Musical timbre: bridging perception with semantics

Musical timbre is a complex and multidimensional entity which provides information regarding the properties of a sound source (size, material, etc.). When it comes to music, however, timbre does not merely carry environmental information, but it also conveys aesthetic meaning. In this sense, semantic description of musical tones is used to express perceptual concepts related to artistic intention. Recent advances in sound processing and synthesis technology have enabled the production of unique timbral qualities which cannot be easily associated with a familiar musical instrument. Therefore, verbal description of these qualities facilitates communication between musicians, composers, producers, audio engineers etc. The development of a common semantic framework for musical timbre description could be exploited by intuitive sound synthesis and processing systems and could even influence the way in which music is being consumed. This work investigates the relationship between musical timbre perception and its semantics. A set of listening experiments in which participants from two different language groups (Greek and English) rated isolated musical tones on semantic scales has tested semantic universality of musical timbre. The results suggested that the salient semantic dimensions of timbre, namely: luminance, texture and mass, are indeed largely common between these two languages. The relationship between semantics and perception was further examined by comparing the previously identified semantic space with a perceptual timbre space (resulting from pairwise dissimilarity rating of the same stimuli). The two spaces featured a substantial amount of common variance suggesting that semantic description can largely capture timbre perception. Additionally, the acoustic correlates of the semantic and perceptual dimensions were investigated. This work concludes by introducing the concept of partial timbre through a listening experiment that demonstrates the influence of background white noise on the perception of musical tones. The results show that timbre is a relative percept which is influenced by the auditory environment

Corporeal Analysis: The Performing Body as Analytic Site

A framework of corporeal analysis posits that the physicality of the performer can be construed as a primary analytical parameter in a work. This dissertation seeks to set up such a method of analysis largely through anecdata and autoethnography with the aim of eliciting a deeper space for additional performer-driven analyses that prioritize the bodily knowledge of performers and their physical understandings of a work. Centering around David Bird’s 2013 work for solo piccolo and “no-less-than twenty-nine spatialized piccolos,” Atolls, three main aspects of corporeal analysis will be explored. These are: performance physicality as expressive connective tissue between flutist and audience, the construction of hypothetical geographic and atmospheric conditions implied within a work through the body as a barometer, and the sounds of pain and trauma activated through the physicality of sonic and metaphorical aspects of the work. An extended conclusion applies offshoots of these modes of analysis to Brian Ferneyhough’s solo work from the contemporary canon, Cassandra’s Dream Song through a study of salivary sounds in the work, and Bethany Younge’s Oxygen and Reality for piccolo, electronics, balloons, and lights through an exploration of prosthesis and adaptive technologies in performance

User Experience for Elephants: Researching Interactive Enrichment through Design and Craft

This thesis explores the challenge for humans of designing and crafting interactive enrichment systems for elephants housed in captivity. Captive elephants may have limited opportunity to express a full range of natural behaviours and therefore benefit from well-designed environmental enrichment. We asked whether technology could support the design and development of novel enrichment for elephants and investigated what kinds of technology-enabled systems would hold their interest. Crucially, these systems were designed to provide the elephants with opportunities to make and enact choices – giving them more control over what happened in their environment. After researching wild elephant lifestyle and characteristics, our fieldwork started with an ethnographic study of captive elephants. We then followed an exploratory approach: Research through Design and Craft. Over several years, a range of interactive systems were crafted for elephants. Each device included embedded technology that enabled elephant interactions to be captured and mapped to associated system outputs. Elephants and their keepers were involved in this cyclical process, and the elephants’ reactions to the devices were noted and interpreted, giving rise to insights that informed the subsequent designs. Analysis of the design and development of the enrichment systems revealed important interface attributes and design considerations that we describe in this document. Finally, we offer five contributions for the ACI community: (i) Research through Design and Craft methodology, which was developed and tested over several years; (ii) ZooJam workshops, which were organised with colleagues over three years; (iii) six key principles of interaction design for ACI development – consistency, differentiation, graduation, specificity, multiplicity and affordance; (iv) an exploration of More than Human Aesthetics focusing on performative aesthetics; (v) a prototype deck of Concept Craft Cards that share theoretical and practical topics with other designers and developers

Tracing interactions in the indigenous Caribbean through a biographical approach: Microwear and material culture across the historical divide (AD 1200-1600)

