Elective Music Students Experiences with Jam2Jam

This paper presents findings from a trial of the interactive music software Jam2Jam in a classroom music setting. Jam2Jam is software which allows musical novices to control generative music in real time. It has an interface which enables users to control multiple audio-visual parameters with a single gesture an approach intended to facilitate complex, conversational interaction. Examination of students experiences with Jam2Jam indicates that students find Jam2Jam attractive and that it has considerable potential. However, a number of issues for improvement, particularly a need for increased transparency of operation are identified. Extensions to Jam2Jam which would enable students to incorporate more of their own material into the music and visual they create during jam sessions are also proposed

Extreme Programming in the University

This paper summarises our experiences teaching Extreme Programming to undergraduate students over a period of 8 years. We describe an approach in which students learn about the Extreme Programming (XP) method by using it on real software development projects. This experiential learning technique has been effective in helping students understand how XP works in practice and helped them to develop the skills to reflect on their current approaches to software development and critically evaluate agile methods. Problems, including a steep learning curve for some XP practices and difficulties scheduling pair-programming time in a university environment are also Identified

Designing for Conversational Interaction with Interactive Dance Works

In this paper we describe ongoing work, which explores the physicality of human-computer interaction in dance works. The use of physical simulations in the interface to connect with the performers and audiences lived experience of the physical world is discussed. Drawing on past work with musicians, we argue that this approach is effective in encouraging creative, `conversational interactions in live performance

Interactive Software for Guitar Learning

In this paper we present software designed to help address problems encountered by beginning guItarists, using interactive software to find effective solutions to enhance the learning process. Software can be utilised to improve a player's ability tdhear mistakes in theIr performance, as well as to create a fun and entertaining learning environment 'to motivate the player to practice. A software prototype ~~s been developed, which served as a basIs for usabllzty testmg, to highlight the usefulness of vari~us methods of feedback and provide a way forward in developing valuable software for guitar tuition

Engineering Admissions Criteria: Focusing on Ultimate Professional Success

The majority of Australian Universities use performance in the higher school examinations as the primary basis of admission into undergraduate programs for current school leavers. In 2005 an analysis of academic performance in the UTS undergraduate Engineering program showed a relatively low correlation with Higher School Certificate (HSC) results, particularly for students outside the top performance bands. This led to a rethinking of the admissions processes, and the introduction of a broader admission scheme. This scheme incorporated the results of an admission questionnaire which was designed with substantial input from industry, and which aimed to provide an indication of both likely academic success within the degree program as well as (and possibly more importantly) the likely success as a graduate Engineer. The key criteria related to affinity with, and motivations for, an Engineering career and addressed both the attitude and aptitude of students in terms of emotional intelligence characteristics. In this paper we describe the design and introduction of this scheme, and how input from industry was used to construct a questionnaire. We provide an analysis of early outcomes from the process in terms of student performance, and the extent to which course performance correlates to questionnaire results. We also include recommendations on how these schemes may be used to improve the retention and success of Engineering students and how to better match the aptitudes of engineering graduates with the needs and aspirations of Industry and Business

Evaluating the Performance of a New Gestural Instrument Within an Ensemble

This paper discusses one particular mapping for a new gestural instrument called the AirSticks. This mapping was designed to be used for improvised or rehearsed duos and restricts the performer to only utilising the sound source of one other musician playing an acoustic instrument. Several pieces with different musicians were performed and documented, musicians were observed and interviews with these musicians were transcribed. In this paper we will examine the thoughts of these musicians to gather a better understanding of how to design effective ensemble instruments of this type

Reduced mechanical efficiency in left-ventricular trabeculae of the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Long-term systemic arterial hypertension, and its associated compensatory response of left-ventricular hypertrophy, is fatal. This disease leads to cardiac failure and culminates in death. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is an excellent animal model for studying this pathology, suffering from ventricular failure beginning at about 18 months of age. In this study, we isolated left-ventricular trabeculae from SHR-F hearts and contrasted their mechanoenergetic performance with those from nonfailing SHR (SHR-NF) and normotensive Wistar rats. Our results show that, whereas the performance of the SHR-F differed little from that of the SHR-NF, both SHR groups performed less stress-length work than that of Wistar trabeculae. Their lower work output arose from reduced ability to produce sufficient force and shortening. Neither their heat production nor their enthalpy output (the sum of work and heat), particularly the energy cost of Ca(2+) cycling, differed from that of the Wistar controls. Consequently, mechanical efficiency (the ratio of work to change of enthalpy) of both SHR groups was lower than that of the Wistar trabeculae. Our data suggest that in hypertension-induced left-ventricular hypertrophy, the mechanical performance of the tissue is compromised such that myocardial efficiency is reduced

'Spheres of Influence' : An Interactive Musical Work

In this paper we describe the development of an interactive artwork which incorporates both a musical composition and software which provides a visual and aural accompaniment. The system uses physical modeling to implement a type of virtual 'sonic sculpture' which responds to musical input in a way which appears naturalistic. This work forms part of a larger project to use art to explore the potential of computers to develop interactive tools which support the development of creative musical skills

Designing for Conversational Interaction

In this paper we describe an interaction framework which classifies musicians interactions with virtual musical instruments into three modes: instrumental, ornamental and conversational. We argue that conversational interactions are the most difficult to design for, but also the most interesting. To illustrate our approach to designing for conversational interactions we describe the performance work Partial Reflections 3 for two clarinets and interactive software. This software uses simulated physical models to create a virtual sound sculpture which both responds to and produces sounds and visuals

Partial reflections: interactive environments for musical exploration

This paper describes an ongoing project to develop interactive environments for musicians that encourage musical exploration. A process of developing software such as this, where requirements are highly dynamic and unclear is outlined and two musical compositions and associated interactive environments entitled 'Partial Reflections' are described