Regular expressions as violin bowing patterns

String players spend a significant amount of practice time creating and learning bowings. These may be indicated in the music using up-bow and down-bow symbols, but those traditional notations do not capture the complex bowing patterns that are latent within the music. Regular expressions, a mathematical notation for a simple class of formal languages, can describe precisely the bowing patterns that commonly arise in string music. A software tool based on regular expressions enables performers to search for passages that can be handled with similar bowings, and to edit them consistently. A computer-based music editor incorporating bowing patterns has been implemented, using Lilypond to typeset the music. Our approach has been evaluated by using the editor to study ten movements from six violin sonatas by W. A. Mozart. Our experience shows that the editor is successful at finding passages and inserting bowings; that relatively complex patterns occur a number of times; and that the bowings can be inserted automatically and consistently

Using regular expressions to express bowing patterns for string players

The study of bowing is critically important for string players. Traditional bowing annotations are a valuable part of orchestral and individual documentation, but they do not help the performer to search a piece for other passages that should be bowed the same way, or to identify alternative bowing styles. We introduce a notation based on regular expressions that describes patterns of notes in the music, as well as the bowing to be applied to the pattern. These expressions support complex bowings, and not just single annotations without musical context. The notation is simpler than general tools for regular expressions used in some software, and is suitable for use by students and musicians. We have developed a music editor that implements the notation and edits documents in Lilypond. The approach has been evaluated by experimenting with the editor on six violin sonatas by Mozart. The experiments demonstrate that the regular expression notation is successful at finding passages and inserting the bowings; that the patterns occur a number of times; and the bowings can be inserted automatically and consistently

Texture and Timbre in Dai Fujikura’s String Quartet No.2 Flare and A Lonely Person Sitting, Viewing A Flower, an original composition for string quartet

This study examines the approach to instrumental writing and musical structure in Dai Fujikura's 2010 composition for string quartet, Flare. A close reading of Fujikura's own writing on his compositional process indicates three noteworthy areas of concentration. The first is the focus on smaller “phrases” (referred to as “elements” in this study) to form larger “shapes” (which correspond to various textures). The second is the significance of texture variance, driven primarily by changes in timbre, in defining the formal structure of the piece. The third is Fujikura’s interest in the tension between opposing dualities, which is manifested in an active-static interchange throughout the piece. In question are the parameters beyond rhythmic density which affect the perception of stasis or activity. The overview outlines the different textures featured throughout each Part of the piece, identifying texture “blocks”, along with their local and global implications (active or static). Structural analysis reveals references to conventional form, dividing the string quartet into four Parts. In each Part, fundamental musical parameters are analyzed to reveal the primary “elements” and the timbre-based textures they form. The active-static characters are also explored on a micro- level within each Part and in relation to the quartet as a whole. Ultimately, two primary factors impact the perceived implication of motion. The first is the quantity of musical material or events, which affect rhythmic or elemental density. The second is the degree of unity, which is signified most notably by texture, but also by cohesion or regularity. My original composition, A Lonely Person Sitting, Viewing A Flower for string quartet, is based on the poem of the same name by the Taiwanese poet Shiao-Fung Chang. The poem is a tranquil meditation on solitude using the concise syntax of the Chinese language. This string quartet is a musical realization that directly responds to the flow, structure, and sentiments of Chang’s poem

Playing Technique and Violin Timbre: Detecting Bad Playing

For centuries, luthiers have committed to working towards better understanding and improving the sound characteristics and playability of violins. With advances in technology and signal processing, studies attempting to define a violin’s sound qualityvia physical characteristics and resonance patterns have ensued. Existing work has primarily focused on physical aspects reflecting an instrument’s sound quality. In the music information retrieval domain, advances have been made in areas suchas instrument identification tasks. Although much research has been completed on finding suitable features from which musical instruments can be represented, little work has focused on the violin’s complete timbre space and the effect a player has on the sound produced. This thesis specifically focuses on representing violin timbre such that a computer can detect the sound associated with a beginner from that of a professional standard player and detect typical beginner playing faults based on analysis of thewaveform signal only. Work has been limited to nine playing faults considered by professional musicians to be typical of beginner violinists. In order to achieve these goals, it was necessary to create a suitable dataset consisting of an equal number of beginner and professional standard legato notesamples. Feature extraction was then carried out by taking features from the time, spectral and cepstral domains. Selected features were then used to represent the samples in a classifier based on their efficacy at reflecting change within the violin’s timbrespace. The dataset underwent the scrutiny of professional standard stringed instrumentplayers via listening tests from which the target audience’s perception was captured. This information was verified and normalised before use as a priori labels in the classifier. Based on different feature representations, classification of violin notesreflecting perceived sound quality is presented in this thesis. The results show that it is possible to get a computer to determine between beginner and professional standard player legato notes and to detect playing faults. This thesis involves a thoroughunderstanding of violin playing, its perception, suitable analysis methods, feature extraction, representation and classification

Violin Curriculum Incorporating Visual, Aural and Kinesthetic Perceptual Learning Modalities

abstract: To be a versatile violinist, one needs interdependence of aural, visual and kinesthetic skills. This thesis introduces aural, visual and kinesthetic learning modalities, and explores the way each is used in the Suzuki, Paul Rolland, Orff, Kodály, and Dalcroze methods, as well as in Edwin Gordon’s Musical Learning Theory. Other methods and pedagogical approaches were consulted and influential in developing the curriculum, such as the teaching of Mimi Zweig, but were not included in this paper either because of an overlap with other methods or insufficient comparable material. This paper additionally presents a new curriculum for teaching beginning violin that incorporates aural, visual, and kinesthetic learning in a systematic and comprehensive manner. It also details a sequenced progression to learn new repertoire and develop proficiency with rhythm, solfège, reading and writing musical notation, and left- and right-hand technique.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Music 201

