Biomechanical Modelling of Musical Performance: A Case Study of the Guitar

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/2517 on 07.20.2017 by CS (TIS)Computer-generated musical performances are often criticised for being unable to match the expressivity found in performances by humans. Much research has been conducted in the past two decades in order to create computer technology able to perform a given piece music as expressively as humans, largely without success. Two approaches have been often adopted to research into modelling expressive music performance on computers. The first focuses on sound; that is, on modelling patterns of deviations between a recorded human performance and the music score. The second focuses on modelling the cognitive processes involved in a musical performance. Both approaches are valid and can complement each other. In this thesis we propose a third complementary approach, focusing on the guitar, which concerns the physical manipulation of the instrument by the performer: a biomechanical approach. The essence of this thesis is a study on capturing, analyzing and modelling information about motor and biomechanical processes of guitar performance. The focus is on speed, precision, and force of a guitarist's left-hand. The overarching questions behind our study are: 1) Do unintentional actions originating from motor and biomechanical functions during musical performance contribute a material "human feel" to the performance? 2) Would it be possible determine and quantify such unintentional actions? 3) Would it be possible to model and embed such information in a computer system? The contributionst o knowledgep ursued in this thesis include: a) An unprecedented study of guitar mechanics, ergonomics, and playability; b) A detailed study of how the human body performs actions when playing the guitar; c) A methodologyt o formally record quantifiable data about such actionsin performance; d) An approach to model such information, and e) A demonstration of how the above knowledge can be embeddedin a system for music performance

Ubiquitous Computing meets Ubiquitous Music

Ubiquitous Computing meets Ubiquitous Musi

Can Ubimus Technologies affect our Musicality?

Recent works recognize musicality is based on and constrained by our cognitive and biological system. Taking in account a concept from cognitive science - cognitive offloading - as a principle for technology-supported musical activities, in this paper we discuss some principles (guidelines) to be taken into account when designing, developing and evaluating computer music technologies, especially those related to ubimus. We think that Ubimus technology can shape the way we think about music and have a positive (or negative) influence on our musicality

Editorial: Ubiquitous Music Making in COVID-19 Times

Picture a world with no mobility. Planes are landed. Urban transportation stopped. Large gatherings are non-existent and everybody is at home. That’s 2020, today. Most countries have reduced social interactions to a minimum. Food markets, drugstores and gas stations remain open. But shopping malls, cinemas, coffee shops and pubs have closed their doors for the foreseeable future. The Covid-19 pandemic is among us, ready to strike the most vulnerable and sometimes also the healthy, rich and posh. Covid-19 impacts every social strata. This is a key difference between this disease and the plagues that have been taking lives in the peripheral countries for decades. Pulmonary and respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. But according to the WHO 1 (2018), the so-called Group I conditions (communicable diseases, maternal conditions arising during pregnancy and childbirth, and nutritional deficiencies) are particularly devastating among the low-income populations. Until today, music making has predominantly been done through face-to-face, synchronous interactions. While it is true that some forms of music making ⎼ for instance, studio post-production or karaoké ⎼ rely on resources that are prepared offline, the implicit target of musical activity is to make sound together, if possible in person and at the same time. The current pandemic has turned the traditional forms of music making into high-risk and in some cases potentially deadly activities. So is music making becoming an activity for a select elite, secluded from the mundane buzz and divorced from community exchanges, again? The answer from the ubimus community is a strong no

Guitarreando: estudo sobre a utilização de modelagem e tablatura no ensino de violão mediado por tecnologia

