Age trends in musical preferences in adulthood: 3. Perceived musical attributes as intrinsic determinants of preferences

Increased age has been found to be associated with differences in musical preferences in adulthood. In past research, these differences were mostly attributed to changes in the social context. However, these influences were small and a large proportion of variance in age trends in musical preferences still remains to be explained. The aim of this article is to investigate the hypothesis that age trends in musical preferences are related to differences in preferences for some intrinsic attributes of the music in line with the Music Preferences in Adulthood Model (Bonneville-Roussy et al., 2017). Adult participants (N = 481) were asked to rate their preferences for extracts of 51 audio-music recordings (music clips) and musical attributes related to dynamics, pitch, structure, tempo, and timbre. Audio-features of the 51 clips were extracted using Music Information Retrieval methods. Using self-report, we found that the musical preferences of adults were linked with distinct likings for musical attributes, with large effects. We also discovered that self-rated attributes associated with dynamics and timbre moderated the links between age and musical preferences. Using the extracted features, we found that musical preferences were linked with distinct patterns of musical features. Finally, we established that the patterns of preferences of emerging, young and middle-aged adults were increasingly influenced by audio-features of timbre, dynamics and tonal clarity. These findings suggest that age trends in musical preferences could be partially explained by differences in the ways individuals process the intrinsic attributes of the music with age

Songs about fucking: John Loder's southern studios and the construction of a subversive sonic signature

This article posits North London's Southern Studios and its late founding recordist John Loder as responsible for the construction of a sonically discernible production aesthetics befitting a subversive music. Blending phonomusicological work on the recording workplace and recordists, original ethnographic work, as well as tech-processual analyses of two key recordings, Crass’ “Do They Owe Us A Living?” and Big Black's “The Power of Independent Trucking,” this article elucidates the Southern Sonic Signature before tracing the production aesthetic in a continuum of alternative musi

Semantic Structures of Timbre Emerging From Social and Acoustic Descriptions of Music

The perceptual attributes of timbre have inspired a considerable amount of multidisciplinary research, but because of the complexity of the phenomena, the approach has traditionally been confined to laboratory conditions, much to the detriment of its ecological validity. In this study, we present a purely bottom-up approach for mapping the concepts that emerge from sound qualities. A social media (http://www.last.fm) is used to obtain a wide sample of verbal descriptions of music (in the form of tags) that go beyond the commonly studied concept of genre, and from this the underlying semantic structure of this sample is extracted. The structure that is thereby obtained is then evaluated through a careful investigation of the acoustic features that characterize it. The results outline the degree to which such structures in music (connected to affects, instrumentation and performance characteristics) have particular timbral characteristics. Samples representing these semantic structures were then submitted to a similarity rating experiment to validate the findings. The outcome of this experiment strengthened the discovered links between the semantic structures and their perceived timbral qualities. The findings of both the computational and behavioural parts of the experiment imply that it is therefore possible to derive useful and meaningful structures from free verbal descriptions of music, that transcend musical genres, and that such descriptions can be linked to a set of acoustic features. This approach not only provides insights into the definition of timbre from an ecological perspective, but could also be implemented to develop applications in music information research that organize music collections according to both semantic and sound qualities.peerReviewe

Semantic Structures of Timbre Emerging From Social and Acoustic Descriptions of Music

