Towards a multi-layer architecture for multi-modal rendering of expressive actions

International audienceExpressive content has multiple facets that can be conveyed by music, gesture, actions. Different application scenarios can require different metaphors for expressiveness control. In order to meet the requirements for flexible representation, we propose a multi-layer architecture structured into three main levels of abstraction. At the top (user level) there is a semantic description, which is adapted to specific user requirements and conceptualization. At the other end are low-level features that describe parameters strictly related to the rendering model. In between these two extremes, we propose an intermediate layer that provides a description shared by the various high-level representations on one side, and that can be instantiated to the various low-level rendering models on the other side. In order to provide a common representation of different expressive semantics and different modalities, we propose a physically-inspired description specifically suited for expressive actions

An investigation of the impact of ensemble interrelationship on performances of improvised music through practice research

In this thesis I present my investigation into the ways in which the creative and social relationships I have developed with long-term collaborators alter or affect the musical decisions I make in my performances of Improvised Music. The aim of the investigation has been to deepen the understanding of my musical and relational processes as a trombonist through the examination of my artistic practice, which is formed by experiences in range of genres such as Jazz and contemporary music, with a current specialty in Improvised Music performance. By creating an interpretative framework from the theoretical and analytical processes used in music therapy practice, I have introduced a tangible set of concepts that can interpret my Improvised Music performance processes and establish objective perspectives of subjective musical experiences. Chapter one is concerned with recent debates in Improvised Music and music therapy. Particular reference is made to literature that considers interplay between performers. Chapter two focuses on my individual artistic practice and examines the influence of five trombone players from Jazz and Improvised Music performance on my praxis. A recording of one of my solo trombone performances accompanies this section. It concludes with a discussion on my process of making tacit knowledge of Improvised Music performance tangible and explicit and the abstruse nature of subjective feeling states when performing improvisation. This concludes part one of the thesis. The second part of the thesis is concerned with the development and application of concepts and their outcomes. In chapter three, I present frameworks drawn from concepts in music therapy practice. Musical material from my work with long standing collaborators Steve Beresford, John Edwards and Mark Sanders form the basis of three case studies presented in chapter four. Recordings of trio and quartet pieces accompany case study one and two. A recording of a duo with myself and Mark Sanders accompanies case three. In the conclusion, I provide a summary of the research processes, frameworks for analysis and their outcomes. My quartet record All Will Be Said, All To Do Again, which was recorded in the period of this research, forms part three of the study and is the basis for two of three pieces in the aforementioned case studies in chapter four. Part three also includes a live performance of the quartet featuring myself and the musicians featured in thesis which has been documented and included. I further considered how to share my analytical framework in the form of a software programme, a prototype of which can be found in the appendix

Crossing the Line: The Life and Musical Legacy of Friedrich Gulda Through a Study of \u3ci\u3ePlay Piano Play\u3c/i\u3e

In the 1950s, Austrian pianist Friedrich Gulda shocked the classical music community by publicly venturing into the realm of jazz. As one of the leading classical pianists of his generation, Gulda’s decision to explore a different type of music was seen as a scandal, leading many in the classical world to label Gulda as an eccentric who sought to upend centuries of musical tradition. Although Gulda had grown weary of the conventions of classical music, it was his lifelong love of jazz that propelled him to devote time and energy studying the techniques of jazz performance. He gave his first professional performance as a jazz artist at New York City’s Birdland in 1956, beginning a unique and controversial career that forever walked between the world of classical and jazz music. Having gained the respect of many in the jazz community, Gulda became known for his programs and recordings of both classical and jazz music. Many of these featured his own compositions, such as Play Piano Play—a ten-piece cycle in which Gulda presents jazz techniques and styles within classical formal structures. In addition to being effective pieces for the concert stage, Gulda wrote these exercises as a tool to teach the classical pianist how to perform jazz. Through a pedagogical and performance analysis of Play Piano Play, this document will help musicians discover how Gulda’s unique compositional approach of combining notated music with elements of improvisation progressively instills the fundamentals of jazz technique throughout the cycle. A brief consideration of three additional solo-piano works continues to show the important contributions Gulda has made to the classical-jazz genre of the piano repertoire. Friedrich Gulda’s career took him on a journey from the finest concert halls to the darkest smoke-filled jazz clubs. Through it all, he remained uniquely himself—an artist confident in his musical vision. Today, his legacy lives in works such as Play Piano Play, as each note describes the journey of one of the twentieth century’s most rebellious, radical, and revolutionary pianists. Advisor: Mark Clinto