O presente projeto estuda a efetividade da modelagem e da tablatura no ensino do violão mediado por tecnologia, utilizando procedimentos experimentais com o objetivo de subsidiar a eleição, o design e o desenvolvimento de ambientes musicais educativos. Dentro deste contexto, 41 participantes realizaram exercícios musicais através de três meios digitais: vídeo, áudio e tablatura. Foram modeladas atividades de execução de acordes utilizando cordas soltas, de melodias com cordas soltas usando somente uma mão, e de melodias empregando cordas pisadas que demandam a coordenação motora de ambas manos. Através do estudo, respondemos às seguintes perguntas: Quais modelos digitais – vídeo e áudio ou tablatura – são mais efetivos para o ensino inicial de violão? Quais materiais sonoros (acorde, melodia com cordas presas ou melodia com cordas soltas) são mais adequados? Em relação aos critérios número de acertos e tempo de execução, os resultados indicam que a tablatura é mais efetiva que os modelos digitais disponibilizados em formatos audiovisuais ou sonoros. Quanto aos materiais musicais, os resultados sugerem o uso de atividades empregando melodias com cordas soltas (arpejos) nas fases iniciais.We focus on the effectiveness of modeling and tablature as strategies for knowledge sharing in technologically based guitar-training techniques. We adopt experimental procedures with the purpose of subsidizing election, design and development of educational musical environments. Forty-one participants performed musical excerpts furnished through three digital media: video, audio and tablature. Activities featured chords using loose strings, melodies with loose strings, and melodies using pressed strings that require coordination between the hands. The study proposes the following questions: What digital models – video and audio or tablature – are most effective for initial guitar methods? What sonic materials (chord, melody with pressed strings or melody with loose strings) are more suitable? Regarding the number of errors and the execution time, the results indicate that tablature is more effective than audiovisual and sonic models. Concerning musical materials, the results suggest the use of activities using loose strings during the initial training phases.XVI Workshop Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación (WTIAE).Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Proceedings of the Ubiquitous Music Symposium - ubimus2022

Following the nice experiences of hybrid and remote events held in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil in 2020 and Porto, Portugal, in 2021, this year our community decided to fully embrace the remote modality. The event was hosted by our partners at the State University of Paraná (Unespar), located in Curitiba, Brazil, under the able coordination of Felipe de Almeida Ribeir

Music Segmentation and Similarity Estimation Applied to a Gaze-Controlled Musical Interface

Assistive technology, especially gaze-controlled, can promote accessibility, health care, well-being and inclusion for impaired people, including musical activities that can be supported by interfaces controlled using eye tracking. Also, the Internet growth has allowed access to a huge digital music database, which can contribute to a new form of music creation. In this paper, we propose the application of Music Information Retrieval techniques for music segmentation and similarity identification, aiming at the development of a new form of musical creation using an automatic process and the optimization algorithm Harmony Search to combine segments. These techniques for segmentation and similarity of segments were implemented in an assistive musical interface controlled by eye movement to support musical creation and well-being. The experimental results can be found in [https://bit.ly/2Zl7KSC]

Educação Musical Auxiliada por Computador: Algumas Considerações e Experiências

O objetivo deste trabalho é tecer considerações relativas a educação musical auxiliada por computador, salientar tópicos que consideramos necessários para este tipo de prática e algumas características de sistemas que os contemplam. Discute, ainda, como explorar a computação musical como meio de inclusão digital, citando experiências de pesquisas na área

Ecologically grounded multimodal design:The Palafito 1.0 study

We present results of a ten-month design study targeting the observation of creative artistic practice by a video-artist, a sculptor and a composer. The study yielded the multimedia installation Palafito/Palafita/Home-on-stilts 1.0, featuring 19:30 minutes of sonic material and video footage, and three 5x8x3-meter raw-wood sculptures. This paper focuses on the procedural dimensions of the asynchronous, ubiquitous group activities carried out by the three subjects through light-weight, off-the-shelf infrastructure. Data was extracted from a virtual forum and a file repository. The analysis of the creative exchange indicated cycles of activity alternating between reflection, exploratory action and product-oriented action. The participants were engaged in reflective activities 63% of the time, epistemic activities spanned 33% of the study and product-oriented activities accounted for only 4% of the creative design cycle. Dialogic activities did not follow a regular pattern, but a relationship between enactive and dialogic activities was observed. We discuss the implications of these results for embedded-embodied approaches to sound art