Much attention has been paid to the exchange of objects, ideas, and people in the Caribbean. Networks of interaction connected local communities across pan-regional scales, shaping indigenous socio-political integrations and their responses in colonial situations. This work examines the poorly understood cultural trajectories and reinterpretations of celts and paraphernalia exchanged in the late pre-colonial and early colonial Dominican Republic and the Windward Islands. Reconstructing the biographies of these artefacts traces their ‘object life’ sequences from start to finish. The dissertation principally applies microscopic wear trace analysis supported by experimental archaeology to examine the manufacturing technology and use of the studied objects. Integrated with contextual analysis and provenance data, the reconstructed biographies form a window into cross-cultural patterns of artefact production, function, and circulation. These are interpreted following a relational perspective adopted from Amerindian ontologies. The exchange of ground stone celts is shown to be closely interrelated with regional network structures. Though only specific communities specialised in production activities, requisite technical knowledge was widely shared. Once acquired, even exotic rocks and tool types were polished, hafted, and used in conventional ways. Conversely, the cultural and social values of most carved shell and bone paraphernalia are foremost expressed in local technological traditions and the preservation of inherited practices. These findings produce a better understanding of indigenous material culture and its relation to social interactions in the pre- and early colonial Caribbean.  Archaeology of the America

Pitch resources for new music: an integrated approach to instrument development and composition

This book explores microtonality, specifically the use of microdiscrete intervals and sliding pitch, in new music. It presents a newly designed microtonal percussion instrument (the conic bellophone), a portfolio of inextricably associated compositions, in score and recordings, and a video recording illustrating the technique of the instrument. The question whether an instrument must exist in order for music to be composed for it is addressed by means of experimental composition for the bellophone. Analysis and comparison of the work of Julian Carrillo and Harry Partch, twentieth century composers deeply involved in microtonality, sliding pitch, and the development of new and modified instruments, shapes the research method used. A detailed review of the achievements of these composers in creating novel instruments, which informs this comparison, is presented in appendices. Whereas Carrillo and Partch mostly built new instruments before composing for them, this research proposes and applies an instrument-development-led composition strategy, which systematically promotes interaction between design, construction, composition and theory. A tuning system with very small equal steps (allowing for smooth, microdiscrete-sliding pitch -see Glossary- progressions) is chosen for the bellophone. The 96-equal temperament is a practical compromise between infinitely small quantisation of the pitch continuum and the realisation of a playable instrument. The exploration of microdiscrete-sliding pitch, whose innovative use is sought throughout the composition portfolio, is supplied by means of an original development of established microtonal notation. This research evaluates successive prototypes of the bellophone in relation to compositional practice: the playability of short compositions (solo studies) is assessed in relation to built and virtual prototypes of the instrument, and to defined conceptual variants of it. These variants, which exemplify alternative solutions to the aims embodied in each prototype built, inform the progressive development of the bellophone. Several variants of posterior prototypes are considered for compositional use too. A wide range of further newly conceived instruments, including aerophones, chordophones, and idiophones of materials other than metal, generated by further extending application of the instrument design methodology developed, are illustrated and discussed in an appendix. Informed by the composition of several solo studies, a three-movement ensemble work, Seasons, using a finalised form of the bellophone is presented. The research method arrived at, which instigates a system of instrument-development-led compositional theory and practice, is shown to be transferable to musical parameters other than pitch

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

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

Institutional music education and utopian futurity in Afghanistan's twenty-first century liberal peacebuilding era

For almost 100 years, institutional music education in Afghanistan has both thrived and been devastated as a result of the country’s political changes and upheavals. This thesis explores the place and role of institutional music education within Afghanistan’s recent liberal peacebuilding era (2001–2021) and considers how international agendas during this time were translated into educational initiatives on the ground. Despite increased academic and media interest in the country’s music education initiatives during the last decade, little attention has been paid to the experiences and motivations of the students themselves. Focussing on the case study of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), this research investigates what institutional music education afforded individuals and social groups, what stakeholders wanted to achieve by engaging with music education, and how individuals conceptualised their role as musicians within Afghan society and beyond. Using a critical ethnography approach, this research also looks beyond ANIM’s public narrative to interrogate taken-for-granted claims about social transformation and societal change through music. The research found that during the past two decades, institutional music education was used by ANIM’s community, collaborators, and supporters to contribute to three key themes associated with Afghanistan’s post-2001 reconstruction: first, the advancement of the liberal values of individualism and freedom; second, the promotion of women’s rights and freedoms within public space; and third, the development of cultural diplomacy efforts linked to Afghanistan’s global reputation and bilateral relations with other nations. In addressing and responding to many of the country’s historical and contemporary challenges, institutional music education functioned as a vehicle for imagining and projecting into alternative futures and for presenting a utopian image of Afghanistan. However, the findings of the research also elucidate asymmetrical power relations within ANIM’s educational processes and its interactions with other organisations and reveal tensions around the use of music education to further geopolitical agendas. Finally, this thesis reflects upon the recent return of the Taliban regime and the implications of this political change for the future of music education in Afghanistan