5,378 research outputs found
Beyond pitch/duration scoring: Towards a system dynamics model of electroacoustic music
Based on a hierarchy of discrete pitches and metrically sub-divisible duration, Western tonal art music is usually modelled through printed music scores. Scoring acoustic musical events beyond this paradigm has resulted in non-standard graphs in two dimensions. New digitally generated ‘soundscape’ forms are often not conceived or understandable within traditional musical paradigms or notation models, and often explore attributes of music such as spatial processing that fall outside two- dimensional graphic scoring. To date there is not a commonly accepted model that approximates the structural dynamics of electroacoustic music; providing a conceptual framework independent of the music to the degree of standard music notation. Based on recent work in spectro-morphology as a way of explaining sound shapes, a systems dynamics model is proposed through mapping a dynamic taxonomy for structural listening as an aid to composition. This approach captures formal but not semiotic discourse
The relationship between electro-acoustic music and instrumental/vocal composition in Europe in the period 1948-1970.
The study seeks to establish how theories and concepts derived from electro-acoustic practice can inform
musicians about the'nature of instrumental thought. Instrumental/vocal musical languages are particular
representations of a wide framework of fundamental musical laws. The most successful expression of these laws is through concepts of electro-acoustic music. As a result many points of contact between hitherto unconnected areas of music are revealed.
Three principal'subJect-areas are investigated:
1) The'development of Pierre Schaeffer's musical researches: The researches under consideration are those conducted from 1948 up to-the publication of the revised edition or the “Traite des Objets Musicaux" in 1977. The importance of new musical-concepts and Schaeffer’s Programme de la Recherche Musicale are discussed. There has been no-extensive examination of these in English.
Consequently, neither Schaeffer's position, nor French electro-acoustic music's role in the development ofcontemporary music has been efficiently assessed.
2) The Cologne studio's development during the period 1953-70: Particular emphasis is given to a discussion'of the studio's relationship with the evolution of serial thought. This relationship is identified as the main stimulus for many of the studio's musical concepts in addition'to its preoccupation with electronic sound generation. Furthermore, the conflict between Paris and Cologne regarding musical-languages is examined and the theory or eventual convergence of views is contested.
3) The, nature of Schaefferian music theory: The concepts of valeur/caractere, permanence/variation and Schaeffer's concept of the "instrument" are discussed. It is proposed that Schaefferian concepts offer & significant methodology for the study of contemporary music. They assist, therefore our understanding not just of electro-acoustic music but contemporary music in general
ECoG high gamma activity reveals distinct cortical representations of lyrics passages, harmonic and timbre-related changes in a rock song
Listening to music moves our minds and moods, stirring interest in its neural underpinnings. A multitude of compositional features drives the appeal of natural music. How such original music, where a composer's opus is not manipulated for experimental purposes, engages a listener's brain has not been studied until recently. Here, we report an in-depth analysis of two electrocorticographic (ECoG) data sets obtained over the left hemisphere in ten patients during presentation of either a rock song or a read-out narrative. First, the time courses of five acoustic features (intensity, presence/absence of vocals with lyrics, spectral centroid, harmonic change, and pulse clarity) were extracted from the audio tracks and found to be correlated with each other to varying degrees. In a second step, we uncovered the specific impact of each musical feature on ECoG high-gamma power (70–170 Hz) by calculating partial correlations to remove the influence of the other four features. In the music condition, the onset and offset of vocal lyrics in ongoing instrumental music was consistently identified within the group as the dominant driver for ECoG high-gamma power changes over temporal auditory areas, while concurrently subject-individual activation spots were identified for sound intensity, timbral, and harmonic features. The distinct cortical activations to vocal speech-related content embedded in instrumental music directly demonstrate that song integrated in instrumental music represents a distinct dimension in complex music. In contrast, in the speech condition, the full sound envelope was reflected in the high gamma response rather than the onset or offset of the vocal lyrics. This demonstrates how the contributions of stimulus features that modulate the brain response differ across the two examples of a full-length natural stimulus, which suggests a context-dependent feature selection in the processing of complex auditory stimuli
MMixte: a software architecture for Live Electronics with acoustic instruments : exemplary application cases
