Recognition of variations using automatic Schenkerian reduction.

Experiments on techniques to automatically recognise whether or not an extract of music is a variation of a given theme are reported, using a test corpus derived from ten of Mozart's sets of variations for piano. Methods which examine the notes of the 'surface' are compared with methods which make use of an automatically derived quasi-Schenkerian reduction of the theme and the extract in question. The maximum average F-measure achieved was 0.87. Unexpectedly, this was for a method of matching based on the surface alone, and in general the results for matches based on the surface were marginally better than those based on reduction, though the small number of possible test queries means that this result cannot be regarded as conclusive. Other inferences on which factors seem to be important in recognising variations are discussed. Possibilities for improved recognition of matching using reduction are outlined

Extending a network-of-elaborations representation to polyphonic music: Schenker and species counterpoint.

A system of representing melodies as a network of elaborations has been developed, and used as the basis for software which generates melodies in response to the movements of a dancer. This paper examines the issues of extending this representation system to polyphonic music, and of deriving a structural representation of this kind from a musical score. The theories of Heinrich Schenker and of Species Counterpoint are proposed as potentially fruitful bases

Analysing symbolic music with probabilistic grammars

Recent developments in computational linguistics offer ways to approach the analysis of musical structure by inducing probabilistic models (in the form of grammars) over a corpus of music. These can produce idiomatic sentences from a probabilistic model of the musical language and thus offer explanations of the musical structures they model. This chapter surveys historical and current work in musical analysis using grammars, based on computational linguistic approaches. We outline the theory of probabilistic grammars and illustrate their implementation in Prolog using PRISM. Our experiments on learning the probabilities for simple grammars from pitch sequences in two kinds of symbolic musical corpora are summarized. The results support our claim that probabilistic grammars are a promising framework for computational music analysis, but also indicate that further work is required to establish their superiority over Markov models

Echoes in Plato's cave:ontology of sound objects in computer music and analysis

The sonic aspects of Plato's analogy of the cave is taken as a starting point for thought experiments to investigate the objective nature of sound, and the idea of quasi-Platonic forms in music. Sounds are found to be objects in a way that sights or appearances are not, and it is only in the presence of technology that they become artificial. When recognition, control and communication about sound come into play, abstract concepts emerge, but there is no reason to give these the priority status Plato affords to forms. Similar issues arise in discussion of the ontology of musical works, where the ideas of extension and intension prove useful for clarity about the nature of musical objects. They are also useful for strategies in the development of music software. Musical concepts are not fixed but arise from complex cultural interactions with sound. Music software should aim to use abstract concepts with are useful rather than correct

Viewing Heinrich Schenker through the Lens of Disability

Many scholars have discussed Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935). While discourse has mainly focused on Schenkerian analysis, recent scholarship has started to examine the role of Schenker as a person (e.g., Schenker as a Jewish individual, Schenker as a racist, etc.), and how these identities influenced his views on music. Yet, within these new explorations and discussions, the aspect of disability and Schenker as an individual with a disability have not been as seriously examined. After examining his biography through the lens of disability in the introduction (Chapter 1), this thesis discusses disability\u27s influence on Schenker through two additional chapters. The second chapter explores disability within the social context of fin-de-siècle Vienna and attempts to deduce, from the opinions of Schenker’s contemporaries, what Schenker\u27s own views on disability might have been. The third chapter then demonstrates, through statistical analyses, that disability affected the everyday mechanics of writing for Schenker and how this in turn influenced his style of prose. The thesis concludes (Chapter 4) that there was a correlation between Schenker’s disability and the different writing styles observed in his earlier work and his later, post-disability work. By shedding light on Schenker’s disability, the thesis aims to provide a platform for future discussion on this subject, either in the field of musicology, music theory, or disability studies

To Allen Forte from His Former Advisees: Tributes and Reminiscences

Testimonials are collected from forty-two former doctoral advisees of Allen Forte, whose Yale graduation dates range from 1968 to 2002. Although the style and focus of individual tributes vary, many convey something about Forte, both professionally and personally, at the time in which the advisee studied with him. The results are ordered chronologically (by Ph.D. dates) so that collectively they suggest the evolution of Forte himself, as well as North American music theory, across the decades. The contributors include (in alphabetical order): Baker, James M.; Ballan, Harry R.; Beach, David W.; Bergman, Rachel; Bernard, Jonathan W.; Berry, David Carson; Black, Leslie; Boss, Jack F.; Brown, Stephen C.; Chapman, Alan; Check, John; Chrisman, Richard; Damschroder, David A.; Ewell, Philip; Galand, Joel; Girton, Irene M. [Levenson]; Graziano, John; Greer, Taylor A.; Hamao, Fusako; Hanson, Jens L.; Harrison, Daniel; Horlacher, Gretchen; Kowalke, Kim H.; Krebs, Harald; Latham, Edward D.; McNamee, Ann K.; Moreno, Jairo; Neumeyer, David; Nolan, Catherine; Rothgeb, John; Rothstein, William; Russom, Philip; Schmalfeldt, Janet; Schwanauer, Stephan M.; Shaftel, Matthew R.; Spicer, Mark S.; Stein, Deborah; Straus, Joseph N.; Wason, Robert W.; Wheaton, J. Randall; Yeston, Maury; and Yih, Annie K. This article is part of a special, serialized feature: A Music-Theoretical Matrix: Essays in Honor of Allen Forte (Part V)

