Playing Technique Recognition by Joint Time–Frequency Scattering

Playing techniques are important expressive elements in music signals. In this paper, we propose a recognition system based on the joint time–frequency scattering transform (jTFST) for pitch evolution-based playing techniques (PETs), a group of playing techniques with monotonic pitch changes over time. The jTFST represents spectro-temporal patterns in the time–frequency domain, capturing discriminative information of PETs. As a case study, we analyse three commonly used PETs of the Chinese bamboo flute: acciacatura, portamento, and glissando, and encode their characteristics using the jTFST. To verify the proposed approach, we create a new dataset, the CBF-petsDB, containing PETs played in isolation as well as in the context of whole pieces performed and annotated by professional players. Feeding the jTFST to a machine learning classifier, we obtain F-measures of 71% for acciacatura, 59% for portamento, and 83% for glissando detection, and provide explanatory visualisations of scattering coefficients for each technique

Mental Discipline and Musical Meaning

Musical meaning, or what a musical experience communicates to a listener, is predicated on a shared habitus of listening between the musical creator (i.e., composer, performer, or improviser) and the listener. The meaning a listener takes away from a musical experience is partly dependent on the vessel transmitting it (i.e., who is performing, the quality of performance, or the visual aspects of performance), and a musical creator\u27s actions are the result of his or her training, past experiences, enculturation, attentional focus, and bodily control in the heightened mental state in which creativity occurs. Even in traditions that consider the musician to be a conduit for inspiration from an otherworldly source, the musician must still undergo training in order to allow for a free, uninhibited flow of music. Music practitioners\u27 evaluative statements, in which they describe the ways in which a musical experience was meaningful for them, often implicitly include an expectation of this mental discipline on the part of the musical creator. A practitioner-listener uses the appearance of both the music and the musician, the expectation of a musical logic governing the musical sounds, and the emotions or feelings of transport that he or she experiences to infer a musical creator\u27s mental state and mental discipline, relying on his or her own musical experiences as a guideline. Most broadly, this dissertation is an ethnomusicological study of the cultural and social contexts, cognitive dimensions, and aesthetic judgments found in 18th-century German flute pedagogical treatises and published writings from shakuhachi players. More specifically, it is an axiological examination of the role habitus plays in the forming of aesthetic judgments among practitioners whose writings include an implicit expectation of mental discipline in a good musical experience, drawing upon the work of Jean-Jacques Nattiez and Kendall Walton, in particular. This dissertation offers a description of the kinds of mental states in which creativity occurs, includes a theory of musicking as the bringing forth of one\u27s inner self or core consciousness, and demonstrates ways in which practitioners suggest that another musician\u27s inner self (i.e., mental discipline and mental state) can be discerned in a musical experience. Flute treatises by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) and Johann Georg Tromlitz (1725-1805) raise broad issues of aesthetics in terms of the ways in which serious music of the 18th century aspired to capture ideals of nobility, the ways in which musical judgment was used a means of assessing a listener\u27s social status, the ways in which mental control in musical execution and composition were defined, and the ways in which a musician\u27s mental discipline can produce a transcendent musical experience. The issues raised in these treatises resonate with concerns equally touched upon by contemporary music philosophers (Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Christian Gottfried Körner, Johann Mattheson, and Johann Georg Sulzer) and also perpetuate aesthetic concerns from the Renaissance. The writings of shakuhachi players Hisamatsu Fūyō (1791-1871), Watazumi (1910-92), Andreas Fuyu Gutzwiller (b. 1940), Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (b. 1951), John Singer (b. 1956), Ralph Samuelson, and Gunnar Jinmei Linder present a range of concerns that define the modern shakuhachi habitus. Their statements which allude to discernible aspects of mental discipline in their own playing and in the playing of others are driven by four major concerns: the primacy of the performance as the meaningful act of musicking, a player\u27s membership in social groups (ryūha), the shakuhachi\u27s traditional role as a tool for spiritual meditation, and practitioners\u27 multiple senses of history. In this dissertation, the issue of mental discipline is examined in shakuhachi playing with regard to a player\u27s inner mental experience, the execution of gestures that result in musical sound, and the experience of achieving enlightenment (suizen)

Teaching and learning within the cross-cultural transmission of West-African music in Australian community settings

