Transformation in Rock Harmony: An Explanatory Strategy

Explaining one musical passage by saying it is a transformed version of another is a basic strategy of analysis. In this article, I explore this strategy specifically in regard to harmonic structures in rock music. By focusing on transformations that describe obvious musical experiences (as opposed to transformations that could be considered more rational than empirical in nature), I am able to explore the usefulness of concepts such as chord substitution and musical normality as they apply to our hearings, and as they apply to the ways in which we can make sense of our hearings via a notion of transformation

Figuring Out Forensic Musicology: Stairway to Heaven, Taurus, and a Brief History of the Drooping Schema

Angesichts der zunehmenden Häufigkeit von Rechtsstreiten über musikalische Urheberrechtverletzungen, bei denen es um Millionenbeträge geht, scheinen Musiktheoretiker*innen gute Voraussetzungen mitzubringen, ihre esoterische Ausbildung für einen ausgesprochen praktischen Zweck einsetzen zu können, nämlich in Form sachlicher Expertise innerhalb einer “forensischen Musikforschung”, die “grundlegende Ähnlichkeiten” (substantial similarities, so der juristische Terminus) zwischen musikalischen Werken einschätzt. Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einem kürzlichen derartigen Fall, “Skidmore v. Zeppelin et al.”, der aus dem Vorwurf entstand, dass der Beginn von Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven (1971) auf jenem von Taurus (1968) der Band Spirit beruhe. Die “grundlegende Ähnlichkeit” hierbei umfasst die absteigende Harmoniefolge der eröffnenden akustischen Gitarre, ein Ausschnitt aus einer Lamentobassfigur von der Tonika A fallend bis zum F (die Dominante E erscheint in einer oberen Stimme), eine Variante des Drooping-Modells im Rock. Nach einer Diskussion relevanter Details des Rechtsstreits, stelle ich kurz einen Abschnitt aus der Geschichte der Drooping-Figur im Rock vor, als Querschnitt berühmter Aufnahmen in den Jahren unmittelbar vor Led Zeppelins Platte. Mein Ziel ist es dabei nicht, den Rechtsstreit “Skidmore v. Zeppelin et al.” zu lösen, sondern vielmehr die entscheidenden Aspekte dieses Falls zu erhellen und die Rolle, die Musikologen in ihrer Bestimmung eingenommen haben. Abschließend argumentiere ich dafür, dass Musiktheoretiker_innen verstärkte Anstrengungen unternehmen sollten, um sich im Bereich der forensischen Musikforschung einzubringen, zum Wohle nicht nur der Gerichtsverfahren, sondern auch der Musiktheorie selbst, einer akademischen Disziplin, die in historischer Sicht selbst von ihren engsten Geschwisterfächern isoliert war, von der allgemeinen Öffentlichkeit gar nicht zu reden.In light of the growing prevalence of multimillion-dollar musical copyright infringement litigation, music theorists seem positioned to use their esoteric training for a decidedly practical purpose: as an informed presence within “forensic musicology,” the practice of evaluating “substantial similarities” (the legal term) between musical works. This article examines a recent example of such litigation, “Skidmore v. Zeppelin et al.”, involving the accusation that the opening of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven (1971) is based on Taurus (1968) by the band Spirit. The “substantial similarity” in question involves the opening acoustic-guitar descents, a partial lamento bass figure sinking from tonic A down to F (the dominant E appearing in an upper voice), a version of rock’s “drooping” schema. After discussing relevant details of the case, I briefly outline some of the history of rock’s drooping figure across multiple prominent recordings in the years immediately before Led Zeppelin’s record. My aim is not to solve the issues of “Skidmore v. Zeppelin et al.” but rather to shed light on what the issues in fact are in this particular case, and what role music scholars have played in their determination. In the end, I advocate that music theorists make a concerted effort to involve themselves in forensic musicology, to the benefit not only of the lawsuits but also of the profession of music theory itself, an academic discipline historically isolated from even its closest musicological siblings, let alone the general public

Population detection profiles of DMSP-OLS night-time imagery by regions of the world

One emerging application of night-time light imagery focuses on estimating levels of access to electricity globally (Doll & Pachauri, 2010; Elvidge et al., 2010). A central consideration of such studies is the population density which can be consistently detected from night-time light imagery. Whilst numerous studies have addressed the relationship to light and population statistics in order to predict population, the use of spatially explicit population databases allows for a more detailed description of these relationships. This paper reports the variation of different detection profiles of two publically available gridded population datasets. These are disaggregated by region to reveal a vast contrast in what we may assume to be observable population in different parts of the world. A dynamic trend emerges with respect to levels of development with the most developed nations hypothesized to be the theoretical minimum observable population density. Beyond contributing to the analysis of areas of the world without access to electricity, more fundamentally, this analysis addresses a basic question about night-time lights and how it relates to population globally and in particular the relative merits of two commonly used population databases

