceWilliam H. HsuWe present gestural music instruments and interfaces that aid musicians and audio engineers to express themselves efficiently. While we have mastered building a wide variety of physical instruments, the quest for virtual instruments and sound synthesis is on the rise. Virtual instruments are essentially software that enable musicians to interact with a sound module in the computer. Since the invention of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), devices and interfaces to interact with sound modules like keyboards, drum machines, joysticks, mixing and mastering systems have been flooding the music industry. Research in the past decade gone one step further in interacting through simple musical gestures to create, shape and arrange music in real time. Machine learning is a powerful tool that can be smartly used to teach simple gestures to the interface. The ability to teach innovative gestures and shape the way a sound module behaves unleashes the untapped creativity of an artist. Timed music and multimedia programs such as Max/MSP/Jitter along with machine learning techniques open gateways to embodied musical experiences without physical touch. This master's report presents my research, observations and how this interdisciplinary field of research could be used to study wider neuroscience problems like embodied music cognition and human-computer interactions