MMixte is a middleware based on Max for mixed music with live electronics. It enables
programming for a “patcher concerto”, a platform, that is, for the management of live
electronics in just a few minutes and with extreme simplicity. Dedicated to average and
expert users, MMixte enables true programming of live electronics in very little time while
also enabling easy adapting of previously developed modules, depending on the case
and its needs. The architecture behind MMixte is based on a variation of so-called
“pipeline architecture"; the analysis of the most widely used software architectures in the
market and design patterns to program graphic interfaces has led to the conception of
ways of organizing communication between various modules, the way they are being
used and their graphic appearence. Analysis of other, “state of the art” module collections
and other software programs dedicated to mixed music shows the absence of another
work on software architecture for mixed music. Application of MMixte to some of my
personal works shows demonstrates its flexibility and ease of adaptation. Computer
programming for a
piece
of
mixed
music
requires
much
that
goes
beyond
just
programming of audio signal processing. The present work seeks to provide an example
of a solution to such needs
Compositions Combining Acoustic, Electro-Acoustic And Synthetic Instruments For Modern Jazz Performance
Compositions Combining Acoustic, Electro-acoustic and Synthetic Instruments for Modern Jazz Performance presents a series of seven compositions by vibraphonist and composer David Kemp. The seven works primarily explore combining acoustic (trumpet and drums), electro-acoustic (electric guitar, bass guitar and pickup equipped vibraphone) and synthetic (electronically created synthesizer patches on a Roland XV5050 Sound Module) instruments, mixing musical styles, using rhythm and duration as a governing force in composition, using an extensive harmonic palette and incorporating technology. In this document, the scores are presented in full in a Portfolio Volume, accompanied by recorded performances in audio and visual formats and written analyses of the compositions. Included is a discussion of archetypal composers, similar stylistic traits of their music to mine, and conclusions drawn from the project. The document is completed by a bibliography and discography
The interface between arts practice and research: Attitudes and perceptions of Australian artist-academics
Whilst an academic working in the arts may have been appointed as a consequence of artistic accomplishment and a capacity to teach, the research that underpins such work is an intrinsic part of its production and also needs to be recognised. In Australia, the ability of the artist-academic to translate research into a form that is respected and rewarded is an issue of contention. This paper gathers responses to this issue. Perceptions of and attitudes to creative work as research are canvassed alongside life decisions arising from those perceptions and attitudes. This research occurs in the context of a new Australian framework for the evaluation of research. This framework offers some recognition of the research that supports creative practice. Thus, the long-standing experience of compromise reported by the Australian artist-academics interviewed for this study are discussed alongside new policies that seek to construct methodologies for its amelioration
A microtonal wind controller building on Yamaha’s technology to facilitate the performance of music based on the “19-EDO” scale
We describe a project in which several collaborators adapted an existing instrument to make
it capable of playing expressively in music based on the microtonal scale characterised by equal
divsion of the octave into 19 tones (“19-EDO”). Our objective was not just to build this instrument,
however, but also to produce a well-formed piece of music which would exploit it
idiomatically, in a performance which would provide listeners with a pleasurable and satisfying
musical experience. Hence, consideration of the extent and limits of the playing-techniques of
the resulting instrument (a “Wind-Controller”) and of appropriate approaches to the composition
of music for it were an integral part of the project from the start. Moreover, the intention
was also that the piece, though grounded in the musical characteristics of the 19-EDO scale,
would nevertheless have a recognisable relationship with what Dimitri Tymoczko (2010) has
called the “Extended Common Practice” of the last millennium. So the article goes on to consider
these matters, and to present a score of the resulting new piece, annotated with comments
documenting some of the performance issues which it raises. Thus, bringing the project to
fruition involved elements of composition, performance, engineering and computing, and the
article describes how such an inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary collaboration
was co-ordinated in a unified manner to achieve the envisaged outcome. Finally, we
consider why the building of microtonal instruments is such a problematic issue in a contemporary
(“high-tech”) society like ours
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