Giving a Voice to Audio Collections

Is the audio portion of your digital collection lacking? Do you feel that audio collections are archaic and creating an audio collection is both time consuming and expensive? This type of thinking is antiquated. You can skip transcription altogether and focus solely on indexing by using free software like OHMS (Oral History Metadata Synthesizer). During our presentation we will show you how to use this free software. If you want to transcribe yourself and save time you can use free software such as Express Scribe and use USB foot pedals to speed up the process. In addition to these options, accurate automated speech to text technology is on the way and costs about 5% the price of what standard transcribing services charge. At this price, audio collections should be making a comeback and be used to supplement and enhance digital collections. This presentation will be twofold. The first half will focus on some of the audio collections being put together at the University of Dubuque and how the audio collection is being created and used in the classroom. The second half of the presentation will focus on the up-and-coming technology transforming audio collections

Be the Spark: Institutional Recommendations for Open Educational Resources

It began with a conversation in 2018. How could a consortium of private academic libraries in Iowa promote the use of open educational resources (OER) at their institutions? We could see the potential. An OER is defined as “a teaching, learning, or research resource that is offered freely to users in at least one form and that either resides in the public domain or has been released under an open copyright license that allows for its free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with attribution” (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, Citation2021). The Iowa Private Academic Libraries consortium (IPAL) has 30 institutional members, with an average of 1,500 students at each institution. Few of the member institutions had coordinated OER initiatives or funding to support faculty who wanted to experiment with OER

A transdiagnostic comparison of enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E) and interpersonal psychotherapy in the treatment of eating disorders.

Eating disorders may be viewed from a transdiagnostic perspective and there is evidence supporting a transdiagnostic form of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E). The aim of the present study was to compare CBT-E with interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), a leading alternative treatment for adults with an eating disorder. One hundred and thirty patients with any form of eating disorder (body mass index >17.5 to <40.0) were randomized to either CBT-E or IPT. Both treatments involved 20 sessions over 20 weeks followed by a 60-week closed follow-up period. Outcome was measured by independent blinded assessors. Twenty-nine participants (22.3%) did not complete treatment or were withdrawn. At post-treatment 65.5% of the CBT-E participants met criteria for remission compared with 33.3% of the IPT participants (p < 0.001). Over follow-up the proportion of participants meeting criteria for remission increased, particularly in the IPT condition, but the CBT-E remission rate remained higher (CBT-E 69.4%, IPT 49.0%; p = 0.028). The response to CBT-E was very similar to that observed in an earlier study. The findings indicate that CBT-E is potent treatment for the majority of outpatients with an eating disorder. IPT remains an alternative to CBT-E, but the response is less pronounced and slower to be expressed. CURRENT CONTROLLED TRIALS: ISRCTN 15562271

Explaining the diffusion of energy-efficient lighting in India : a technology innovation systems approach

Electricity consumption from lighting accounts for about 15% of total power demand and 5−6% of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. It is therefore a promising avenue to achieve considerable energy savings through technological innovation and upgrading. India has been very successful in recent years with a nationwide roll-out of modern light-emitting diode (LED) applications. This study uses the framework of technology innovation systems to identify the actors, institutions, and processes behind the diffusion of this technology. Our findings indicate that national innovation strategies, along with low-carbon technology (LCT) transfer policies, helped to bring down the cost of LED lamps in a rapidly expanding domestic market. Based on the findings, we further explore lessons for broader issues of low-carbon technology transfer and suggest an emerging intermediate step between north−south and south−south technology transfer

The Grizzly, October 29, 2009

Senator John C. Rafferty Speaks in Olin • Mid-term Aftermath • Students Enjoy the PA Renaissance Fair • Copyright Infringement on Rise Among College Students • Berman Museum Receives Gifts from Expressionist Painter • Healthy Spin on America\u27s Economic Recession • Kindle: Electronic Reading Device Next iPod? • Recycling Made Easier on Campus Next Week • Opinions: Textual Relations: Double-edged Sword; Wet vs. Dry College Campuses • Football Moves Into Tie for First Atop Centennial Conferencehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1797/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Smart Cities : Applying Complexity Science to Achieve Urban Sustainability

Publisher PD

The Reliability and Validity of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire in Eating Disorder and Community Samples

Background: Clinical perfectionism is a risk and maintaining factor for anxiety disorders, depression and eating disorders. Aims: The aim was to examine the psychometric properties of the 12-item Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ). Method: The research involved two samples. Study 1 comprised a nonclinical sample (n = 206) recruited via the internet. Study 2 comprised individuals in treatment for an eating disorder (n = 129) and a community sample (n = 80). Results: Study 1 factor analysis results indicated a two-factor structure. The CPQ had strong correlations with measures of perfectionism and psychopathology, acceptable internal consistency, and discriminative and incremental validity. The results of Study 2 suggested the same two-factor structure, acceptable internal consistency, and construct validity, with the CPQ discriminating between the eating disorder and control groups. Readability was assessed as a US grade 4 reading level (student age range 9–10 years). Conclusions: The findings provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the CPQ in a clinical eating disorder and two separate community samples. Although further research is required the CPQ has promising evidence as a reliable and valid measure of clinical perfectionism