Adapting a Suzuki and Bornoff Method Curriculum in a Beginning Public School Strings Class with a Class of Mixed String Instruments

Perspectives on the combination of the Suzuki Method and the Bornoff Method, and the struggles a string teacher has starting a beginning orchestra program, have emerged as themes through exploration of a small body of existing literature. This study aims to support struggling or first-year string teachers starting a beginning orchestra program in a public-school setting by combining the Suzuki and Bornoff method. Despite a plethora of research that has been written over the Suzuki method and the Bornoff method separately, there is a lack of research on combining the two approaches, particularly within a beginning string class setting. The examination of how the two methods could complement each other is essential because one method supports the other in different technical areas. Also, both methods create a strong curriculum in a public-school orchestra setting. This qualitative research study identifies the strong points of both methods and how each can supplement the other. Views on the combination of the Suzuki Method and the Bornoff Method, as well as the struggles a string teacher has starting a beginning orchestra program, have emerged as themes through exploration of a small body of existing literature. Further, this study and the artifact of two methods could encourage further research by teachers or researchers outside the music field who want to research best practices within a classroom. Such researchers could examine the benefits of memorization and repetitions within a classroom curriculum and teach with what the results should be by the end of the school year. These three concepts are among many strong points of the two teaching methods. The study revealed that the step-by-step process supplied through the Suzuki method establishes a strong foundation for young beginning musicians. Analyzing each step and how it affects beginning musicians creates confidence for a first-year teacher or a novice teacher

Extended Techniques for Intermediate Violin Students

As we reach the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the performance of contemporary music is not a novelty in any concert hall. American orchestras frequently include contemporary works in their programs, and music schools offer specialized classes, ensembles, and even full degrees dedicated to contemporary music. However, for the violin, there are very few resources explaining extended techniques and other recent aesthetic innovations in a didactic manner. Most of the available material is directed at the advanced student or professional player. On the other hand, traditional instructional material often barely glosses over the 20th century repertoire, and virtually ignores the past 50 years of music history. This leaves young violinists unprepared for (and sometimes even unaware of) the challenges of contemporary violin music. This dissertation intends to be a resource on didactic material on the subject of violin extended techniques, directed at intermediate violin players. The objective of this material is to aid teachers in the elaboration of introductory lessons on subjects related to contemporary music. The discussion is centered in techniques that relate immediately to basic violin instruction, namely: left hand patterns, contractions and extensions, shifting, glissando, microtonality, vibrato, trills and tremolo, harmonics, changing dynamics, changing tone color, sul ponticello, sul tasto, bow pressure, pizzicato, and col legno battuto and col legno tratto. For each technique, this dissertation presents a definition and explanation from the point of view of the mechanics of violin playing, suggests exercises, and provides accessible related excerpts of music of the 20th and 21st centuries for classroom use

Creative Practice for Classical String Players with Live Looping

In recent years, string pedagogy discussions have highlighted the greater need for creative practice as classical string players. Since the second half of the nineteenth century, string methods have shifted towards a limited scope of improvisatory techniques, parallelling the decline of improvisation in Western classical music performance practices. This thesis explores live looping as a practice tool to facilitate learning concepts and help string players develop musicianship skills including improvisation, participate in non-classical genres, and explore their creative voices. Examining the results of string educators that incorporate live looping into their own teaching reveals the tool’s effectiveness in bridging curricula standards with opportunities for avenues of creativity and endless experimentation. Ultimately, live looping can help string players learn a concept more deeply, employing scaffolding techniques to practice abstract models and thus relying less on any specific example such as learning from sheet music. This encourages a broader musical foundation enabling classical string players to feel more equipped in areas beyond their comfort zones and participate in and enjoy a wider range of musically fulfilling experiences

Multisensory learning in adaptive interactive systems

The main purpose of my work is to investigate multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration in the design and development of adaptive user interfaces for educational purposes. To this aim, starting from renewed understanding from neuroscience and cognitive science on multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration, I developed a theoretical computational model for designing multimodal learning technologies that take into account these results. Main theoretical foundations of my research are multisensory perceptual learning theories and the research on sensory processing and integration, embodied cognition theories, computational models of non-verbal and emotion communication in full-body movement, and human-computer interaction models. Finally, a computational model was applied in two case studies, based on two EU ICT-H2020 Projects, "weDRAW" and "TELMI", on which I worked during the PhD

CCOM-HuQin: an Annotated Multimodal Chinese Fiddle Performance Dataset

HuQin is a family of traditional Chinese bowed string instruments. Playing techniques(PTs) embodied in various playing styles add abundant emotional coloring and aesthetic feelings to HuQin performance. The complex applied techniques make HuQin music a challenging source for fundamental MIR tasks such as pitch analysis, transcription and score-audio alignment. In this paper, we present a multimodal performance dataset of HuQin music that contains audio-visual recordings of 11,992 single PT clips and 57 annotated musical pieces of classical excerpts. We systematically describe the HuQin PT taxonomy based on musicological theory and practical use cases. Then we introduce the dataset creation methodology and highlight the annotation principles featuring PTs. We analyze the statistics in different aspects to demonstrate the variety of PTs played in HuQin subcategories and perform preliminary experiments to show the potential applications of the dataset in various MIR tasks and cross-cultural music studies. Finally, we propose future work to be extended on the dataset.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure