Pursuing Taiwanese-ness: the contemporary music practices of Taitung indigenous people

This research is an ethnography exploring the contemporary music practices of the indigenous people of Taitung, a southeastern county in Taiwan. Indigenous people make up a large proportion of the population of Taitung, and their music has in recent years been used in international and local events to potray a unique Taiwanese identity. I discuss how indigenous and other Taiwanese have collaborated to create this identity - the Taiwanese-ness - and how they have done so with tangled webs of concerns for authenticity, hybridisation and Otherness. I examine two opposite approaches in heredity and maintenance of the tradition: first, sticking to locality, and therefore passing down the tradition in a functional way; second, endorsing and appropriating transnational pop practices in order to garner commercial success. I argue that living experience - the familiarity to a musical culture which Mantle Hood (1982) considered the way that enabled ethnic groups to understand and evaluate their own musical traditions - is essential and irreplaceable. Hence, affiliation to a homeland, as depicted through notions of mountain and sea, becomes a key element in the self-identity of musicians as 'indigenous' (yuanzhumin in Mandarin, meaning 'original inhabitants'), and that the homeland, as the place of ancestors, allows indigenous groups to safeguard their traditions. However, indigenous Taiwanese are comfortable with and uphold a shared culture that was brought to the island by Han migrants, and this is evident in the influences of trans-cultural commercial and global Mandopop. Musicians tend to apply elements of their traditions such as indigenous languages, pentatonicism, ancient songs, specific rhythms and the incorporation of non-lexical vocables, wherever they can, using a bricolage approach. At the same time, musicians enrich the music culture, keeping tradition alive by adding to it in reciprocal ways elements from the outside, but also introducing the po­tential for cultural 'grey-out' as elements of traditional music are altered. Keywords: Taitung, indigenous people, music practices, mountain and sea, Taiwanese-ness

Proceedings of the 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference

Proceedings of the SMC2010 - 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference, July 21st - July 24th 2010

The Music Sound

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music

Audio source separation for music in low-latency and high-latency scenarios

Aquesta tesi proposa mètodes per tractar les limitacions de les tècniques existents de separació de fonts musicals en condicions de baixa i alta latència. En primer lloc, ens centrem en els mètodes amb un baix cost computacional i baixa latència. Proposem l'ús de la regularització de Tikhonov com a mètode de descomposició de l'espectre en el context de baixa latència. El comparem amb les tècniques existents en tasques d'estimació i seguiment dels tons, que són passos crucials en molts mètodes de separació. A continuació utilitzem i avaluem el mètode de descomposició de l'espectre en tasques de separació de veu cantada, baix i percussió. En segon lloc, proposem diversos mètodes d'alta latència que milloren la separació de la veu cantada, gràcies al modelatge de components específics, com la respiració i les consonants. Finalment, explorem l'ús de correlacions temporals i anotacions manuals per millorar la separació dels instruments de percussió i dels senyals musicals polifònics complexes.Esta tesis propone métodos para tratar las limitaciones de las técnicas existentes de separación de fuentes musicales en condiciones de baja y alta latencia. En primer lugar, nos centramos en los métodos con un bajo coste computacional y baja latencia. Proponemos el uso de la regularización de Tikhonov como método de descomposición del espectro en el contexto de baja latencia. Lo comparamos con las técnicas existentes en tareas de estimación y seguimiento de los tonos, que son pasos cruciales en muchos métodos de separación. A continuación utilizamos y evaluamos el método de descomposición del espectro en tareas de separación de voz cantada, bajo y percusión. En segundo lugar, proponemos varios métodos de alta latencia que mejoran la separación de la voz cantada, gracias al modelado de componentes que a menudo no se toman en cuenta, como la respiración y las consonantes. Finalmente, exploramos el uso de correlaciones temporales y anotaciones manuales para mejorar la separación de los instrumentos de percusión y señales musicales polifónicas complejas.This thesis proposes specific methods to address the limitations of current music source separation methods in low-latency and high-latency scenarios. First, we focus on methods with low computational cost and low latency. We propose the use of Tikhonov regularization as a method for spectrum decomposition in the low-latency context. We compare it to existing techniques in pitch estimation and tracking tasks, crucial steps in many separation methods. We then use the proposed spectrum decomposition method in low-latency separation tasks targeting singing voice, bass and drums. Second, we propose several high-latency methods that improve the separation of singing voice by modeling components that are often not accounted for, such as breathiness and consonants. Finally, we explore using temporal correlations and human annotations to enhance the separation of drums and complex polyphonic music signals