Phenomenon and Abstraction: Coordinating Concepts in Music Theory and Analysis

This dissertation explores the habits of thought that inform how music analysts conceptualize the music they study and how this conceptualization affects the kinds of claims they make and the discursive practices adopted to express them. I aim to clarify these issues in music-theoretical conceptualization with an eye toward mediating analytical disagreements by tracing the influence of two types of concepts used in contemporary music analysis. I differentiate what I call theoretical concepts, which refer to abstract, theoretical objects, from phenomenal concepts, which refer to elements of felt, musical experience. Drawing on theories of concepts from philosophy of mind, I argue that these concepts have a complex structure, featuring both a reference and mode of presentation. The musical concept Dominant, for instance, might be used as a phenomenal concept, referring to the conscious experience of hearing a dominant, or it might be used as a theoretical concept, referring to a kind of abstract object, presented as either the triad the leads to the tonic or the triad built on scale degree five. In analysis, the kinds of concepts that analysts use will determine the scope of their analyses as well as define what sorts of critiques are best deployed against them. I explore four different ways that these conceptual types are used. These case studies include conceptually simple theories that attempt to foreground one type of concept or another (from the formalized model proffered by Eugene Narmour, to the drawing-analyses of Elaine Barkin) as well as more common analytical strategies that rely on both kinds of concept in concert, such as Schenkerian analysis and transformational and neo-Riemannian theory. I enrich my study of analytical approaches with insights drawn from my own analytical practice, including a wide range of styles and composers (though foregrounding the complexity of tonal analysis especially) and close readings of various authors in different analytical traditions. In general, I am concerned less with testing the soundness of any given approach than with understanding what ways of conceptualizing music underlie them and how analysts coordinate these concepts in practice. I find that while most approaches rely on both types of concept in some combination, their differences come in the roles these concepts play in analytical methodology and the degree to which each type of engagement is foregrounded in practice

The Convergence of Schenkerian Music Theory and Generative Linguistics: An Analysis and Composition

This thesis engages a purported connection between Schenkerian music theory and the Minimalist Program within generative linguistics both scientifically and creatively. The first chapter expounds the link between Schenkerian theory and the Minimalist Program which has been recently substantiated in a doctoral dissertation by Somangshu Mukherji at Princeton University and details the methodological framework for investigating musical structures within this paradigm. Chapter two presents three case studies including the opening phrase of Mozart’s K. 332 Mvt. 1 piano sonata, and the tunes “Georgia on My Mind” and “Blue Bossa” in order to exemplify the aforementioned methodology and provide scientific evidence affirming this generative framework. Chapter three concludes with a creative investigation of the theoretical ideas which this thesis engages and consists of a string quartet that draws upon the notions of music and language, and music as derived from a computational system

Uncovering the Confusing Influence Experts Have on Music Copyright Cases

Contemporary copyright decisions by Federal Courts perplex composers; am I the creative composer, or am I an infringer on someone else’s intellectual property? By forming a temporary monopoly to monetize new content, copyright protection incentivizes artists to be fruitful. In a creative field like music, an overly broad definition of copyrightable expression can lead to a “chilling effect” on creativity. This chilling effect is exacerbated by the great latitude given expert witnesses to claim infringement based on broad classifications of expressions. My paper addresses the question: To what extent should expert witnesses be probative when they extend ownership rights beyond the composition and into abstract categories that encompass the composition. My legal analysis begins with Richard Jones’ seminal 1990 Pace Law Review article about why the idea-expression dichotomy problematic and continues with Paul Grinvalsky’s 1992 California Western Law Review article discussing problems inherent in the idea-expression dichotomy in music. The next step in my inquiry was to search for case law that applied different boundary levels for experts in copyright cases. [See Arnstein (1946), Krofft (1977), Williams (2015). This research demonstrates how unchecked expert testimony can create confusion in court, stifling creativity in music copyright cases

Graph based representation of the music symbolic level. A music information retrieval application

In this work, a new music symbolic level representation system is described. It has been tested in two information retrieval tasks concerning similarity between segments of music and genre detection of a given segment. It could include both harmonic and contrapuntal informations. Moreover, a new large dataset consisting of more than 5000 leadsheets is presented, with meta informations taken from different web databases, including author information, year of first performance, lyrics, genre, etc.ope