Advancing performability in playable media : a simulation-based interface as a dynamic score

When designing playable media with non-game orientation, alternative play scenarios to gameplay scenarios must be accompanied by alternative mechanics to game mechanics. Problems of designing playable media with non-game orientation are stated as the problems of designing a platform for creative explorations and creative expressions. For such design problems, two requirements are articulated: 1) play state transitions must be dynamic in non-trivial ways in order to achieve a significant level of engagement, and 2) pathways for players’ experience from exploration to expression must be provided. The transformative pathway from creative exploration to creative expression is analogous to pathways for game players’ skill acquisition in gameplay. The paper first describes a concept of simulation-based interface, and then binds that concept with the concept of dynamic score. The former partially accounts for the first requirement, the latter the second requirement. The paper describes the prototype and realization of the two concepts’ binding. “Score” is here defined as a representation of cue organization through a transmodal abstraction. A simulation based interface is presented with swarm mechanics and its function as a dynamic score is demonstrated with an interactive musical composition and performance

Ontology of music performance variation

Performance variation in rhythm determines the extent that humans perceive and feel the effect of rhythmic pulsation and music in general. In many cases, these rhythmic variations can be linked to percussive performance. Such percussive performance variations are often absent in current percussive rhythmic models. The purpose of this thesis is to present an interactive computer model, called the PD-103, that simulates the micro-variations in human percussive performance. This thesis makes three main contributions to existing knowledge: firstly, by formalising a new method for modelling percussive performance; secondly, by developing a new compositional software tool called the PD-103 that models human percussive performance, and finally, by creating a portfolio of different musical styles to demonstrate the capabilities of the software. A large database of recorded samples are classified into zones based upon the vibrational characteristics of the instruments, to model timbral variation in human percussive performance. The degree of timbral variation is governed by principles of biomechanics and human percussive performance. A fuzzy logic algorithm is applied to analyse current and first-order sample selection in order to formulate an ontological description of music performance variation. Asynchrony values were extracted from recorded performances of three different performance skill levels to create \timing fingerprints" which characterise unique features to each percussionist. The PD-103 uses real performance timing data to determine asynchrony values for each synthesised note. The spectral content of the sample database forms a three-dimensional loudness/timbre space, intersecting instrumental behaviour with music composition. The reparameterisation of the sample database, following the analysis of loudness, spectral flatness, and spectral centroid, provides an opportunity to explore the timbral variations inherent in percussion instruments, to creatively explore dimensions of timbre. The PD-103 was used to create a music portfolio exploring different rhythmic possibilities with a focus on meso-periodic rhythms common to parts of West Africa, jazz drumming, and electroacoustic music. The portfolio also includes new timbral percussive works based on spectral features and demonstrates the central aim of this thesis, which is the creation of a new compositional software tool that integrates human percussive performance and subsequently extends this model to different genres of music

Samba: the sense of community in participatory music

This ethnographic study examined the relationship between the sense of community and music education within the community of Santa Marta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a public high school in New York City. Guided by Turino’s (2008) framework for participatory music making and McMillan and Chavis’s (1986) framework for the sense of community, the pedagogical and musical practices of Santa Marta were observed and analyzed to form a definition of a participatory music community. This definition was used to examine the impact of participatory practices on a samba ensemble within a New York City high school. The findings describe how participatory music education both influences and is influenced by the participants’ senses of community in both settings and explores applications of participatory music methods to school-based music, particularly within urban settings. Participatory characteristics were found to be imbedded in samba’s musical structure, including the repetition of rhythms, the simultaneous use of advanced and simplified patterns, and the flexibility of the size of the ensemble. Music events in Santa Marta often lacked artist-audience distinctions with situations of performance and learning occurring simultaneously. Decentralized group learning was found to be a pedagogical tool with information stored in the community’s memory. Inclusive pedagogies, which allowed players of various skill levels to perform together in the same ensembles, maximized participation in both sites. These characteristics created a pedagogical structure that addressed many of the identified challenges of urban school music and provided opportunities for active student engagement. This study presents a possible way forward for music education in urban settings, a path based on creating an inclusive educational environment. In schools where sequenced music programs, funding, and stabile student populations don’t exist, participatory music has the potential to create ways for students of varying skill levels to find a place in school music communities

Characterizing Movement Fluency in Musical Performance: Toward a Generic Measure for Technology Enhanced Learning

Virtuosity in music performance is often associated with fast, precise, and efficient sound-producing movements. The generation of such highly skilled movements involves complex joint and muscle control by the central nervous system, and depends on the ability to anticipate, segment, and coarticulate motor elements, all within the biomechanical constraints of the human body. When successful, such motor skill should lead to what we characterize as fluency in musical performance. Detecting typical features of fluency could be very useful for technology-enhanced learning systems, assisting and supporting students during their individual practice sessions by giving feedback and helping them to adopt sustainable movement patterns. In this study, we propose to assess fluency in musical performance as the ability to smoothly and efficiently coordinate while accurately performing slow, transitionary, and rapid movements. To this end, the movements of three cello players and three drummers at different levels of skill were recorded with an optical motion capture system, while a wireless electromyography (EMG) system recorded the corresponding muscle activity from relevant landmarks. We analyzed the kinematic and coarticulation characteristics of these recordings separately and then propose a combined model of fluency in musical performance predicting music sophistication. Results suggest that expert performers' movements are characterized by consistently smooth strokes and scaling of muscle phasic coactivation. The explored model of fluency as a function of movement smoothness and coarticulation patterns was shown to be limited by the sample size, but it serves as a proof of concept. Results from this study show the potential of a technology-enhanced objective measure of fluency in musical performance, which could lead to improved practices for aspiring musicians, instructors, and researchers