This study aimed to uncover the strategies being used to teach West-African music in cross-cultural, community settings in Australia. It examined the motivations that govern the decisions to teach and learn traditional West-African music, as well as the influence of the philosophies and practices of West-African and Western music education on current pedagogy and music outcomes. The research design was that of an ethnographic multi-case study. Motivational issues included desire for entertainment, cultural experience, and improvement of skills. The musical skills and knowledge that teachers and learners wish to produce were categorised into immediate objectives of technique and rhythm, and long-term goals of stamina, self-direction, and deeper understanding of time and style. Emphasis on either long-term or short-term goals was found to affect strategies of teaching and learning. Changes to the learning environment were observed as having a major influence on traditional teaching methods, which are culturally incongruent with the pace of living and expectations of efficiency in Sydney. Adaptations to deal with these changes have resulted in supplementary verbal explanations, with atomistic analysis of rhythms. Additional learning tools used by experienced students included notation and recording devices. Concerns regarding the depth and authenticity of musical understanding as well as efficiency of learning are discussed

Teaching and learning within the cross-cultural transmission of West-African music in Australian community settings

This study aimed to uncover the strategies being used to teach West-African music in cross-cultural, community settings in Australia. It examined the motivations that govern the decisions to teach and learn traditional West-African music, as well as the influence of the philosophies and practices of West-African and Western music education on current pedagogy and music outcomes. The research design was that of an ethnographic multi-case study. Motivational issues included desire for entertainment, cultural experience, and improvement of skills. The musical skills and knowledge that teachers and learners wish to produce were categorised into immediate objectives of technique and rhythm, and long-term goals of stamina, self-direction, and deeper understanding of time and style. Emphasis on either long-term or short-term goals was found to affect strategies of teaching and learning. Changes to the learning environment were observed as having a major influence on traditional teaching methods, which are culturally incongruent with the pace of living and expectations of efficiency in Sydney. Adaptations to deal with these changes have resulted in supplementary verbal explanations, with atomistic analysis of rhythms. Additional learning tools used by experienced students included notation and recording devices. Concerns regarding the depth and authenticity of musical understanding as well as efficiency of learning are discussed

Reimagining the Flute Masterclass: Case Studies Exploring Artistry, Authority, and Embodiment

This work explores the flute masterclass as an aesthetic, ritualized, and historically reimagined cultural practice. Based on fieldwork that took place between 2017 and 2019 in the United States, in Italy, and on the social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, I argue that the masterclass—an extension of the master/apprentice system that dominates learning in the classical music tradition—is characterized by embodied qualities of artistry and authority. These qualities are not inherent, but are perceived through subjective, social, familied, and affective bodies. Chapter One outlines the main themes and the research design. Chapter Two is a case study that analyzes the concept of charismatic authority in relation to an established flutist, his former teacher, and the influence of the French School of flute playing. Chapter Three discusses the role of sociality in professionalization and the search for artistry in a ten-day masterclass. Chapter Four, a case study of masterclasses at the National Flute Association Annual Convention, explores how flutists perform identity within the “imagined flute community” through gestural excess and modes of conduct. Chapter Five investigates flute masterclasses on the social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube and the impact of online media on artistry, authority, and embodiment. Keeping in mind Latour’s actor-network theory, the “post-internet,” and the centralized web, I consider the reshaping and disruptive effects of social media on the traditional flute masterclass. I conclude that in order to continue as a relevant site for aesthetic experience and meaning-making, the flute masterclass must fashion a disciplined authority that respects the identity and selfhood of the student performer

Exploring the piano accompanist in western duo music ensembles : towards a conceptual framework of professional piano accompaniment practice

This thesis explores the phenomenon of the piano accompanist in Western art duo chamber ensembles, specifically the solo–accompaniment medium. Following a critical examination of relevant literature by practitioners and researchers where changing socio-cultural attitudes towards accompanists are discussed along with related issues about accompaniment and ensemble playing more broadly, two empirical studies are reported. These enquiries aim to investigate the expectations of contemporary professional soloists and pianists about accompanists as well as to explore the skills and roles exhibited by pianists working in the solo–accompaniment duo context, which have yet to be systematically evaluated. Both studies adopt qualitative methodology with interpretative phenomenological analysis, the first comprising interviews with twenty professional musicians, the second involving case study observation of rehearsals and performances using video recalls with three accompanists and three soloists working in different combinations. The data provided insight into the range of musical and other expectations articulated by professional musicians about piano accompanists as well as the nature of the skills and roles involved in achieving ensemble, interpreting soloists’ intentions, dealing with unexpected incidents, achieving balance and communicating with soloists. A novel conceptual framework about accompaniment practice is constructed based upon the data from the two studies as well as the relevant literature which articulates musico-functional and socio-emotional aspects of accompaniment practice

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion