1,288 research outputs found
Aspects of Order in Language and in Music : A Referential-Structural Research on Universals
This research and practice project studies the way in which some aspects of linguistic order are also found in musicâs order. Whereas some aspects of order and organisation are attributed to music because of their psychophysical integration, other aspects seem to be more related to the configuration of music in memory and experience (i.e. individual memory and memory-in-society processes). This fundamental condition is shared with speech and visual symbolizing. Since order in music is commonly referred and/or justified by verbal or visual language, several cases of analogy and metaphor are studied, in the context of music composition and analysis. This project also discusses the role of figuration and referentiality in some examples of geometry associated with musical ideas, in order to analyse how such mediums are intertwined with speech and musical constructions
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Artificial intelligence, education and music : the use of artificial intelligence to encourage and facilitate music composition by novices
The goal of the research described in this thesis is to find ways of using artificial intelligence to encourage and facilitate music composition by musical novices, particularly those without traditional musical skills. Two complementary approaches are presented.
We show how two recent cognitive theories of harmony can be used to design a new kind of direct manipulation tool for music, known as "Harmony Space", with the expressivity to allow novices to sketch, analyse, modify and compose harmonic sequences simply and clearly by moving two-dimensional patterns on a computer screen linker to a synthesizer. Harmony Space provides novices with a way of describing and controlling harmonic structures and relationships using a single, principled, uniform spatial metaphor at various musical levels; note level, interval level, chord level, harmonic succession level and key level. A prototype interface has been implemented to demonstrate the coherence and feasibility of the design. An investigation with a small number of subjects demonstrates that Harmony Space considerably reduces the prerequisites required for novices to learn about, sketch, analyse and experiment with harmony - activities that would normally be very difficult for them without considerable theoretical knowledge or instrumental skill.
The second part of the thesis presents work towards a knowledge-based tutoring system to help novices using the interface to compose chord sequences. It is argued that traditional, remedial intelligent tutoring systems approaches are inadequate for tutoring in domains that require open-ended thinking. The foundation of a new approach is developed based on the exploration and transformation of case studies described in terms of chunks, styles and plans. This approach draws on a characterisation of creativity due to Johnson-Laird (1988). Programs have been implemented to illustrate the feasibility of key parts of the new approach
A Model of the Tonal-Chromatic System and Its Application to Selected Works of Gustav Mahler
During the latter half of the twentieth century there was a marked shift in the way that many scholars approached analysis of late-nineteenth-century tonality. This shift in approach was motivated by the behavior and interaction of harmonic and melodic entities encountered in the music of the great composers of the nineteenth century, such as Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Wagner, and Strauss. The question arose: did the diatonic system remain at the heart of tonality during the late nineteenth century, orâas some proposeâdid a new chromatic-based tonality emerge? The acceptance of this new chromatic-based tonality is at the heart of this project. In order to address the acceptance of this premise, this dissertation brings together two disparate strands of research and posits a system termed the tonal-chromatic scale. First, the writings of Mitchell, Marra, and Proctor help define the need for and structure of a chromatic scale that implies tonal function; second, the mechanics of transformational theory, stemming from the work of Lewin underpins the methodology of the system. The recent work of Rings is an influential aspect of the methodology. Throughout past century, different analysts have used a myriad of methodologies to explore the complex musical language of Gustav Mahler. Mahlerâs work represents an important turning point in the evolution of tonal music. Specifically, his work contributed to the onset of and evolution toward the complete breakdown of tonality. The chromatic tendencies in Mahlerâs music make it an especially relevant candidate for analysis using this type of system. Even though his music exhibits an inordinate amount of chromaticism, the pillars of functional tonality are still operative. Three selected works of Gustav Mahler serve as the examples of the analytical usefulness of the proposed system: 1) the first movement of the Piano Quartet in A minor, which was composed as a student at the Vienna conservatory; 2) the fourth movement of Symphony no. 5, Adagietto; and 3) Kindertotenlieder, no. 2, âNun sehâ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen.
Algorithmic composition of music in real-time with soft constraints
Music has been the subject of formal approaches for a long time, ranging from Pythagorasâ elementary research on tonal systems to J. S. Bachâs elaborate formal composition techniques. Especially in the 20th century, much music was composed based on formal techniques: Algorithmic approaches for composing music were developed by composers like A. Schoenberg as well as in the scientific area. So far, a variety of mathematical techniques have been employed for composing music, e.g. probability models, artificial neural networks or constraint-based reasoning. In the recent time, interactive music systems have become popular: existing songs can be replayed with musical video games and original music can be interactively composed with easy-to-use applications running e.g. on mobile devices. However, applications which algorithmically generate music in real-time based on user interaction are mostly experimental and limited in either interactivity or musicality. There are many enjoyable applications but there are also many opportunities for improvements and novel approaches.
The goal of this work is to provide a general and systematic approach for specifying and implementing interactive music systems. We introduce an algebraic framework for interactively composing music in real-time with a reasoning-technique called âsoft constraintsâ: this technique allows modeling and solving a large range of problems and is suited particularly well for problems with soft and concurrent optimization goals. Our framework is based on well-known theories for music and soft constraints and allows specifying interactive music systems by declaratively defining âhow the music should soundâ with respect to both user interaction and musical rules. Based on this core framework, we introduce an approach for interactively generating music similar to existing melodic material. With this approach, musical rules can be defined by playing notes (instead of writing code) in order to make interactively generated melodies comply with a certain musical style. We introduce an implementation of the algebraic framework in .NET and present several concrete applications: âThe Planetsâ is an application controlled by a table-based tangible interface where music can be interactively composed by arranging planet constellations. âFluxusâ is an application geared towards musicians which allows training melodic material that can be used to define musical styles for applications geared towards non-musicians. Based on musical styles trained by the Fluxus sequencer, we introduce a general approach for transforming spatial movements to music and present two concrete applications: the first one is controlled by a touch display, the second one by a motion tracking system. At last, we investigate how interactive music systems can be used in the area of pervasive advertising in general and how our approach can be used to realize âinteractive advertising jinglesâ.Musik ist seit langem Gegenstand formaler Untersuchungen, von Phytagorasâ grundlegender Forschung zu tonalen Systemen bis hin zu J. S. Bachs aufwĂ€ndigen formalen Kompositionstechniken. Vor allem im 20. Jahrhundert wurde vielfach Musik nach formalen Methoden komponiert: Algorithmische AnsĂ€tze zur Komposition von Musik wurden sowohl von Komponisten wie A. Schoenberg als auch im wissenschaftlichem Bereich entwickelt. Bislang wurde eine Vielzahl von mathematischen Methoden zur Komposition von Musik verwendet, z.B. statistische Modelle, kĂŒnstliche neuronale Netze oder Constraint-Probleme. In der letzten Zeit sind interaktive Musiksysteme populĂ€r geworden: Bekannte Songs können mit Musikspielen nachgespielt werden, und mit einfach zu bedienenden Anwendungen kann man neue Musik interaktiv komponieren (z.B. auf mobilen GerĂ€ten). Allerdings sind die meisten Anwendungen, die basierend auf Benutzerinteraktion in Echtzeit algorithmisch Musik generieren, eher experimentell und in InteraktivitĂ€t oder MusikalitĂ€t limitiert. Es gibt viele unterhaltsame Anwendungen, aber ebenso viele Möglichkeiten fĂŒr Verbesserungen und neue AnsĂ€tze.
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, einen allgemeinen und systematischen Ansatz zur Spezifikation und Implementierung von interaktiven Musiksystemen zu entwickeln. Wir stellen ein algebraisches Framework zur interaktiven Komposition von Musik in Echtzeit vor welches auf sog. âSoft Constraintsâ basiert, einer Methode aus dem Bereich der kĂŒnstlichen Intelligenz. Mit dieser Methode ist es möglich, eine groĂe Anzahl von Problemen zu modellieren und zu lösen. Sie ist besonders gut geeignet fĂŒr Probleme mit unklaren und widersprĂŒchlichen Optimierungszielen. Unser Framework basiert auf gut erforschten Theorien zu Musik und Soft Constraints und ermöglicht es, interaktive Musiksysteme zu spezifizieren, indem man deklarativ angibt, âwie sich die Musik anhören sollâ in Bezug auf sowohl Benutzerinteraktion als auch musikalische Regeln. Basierend auf diesem Framework stellen wir einen neuen Ansatz vor, um interaktiv Musik zu generieren, die Ă€hnlich zu existierendem melodischen Material ist. Dieser Ansatz ermöglicht es, durch das Spielen von Noten (nicht durch das Schreiben von Programmcode) musikalische Regeln zu definieren, nach denen interaktiv generierte Melodien an einen bestimmten Musikstil angepasst werden. Wir prĂ€sentieren eine Implementierung des algebraischen Frameworks in .NET sowie mehrere konkrete Anwendungen: âThe Planetsâ ist eine Anwendung fĂŒr einen interaktiven Tisch mit der man Musik komponieren kann, indem man Planetenkonstellationen arrangiert. âFluxusâ ist eine Anwendung, die sich an Musiker richtet. Sie erlaubt es, melodisches Material zu trainieren, das wiederum als Musikstil in Anwendungen benutzt werden kann, die sich an Nicht-Musiker richten. Basierend auf diesen trainierten Musikstilen stellen wir einen generellen Ansatz vor, um rĂ€umliche Bewegungen in Musik umzusetzen und zwei konkrete Anwendungen basierend auf einem Touch-Display bzw. einem Motion-Tracking-System. AbschlieĂend untersuchen wir, wie interaktive Musiksysteme im Bereich âPervasive Advertisingâ eingesetzt werden können und wie unser Ansatz genutzt werden kann, um âinteraktive Werbejinglesâ zu realisieren
Towards hermeticist grammars of music : a proposal for systems of composition based on the principles of the hermetic tradition, with musical demonstrations
PhD Thesis, Multimedia items accompanying this thesis to be consulted at Robinson LibraryThis thesis is a composer's manual on how to select and appropriately use musical
materials in accordance with some of the parameters of the Hermetic Tradition.
It puts to the reader's consideration a few proposals for Hermeticist grammars of
musical composition. 'Grammar' here is used in the sense of a set of rules which
govern the construction of musical discourse. Musical grammars thus comprise rules
pertaining to the construction and selection of both 'lineal' musical materials such as
pitch rows, rhythms, motifs and timbres, as well as of simultaneous events such as
harmonic or contrapuntal textures.
The adjective 'Hermeticist', derived from the noun Hermeticism, refers to a form of
traditional Western urban, learned and humanist occultism. This occultism is distinct from folk, popular, or religious/devotional forms of magic, which also occur in the West as well as in other cultures and societies. It is also distinct from other Western occult movements that are either revivalist in their inspiration (such as Wicca or neopagan religions) or related to the 'pop culture' of the last quarter of the twentieth century, such as the movements of New Age and Chaos Magick. The first part of the thesis, the textual component, briefly examines the historical encounters between Hermeticism and music theory, very few of which have produced sounding pieces of music, while most of them have happened exclusively at the theoretical, philosophical or mystical-speculative levels.
In the second part, the portfolio of musical compositions, I demonstrate the
application of the proposed methods through pieces of music I have composed using
the historical, theoretical and technical background presented at length in part 1. I
further comment on these musical results through annotations and description of precompositional work, context research and composition processes used in each
individual piece
Radiohead's subterranean jazz structuralism: the music of Louis Armstrong, Alice Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus in ten compositions by Radiohead
The objective of this dissertation is to define the undocumented jazz lineage of Radiohead's musical evolution that has been overlooked in the current academic discourse. Drawing on ten examples from Radiohead albums OK Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac and The King of Limbs, I hope to show their jazz structural modeling in three episodes of experimentation, advanced interactions, and synthesis.
Across these three phases in its evolution, Radiohead's method remains constant in specific mirroring techniques of melody, harmony, form, texture, and lyrics. Inside the group's structural process, Radiohead composed two-part counterpoint melodies to their jazz models, adopted harmony with modal jazz progressions, designed parallel macro structures, duplicated textures, and responded directly to the lyrics of their jazz models. A side-by-side comparison of Radiohead compositions and their jazz models point to a detailed design guided by Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Alice Coltrane, and Charles Mingus. Above this transition through modeling, critics and journalists responded positively, as their reputation changed from being a "Nirvana-lite" grunge band to "Re-Inventors of rock," as described by Time Magazine in 2000.
Starting in 1996, Radiohead confused the industry by modeling Miles Davisâs Bitches Brew in their album OK Computer. After winning a Grammy award, their jazz inspired exodus continued deeper into jazz, and deeper into a new musical value system. This paper constructs a new profile of Radiohead's unidentified jazz emulations since 1996 by connecting comparative transcriptions, jazz references from interviews, and two new interviews conducted for this paper with Radiohead musicians from the albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). Without quoting jazz clichĂ©s or playing jazz fragments, Radiohead used a consistent practice of detailed imitation that I've coined as "jazz structuralism" to break out of their perceived limitations in the rock genre
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