Virtual Conductor for String Quartet Practice

This paper presents a system that emulates an ensemble conductor for string quartets. This application has been developed as a support tool for individual and group practice, so that users of any age range can use it to further hone their skills, both for regular musicians and students alike. The virtual conductor designed can offer similar indications to those given by a real ensemble conductor to potential users regarding beat times, dynamics, etc. The application developed allows the user to rehearse his/her performance without the need of having an actual conductor present, and also gives access to additional tools to further support the learning/practice process, such as a tuner or a melody evaluator. The system developed also allows for both solo practice and group practice. A set of tests were conducted to check the usefulness of the application as a practice support tool. A group of musicians from the Chamber Orchestra of Malaga including an ensemble conductor tested the system, and reported to have found it a very useful tool within an educational environment and that it helps to address the lack of this kind of educational tools in a self-learning environment.This work has been funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government under Project No. TIN2010-21089-C03- 02 and Project No. IPT-2011-0885-430000 and by the Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio under Project No. TSI-090100-2011-25

Low-cost step aerobics system with virtual aerobics trainer

In this paper a low-cost step-aerobics instructor simulation system is presented. The proposed system analyses a given song to iden- tify its rhythmic pattern. Subsequently, this rhythmic pattern is used in order to issue a set of steps-aerobics commands to the user, thus simu- lating a training session. The system uses a Wii Balance Board to track exercises performed by users and runs on an Android smartphone. A set of tests were conducted to assess user experience and opinion on the system developed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The Guitar Voice Of Randy Rhoads

Randy Rhoads was an influential rock guitarist whose synthesis of musical influences had an impact on heavy metal. He developed a classically influenced guitar style that inspired new developments in the guitar’s virtuosic technique and harmonic and melodic language. The sound of heavy metal can be traced directly to his guitar style. Yet no definitive studies have been conducted on his guitar voice, synthesis of musical influences, or contribution to heavy metal music. This thesis is the first study to define the musical influences that make up Rhoads’s innovative guitar voice and playing style. It examines his early childhood, formal training, and influences, honing his skills in Quiet Riot, mastering his skills on Blizzard of Ozz, and mastering his skills on Diary of a Madman. It provides a look at his guitar voice through his adaptation, synthesis, and implementation of musical influences by conducting a detailed musical analysis of the formal, harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic aspects of the songs on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. The examination of his guitar voice and playing style is provided by the following materials: CDs, DVDs, books, scholarly journals, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, and transcriptions of songs on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that Rhoads’s guitar voice and playing style are classically influenced and a synthesis of different musical styles. It advocates that his playing style pushed the hard rock music envelope create a new approach to guitar playing that led to a more refined version of the music. It suggests that Rhoads’s musical approach and mindset in the 1980s: classical-style virtuosity, harmony and melody, and acoustic guitar was important to the development of the heavy metal sound, therefore placing him in the historical annals of popular music

A Design Framework for Engaging Collective Interaction Applications for Mobile Devices

The main objective of this research is to define the conceptual and technological key factors of engaging collective interaction applications for mobile devices. To answer the problem, a throwaway prototyping software development method is utilized to study design issues. Furthermore, a conceptual framework is constructed in accordance with design science activities. This fundamentally exploratory research is a combination of literature review, design and implementation of mobile device based prototypes, as well as empirical humancomputer interaction studies, which were conducted during the period 2008 - 2012. All the applications described in this thesis were developed mainly for research purposes in order to ensure that attention could be focused on the problem statement. The thesis presents the design process of the novel Engaging Collective Interaction (ECI) framework that can be used to design engaging collective interaction applications for mobile devices e.g. for public events and co-creational spaces such as sport events, schools or exhibitions. The building and evaluating phases of design science combine the existing knowledge and the results of the throwaway prototyping approach. Thus, the framework was constructed from the key factors identified of six developed and piloted prototypes. Finally, the framework was used to design and implement a collective sound sensing application in a classroom setting. The evaluation results indicated that the framework offered knowledge to develop a purposeful application. Furthermore, the evolutionary and iterative framework building process combined together with the throwaway prototyping process can be presented as an unseen Dual Process Prototyping (DPP) model. Therefore it is claimed that: 1) ECI can be used to design engaging collective interaction applications for mobile devices. 2) DPP is an appropriate method to build a framework or a model. This research indicates that the key factors of the presented framework are: collaborative control, gamification, playfulness, active spectatorship, continuous sensing, and collective experience. Further, the results supported the assumption that when the focus is more on activity rather than technology, it has a positive impact on the engagement. As a conclusion, this research has shown that a framework for engaging collective interaction applications for mobile devices can be designed (ECI) and it can be utilized to build an appropriate application. In addition, the framework design process can be presented as a novel model (DPP). The framework does not provide a step-by-step guide for designing applications, but it helps to refine the design of successful ones. The overall benefit of the framework is that developers can pay attention to the factors of engaging application at an early stage of design

\u3ci\u3eSoundboard Scholar\u3c/i\u3e no. 7 (Complete)

This PDF is a compilation of all articles from Soundboard Scholar no. 7, provided for convenience. Please visit https://digitalcommons.du.edu/sbs/vol7/iss1/ for individual PDFs, which should be used for citation. This PDF was updated on March 4, 2022 to include Robert Ferguson\u27s obituary of Thomas Heck

Columbia Chronicle (11/16/2009)