The development of and relationship between vocal sight reading and instrumental sight reading of seventh, ninth, and eleventh grade orchestra students

Developing the music cognition competencies of both singers and instrumentalists is one of the goals of school music programs. Vocal and instrumental sight reading are used to indicate the level of development of cognitive skills in music. In this study, vocal and instrumental sight reading served as a basis for determining public school orchestra students' cognitive development in music. Vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading performances of 143 orchestra students in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades were examined. Students' vocal sight-singing accuracy was tested using the Vocal Sight Reading Inventory (Henry, 1999). Students' instrumental sight-reading was assessed using the String Performance Rating Scale (Zdzinski & Barnes, 2002). The ANOVA procedure and the Welch test were applied to determine whether there was an improvement in students' vocal and instrumental sight reading with additional years of school orchestra experience. Results from ANOVA analyses indicated that the differences in students' instrumental sight-reading scores across the three grade levels were statistically significant [F (2,140) = 34.50], p < .01. A post hoc Bonferroni adjustment revealed that the differences between each of the groups were statistically significant (p < .05) in favor of older and more experienced students. For vocal sight reading, the Tamhane procedure revealed significant differences only between students at the 7th and 11th grade levels, also in favor of the older students (p < .05). Correlational analysis indicated that there was a strengthening of the relationship between students' vocal sight reading and instrumental sight reading as students progressed in grade level, indicating that they were continuing to develop their musicianship skills. The correlation between vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading scores according to grade level were r = .36, p < .05 for 7th grade, r = .52, p < .01 for 9th grade, and r = .64, p < .01 for 11th grade. In this study I stressed the importance of both vocal sight-reading and instrumental sight-reading experiences for orchestra students and ultimately for all instrumental students. I also proposed theoretical models as to how the two skills are related and how they might be developed

The Music of Management: Applying Organization Theory

With the exponential growth of social media and the internet, and growth of the global economy, the very nature of organizations has changed. Organizations are now flatter, substitutions have been made between staff work and technological infrastructure, organizations have greater global reach, competition for resources is fiercer, and organizations have become more embedded in complex networks, with boundaries blurring between one organization and another. While this landscape is much changed and the solutions to organizational management may be different, the basic organizational functions and challenges, as analyzed in this book, remain the same. Organizational activities must be coordinated to achieve their intended impacts, leaders and staff must be highly motivated, organizations must find their special niches where they can excel relative to their competitors and contribute their unique value in collaborations, and organizations must constantly focus on innovation if only to stay abreast of the accelerating pace of change in the contemporary world around them. These are the universal and timeless themes of The Music of Management. Moreover, the metaphor of music continues to apply with full force. The numerous variations on musical ensembles that the book uses for illustration continue to suggest that organizational forms can be applied to new circumstances and adapted to promote new ideas, products and services. We can now contemplate ensembles whose members are far-flung geographically but still require coordination, motivation, distinctiveness and adaptation according to basic principles of organizational life. While the popular tunes change, the classics endure and variations on themes will continue to drive organizations as they do musical ensembles of every description.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/facbooks2014/1000/thumbnail.jp

Musical Haptics

Haptic Musical Instruments; Haptic Psychophysics; Interface Design and Evaluation; User Experience; Musical Performanc

The case of the Highlands Community Band: structuration, self-determination, and the promotion of participation beyond the classroom

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityDespite the numerous community bands found throughout the United States, a large majority of secondary school instrumentalists fail to maintain music involvement after graduation. Consequently, the fields of music education and community music have issued calls for researchers to investigate ways to promote participation throughout life. Giddens' structuration theory and Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory (SDT) served as the respective sociological and psychological lenses to examine participation in the pseudonymous Highlands Community Band. Thirty-two volunteer members of this multi-generational band provided insights into how the band's structure, including its rules and resources, controlled or promoted involvement. Participants included lifelong musicians, those returning to music after a hiatus, and those who began participation without prior band experience. Interviews, observations, and document collection served as the primary forms of data. Rules and resources that supported the innate needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence promoted higher levels of motivation to participate in accordance with SOT. The band structure featured unrestrictive polices-no-fees, no auditions, no attendance policies-that permitted involvement regardless of skill level or other life priorities that interfered with attendance. Players promoted self-development; skilled members served as mentors for those less experienced, who thrived on their ability to co-exist with members that inspired them. Child care provisions increased the opportunity for parents to participate and seemed to be an outlying feature of this band. Thirty of thirty-two participants experienced unique physical, emotional, or spiritual moments in their musical lives. These roles and experiences contributed to members' musical identities within the band, which led to continued music participation and support of the community band structure through active participation. Although the policies of the Highlands band facilitated participation for a diversity of people, potential participants who desired a structure with homogenous skill levels may find nonrestrictive rules as sanctioning participation. Structural properties that have the potential to facilitate participation beyond the classroom include the elimination of restrictive policies, the provision of childcare opportunities and instrument acquisition, a participatory environment for learning, the valuing of the contributions of each member, and the exploration of ways to increase participant identification within groups. Keywords: community band, allocative resources, authoritative resources, autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, identity, innate needs, participation, rules, self-determination theory, structuration theory, and structure