The Austin music scene in the 1970s : songs and songwriters

textIn the early 1970s a collection of singer-songwriters, musicians, and music business operatives captured the imagination of a national audience and launched Austin's reputation as a powerful and prolific international music scene. At the beginning of this seminal decade, the songs, the sounds, and the identities that took shape in Austin's music venues, studios, and back rooms gained traction in the national marketplace by cultivating a cross-cultural, cross-generational musical hybrid that came to be known as "progressive country." This dissertation tells the story of this music scene and explains why it's a story worth recounting in the course of American popular culture. The story begins by focusing on the meaning and utility of a music scene. To this end, I review a series of scholarly scene studies in an attempt to identify common currents of "sceneness" that I contrast with my findings as a participant observer in the Austin musical scene from 1967 to the present. The study then surveys the extant sources on Austin's music history, a commonly accepted history that I'm calling the "creation myth." This "myth" is expanded by introducing new voices, new interpretations, and new developments that have been under emphasized or overlooked in previous accounts. This analysis establishes the foundation for the unifying theme of this study, a theme based on the seminal significance, power, and durability of the song in the Austin music scene. The song was the driving force behind Austin's remarkable climate of musical creativity. The study then focuses on the local scene of the late 1960s as a precursor to the decade of the singer-songwriters. This was a highly productive era in Austin's creative history and although overshadowed by the popular splash of the 1970s, this period provided the underpinnings for music making in Austin for years to come. In the next section, the song is revisited by examining its history and its role in Western culture. Stated simply, songs are important—songs matter. They may mean different things to different people and play different roles in different societies, but they are an essential component of civilization. The discussion then expands from the efficacy of the popular song to the essence of their creators by examining the early professional careers of three prominent Austin-based songwriters—Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey and Jerry Jeff Walker. Weighing the differences in their respective styles and considering their commonalities help illuminate the process by which the song permeated the creative fabric of the period. The dissertation then explores the creative output of the Austin music scene by focusing on what I'm calling "cultural products." Certainly the songs of the era are prime examples of cultural products and are addressed throughout the dissertation. In this final segment however, I single out four examples of cultural products that are rooted in the 1970s that have either played a notable role in the historical current of Austin music or that continue to contribute to American popular culture in the 21st century.American Studie

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

Performing Local Identity in a Contemporary Urban Society: A Study of Ping-tan Narrative Vocal Tradition in Suzhou, China

China has many rich traditions of storytelling and story singing, which are deeply rooted oral traditions in their particular geographical areas, carrying the linguistic and cultural flavours of their localities. In Suzhou, the central city of the Yangtze Delta’s Wu area, the storytelling genre pinghua and the story singing genre tanci have become emblematic of regional identity. Since the 1950s, the two genres have been referred to under the hybrid generic name ‘Suzhou ping-tan’ after the city, or simply ping-tan in abbreviation. Nowadays typically comprising extended narratives performed over the course of half a month, ping-tan has maintained popularity up to the present day. Each afternoon, people go to the unique performance venue of the shuchang (‘story house’), which combines teahouse, performance venue and social centre, to enjoy solo or duet performances given by shuoshu xiansheng (‘storytellers’). The sung episodes are set to an accompaniment of sanxian banjo and – in duet performance – also pipa lute. In the context of face-to-face communication, establishing an empathetic bridge between storyteller and audience is of paramount importance, necessitating storytellers to polish and tailor their artistry efficiently in response to audience feedback. Following the development of radio broadcasting since the 1920s and television since the 1980s, ping-tan has also been widely delivered directly into people’s homes. Listening to and watching ping-tan has become a part of many local people’s daily habits. This thesis seeks to explain how Suzhou ping-tan has maintained its vitality in contemporary society. Various oral performance traditions have declined with the range of alternative types of entertainment that have bloomed in recent times, yet a great many Suzhou citizens still take for granted that ping-tan represents their local cultural identity. Drawing upon fieldwork conducted since 2011, this thesis explores the interconnectedness between the storyteller and audiences during and outside of performance. It analyses performer/audience ‘feed-back loop’ communication within a variety of fields of ping-tan activity, focusing in particular on the following areas: the role-playing and identity presentation of storytellers and audience members, the different types of ping-tan follower and their respective forms of involvement, the use of gesture in performance to communicate further layers of meaning, the nature of the mutually complementary relationship between words and music in ballad singing, and the effects of television and radio dissemination on ping-tan culture. This thesis identifies ‘feed-back loop’ interplay as being a key factor in ping-tan’s success, facilitating the multi-faceted involvement of all participants within a flexible and unpredictable shared experience

The Art of Movies

Movie is considered to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as — in metonymy — the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures (or just pictures or “picture”), the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks — and commonly movies