The perceptual attributes of timbre have inspired a considerable amount of multidisciplinary research, but because of the complexity of the phenomena, the approach has traditionally been confined to laboratory conditions, much to the detriment of its ecological validity. In this study, we present a purely bottom-up approach for mapping the concepts that emerge from sound qualities. A social media (http://www.last.fm webcite) is used to obtain a wide sample of verbal descriptions of music (in the form of tags) that go beyond the commonly studied concept of genre, and from this the underlying semantic structure of this sample is extracted. The structure that is thereby obtained is then evaluated through a careful investigation of the acoustic features that characterize it. The results outline the degree to which such structures in music (connected to affects, instrumentation and performance characteristics) have particular timbral characteristics. Samples representing these semantic structures were then submitted to a similarity rating experiment to validate the findings. The outcome of this experiment strengthened the discovered links between the semantic structures and their perceived timbral qualities. The findings of both the computational and behavioural parts of the experiment imply that it is therefore possible to derive useful and meaningful structures from free verbal descriptions of music, that transcend musical genres, and that such descriptions can be linked to a set of acoustic features. This approach not only provides insights into the definition of timbre from an ecological perspective, but could also be implemented to develop applications in music information research that organize music collections according to both semantic and sound qualities

A Musicological Study of the Japanese Koto using Heuristic Finite Element Models

Vol. 1 A Musicological Study of the Japanese Koto using Heuristic Finite Element Models -- Vol. 2 DatasetsThis musicological study investigates the sound of the Japanese koto, a 13-string zither, using heuristic finite element models. It aims firstly to test a new integrated analytical approach with finite element methods; these methods have become more accessible to scholars across many disciplines including systematic musicology in recent decades. This thesis demonstrates how these methods can provide powerful analytical tools for technical studies of musical instruments as part of organological research. Secondly, it applies this method in a heuristic study of the koto to characterise its sound envelope by using a series of models; these models range from a simple box to a more complex and geometrically accurate lofted model developed as part of this study. These models permitted the continual development of the integrated analytical approach during the period of investigation. COMSOL Multiphysics®, the finite element method software used to develop the models, also enabled specialist analysis of sound from the instrument including its qualitative visual representation. Results of these models in turn were validated by comparison with the limited existing literature on the koto’s acoustics and additional physical experiments. During this process initial tests on a plank of paulownia wood were undertaken in order to understand the paulownia wood from which the koto is made. These results then informed more complex, subsequent models. Findings from the study reveal that the anisotropic nature of paulownia significantly influenced predicted resonances when compared to a simple isotropic model. Key characteristics of the koto body that help to explain the relationship between sound production and geometry of the instrument were also identified, for example, the significant influence of the curvature of the top plate and the arching down the length of the instrument on the sound envelope produced. These findings contribute to the understanding of the acoustical behaviour of the koto in particular and East Asian zithers in general. The methods identified and validated in this study also serve more broadly as a template for future organological and acoustical investigations of geometrically complex wooden musical instruments.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 202

Modelling music selection in everyday life with applications for psychology-informed music recommender systems

Music is a highly functional and utilitarian resource. It enables people to regulate emotions, reduce distractions, stimulate physical action, and connect with others. However, with technologically facilitated ubiquitous listening now commonplace, new problems have emerged. The main problem is that of choice: how, given millions of songs to choose from, should providers curate listening experiences? To resolve this, many online platforms employ recommender systems, and there have been concerted efforts to orientate these systems in such a way that they are responsive to the short-term, dynamic needs of listeners in everyday situations. However, there is increasing scrutiny around the impact of automated recommender systems in terms of interpretability and data usage. To this end, researchers have begun exploring ways of integrating knowledge about user behaviours into the recommendation process, rather than through purely data-driven approaches. This thesis aims to bridge these strands of intrigue by exploring an approach to generating situationally determined recommendations, based on an understanding of how and why contextual factors influence music selection in everyday life. This is achieved through three studies, in which contexts, functions, and content of listeners’ music selections are triangulated to make inferences and estimates of situationally congruent musical characteristics. Firstly, a psychometric structure of the functions of music listening is generated. Secondly, this is triangulated with contextual factors and audio features of music selection. Finally, this is supplemented with an exploratory approach to generating recommendations through the explanatory model. These three studies result in both: a preliminary model of goal-orientated music listening that can be deployed by recommender procedures; and provides an exemplar methodology of how to construct behavioural models that can drive such systems. This thesis therefore holds relevance to both psychological research and those interested in music curation techniques