Student newspaper from November 16, 2009 entitled The Columbia Chronicle. This issue is 40 pages and is listed as Volume 45, Number 11. Cover story: What I like about Columbia is... Editor-in-Chief: Bethany Reinharthttps://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cadc_chronicle/1770/thumbnail.jp

I Belong to the Band: The Music of Reverend Gary Davis

“I Belong to the Band” is the first extensive analytical examination of the music of guitarist/singer Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972), whose vast repertoire and instrumental virtuosity made him a favorite performer and teacher during the folk and blues revival. Discussed in detail are his songs and aspects of musical technique as well as larger issues such as appropriation in traditional song, the interplay of sacred and secular content and style in African American song, the role(s) of blindness in musical culture, and contrastive and associative symmetries in blues performances. To better glean Davis’s music and the world in which he lived, numerous methodologies were called on including the use of musicological, structuralist, and Jungian interpretative models, textual linguistics in my examination of visual and violent imagery and inference in Davis’s songs, and contextual and biographical analysis. This dissertation also contains the most complete and accurate discography of Davis to date, plus analysis and classification of songs and performances through a number of data-driven as well as hermeneutic approaches including key choice, sacred or secular content, stanzaic structures, and lyric tropes. In the process, I have debunked certain well-established generalizations about Davis, pointing out the extent to which he cultivated a secular repertoire later in his life despite frequent claims by writers that he did not, and I have shown the overreaching influence blindness had on his music and his life. At the same time, this examination of a “folk” figure suggests avenues of research beyond typical folkloric and biographic models, notably through a kind of musicological rigor rarely applied to the performances of such artists. Much can still be culled from this rich swath of musical history simply by revisiting the songs themselves with a more pointed, analytical pen. Ultimately, “I Belong to the Band” demonstrates how one traditional musician forged a highly personalized style from layers of “belonging” and foundation building, from his rural Carolina and African American regional and cultural roots to the rootless solidarity of the Piedmont blues scene to his Christian faith and its expression through gospel music and finally to the “discipleship” he engendered in others who continue to perform his music

U2's creative process: sketching in sound

The music of Irish rock band, U2, evinces a compositional process developed by musicians of exceptional inexperience who underwent an equally exceptional insular development, to become one of the most critically acclaimed rock bands of all time. This dissertation uses a variety of resources-principally demos of mature songs from U2's seventh studio album, Achtung Baby (1991), recordings of early performances surrounding the recording of their debut album, Boy (1980), and video documentary sources chronicling the recording of songs from The Unforgettable Fire (1984) and The Joshua Tree (1987)-as a comparative basis for an assessment of U2's signature musical style, their aesthetic of song, and their use of the recording studio in the realization and development of that aesthetic. U2 arose from the post-punk milieu of the late 1970s, that took its lead from the slightly older punks, (the Sex Pistols and the Clash), to forge a style distinct from mainstream pop. The members of U2 had widely divergent musical tastes and abilities (some bordering on no ability at all) which compelled them to begin writing their own music from the outset, typically through interminable rehearsal-a form of live sketching. This musical naiveté was expressed through highly idiomatic instrumental ensemble styles and aesthetics of song. Their conception of song form was broad, accommodating standard forms, but also unusual binary forms where ostensibly standard verse/chorus songs mutated into substantially new or modified material around a song's midpoint, with no, or limited, return of earlier material. They freely combined discrete realizations of simple harmonic patterns, in essence combining multiple versions of basic material within a single song, often as sections which conventionally should contrast one another. These early acquired habits served them well as their musical sophistication grew. The initial live sketching process, the products of which were committed to vinyl with Steve Lillywhite producing, gradually moved more into the recording studio which became, under the direction of producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2's primary creative venue, and the situs for their multiple stylistic reinventio

Exploration in robotic musical instrument design

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-173).This thesis presents several works involving robotic musical instruments. Robots have long been used in industry for performing repetitive tasks, or jobs requiring superhuman strength. However, more recently robots have found a niche as musical instruments. The works presented here attempt to address the musicality of these instruments, their use in various settings, and the relationship of a robotic instrument to its human player in terms of mapping and translating gesture to sound. The primary project, The Chandelier, addresses both hardware and software issues, and builds directly from experience with two other works, The Marshall Field's Flower Show and Jeux Deux. The Marshall Field's Flower Show is an installation for several novel musical instruments and controllers. Presented here is a controller and mapping system for a Yamaha Disklavier player piano that allows for real-time manipulation of musical variations on famous compositions. The work is presented in the context of the exhibit, but also discussed in terms of its underlying software and technology. Jeux Deux is a concerto for hyperpiano, orchestra, and live computer graphics.(cont.) The software and mapping schema for this piece are presented in this thesis as a novel method for live interaction, in which a human player duets with a computer controlled player piano. Results are presented in the context of live performance. The Chandelier is the culmination of these past works, and presents a full-scale prototype of a new robotic instrument. This instrument explores design methodology, interaction, and the relationship-and disconnect-of a human player controlling a robotic instrument. The design of hardware and software, and some mapping schema are discussed and analyzed in terms of playability, musicality, and use in public installation and individual performance. Finally, a proof-of-concept laser harp is presented as a low-cost alternative musical controller. This controller is easily constructed from off-the-shelf parts. It is analyzed in terms of its sensing abilities and playability.Michael A. Fabio.S.M