Learning about harmony with Harmony Space: an overview

Recent developments are presented in the evolution of Harmony Space, an interface that exploits theories of tonal harmony. The design of the interface draws on Balzano's and Longuet-Higgins' theories of tonal harmony. The interface allows entities of interest (notes, chords, chord progressions, key areas, modulations) to be manipulated via direct manipulation techniques using a single principled spatial metaphor to make a wide range of musical tasks accessible for novices to perform. The interface can also be used by experienced musicians to make a range of expert tasks more tractable than by using conventional tools and notations. The interface is highly interactive and multi-modal, using two pointing devices and spatial, aural and kinaesthetic cues that all map uniformly into the underlying theory. Some recent implementations of Harmony Space are discussed, together with some of the musical tasks which they make tractable for beginners and experienced musicians. Aspects of the simple, consistent, principled framework behind the interface are outlined

Chemistry of brines in salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), southeastern New Mexico: a preliminary investigation

We present here analyses of macro- and microscopic (intracrystalline) brines observed within the WIPP facility and in the surrounding halite, with interpretations regarding the origin and history of these fluids and their potential effect(s) on long-term waste storage. During excavation, several large fluid inclusions were recovered from an area of highly recrystallized halite in a thick salt bed at the repository horizon (2150 ft below ground level). In addition, 52 samples of brine ''weeps'' were collected from walls of recently excavated drifts at the same stratigraphic horizon from which the fluid inclusion samples are assumed to have been taken. Analyses of these fluids show that they differ substantially in composition from the inclusion fluids and cannot be explained by mixing of the fluid inclusion populations. Finally, holes in the facility floor that filled with brine were sampled but with no stratographic control; therefore it is not possible to interpret the compositions of these brines with any accuracy, except insofar as they resemble the weep compositions but with greater variation in both K/Mg and Na/Cl ratios. However, the Ca and SO/sub 4/ values for the floor holes are relatively close to the gypsum saturation curve, suggesting that brines filling floor holes have been modified by the presence of gypsum or anhydrite, possibly even originating in one or more of the laterally continuous anhydrite units referred to in the WIPP literature as marker beds. In conclusion, the wide compositional variety of fluids found in the WIPP workings suggest that (1) an interconnected hydrologic system which could effectively transport radonuclides away from the repository does not exist; (2) brine migration studies and experiments must consider the mobility of intergranular fluids as well as those in inclusions; and (3) near- and far-field radionuclide migration testing programs need to consider a wide range of brine compositions rather than a few reference brines

Two-dimensional visual inspection of pitch-space, many time-scales and tonal uncertainty over time

Abstract. This work explores the representational limitations of toroidal pitch-spaces, when multiple temporal resolutions, tone center ambiguity, and the time dimension are considered for visualization of music pieces. The algorithm estimates key from chroma features, over time at many time-scales, using the key-profile correlation method. All these estimations are projected as tonal centroids within Krumhansl and Kessler’s toroidal space of inter-key distances. These centroids, belonging to a toroidal surface, are then mapped to colours by 3-dimensional geometric inscription of the whole pitch-space in the CIELAB colourspace. This mapping provides a visual correlate of pitch-space’s double circularity, aproximates perceptual uniformity of colours throughout near regions, and allows for representing key ambiguity. We adapt Sapp’s keyscapes to summarize tonal centroids in pitch-space at many time-scales over time, in a two-dimensional coloured image. Keyscapes are linked with higher-dimensional tonal representations in a user interface, in order to combine their informative benefits for interactive analysis. By visualizing some specific music examples, we question the potential of continuous toroidal pitch-spaces in supporting long term analytical conclusions and tonal ambiguity description, when assisted by time vs. time-scale representations

A review of WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) repository clays and their relationship to clays of adjacent strata

The Salado Formation is a thick evaporite sequence located in the Permian Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico. This study focuses on the intense diagenetic alteration that has affected the small amounts of clay, feldspar, and quartz washed into the basin during salt deposition. These changes are of more than academic interest since this formation also houses the WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant). Site characterization concerns warrant compiling a detailed data base describing the clays in and around the facility horizon. An extensive sampling effort was undertaken to address these programmatic issues as well as to provide additional insight regarding diagenetic mechanisms in the Salado. Seventy-five samples were collected from argillaceous partings in halite at the stratigraphic level of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). These were compared with twenty-eight samples from cores of the Vaca Triste member of the Salado, a thin clastic unit at the top of the McNutt potash zone, and with a clay-rich sample from the lower contact of the Culebra Dolomite (in the overlying Rustler Formation). These settings were compared to assess the influence of differences in brine chemistry (i.e., halite and potash facies, normal to hypersaline marine conditions) and sediment composition (clays, sandy silt, dolomitized limestone) on diagenetic processes. 44 refs., 11 figs., 5 tabs

Use of sound for the interpretation of impact-echo signals

Presented at the 4th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD), Palo Alto, California, November 2-5, 1997.This paper describes the development and evaluation of techniques for using sound to aid in the interpretation of signals obtained from the nondestructive testing of concrete using the impact-echo method. The impact-echo method and the significance of using sound for the field engineer are introduced. The auditory representation scheme developed and the software used are described. Psychological experiments that evaluate the effectiveness of the representation scheme are discussed. Results indicate the success of using sound to enhance signal interpretation in real-time and also suggest ways of using sound to train field engineers in the proper use of the impact-echo method

The role of melodic and temporal cues in perceiving musical meter

A number of different cues allow listeners to perceive musical meter. Three experiments examined effects of melodic and temporal accents on perceived meter in excerpts from folk songs scored in 6/8 or 3/4 meter. Participants matched excerpts with 1 of 2 metrical drum accompaniments. Melodic accents included contour change, melodic leaps, registral extreme, melodic repetition, and harmonic rhythm. Two experiments with isochronous melodies showed that contour change and melodic repetition predicted judgments. For longer melodies in the 2nd experiment, variables predicted judgments best at the beginning of excerpts. The final experiment, with rhythmically varied melodies, showed that temporal accents, tempo, and contour change were the strongest predictors of meter. The authors ’ findings suggest that listeners combine multiple melodic and temporal features to perceive musical meter. Music is an important stimulus for rhythmic movements, such as tapping, bouncing, swaying, clapping, and dancing. Most psycho-logical and music-theoretical accounts define meter as a perceptual and conceptual organization of periodically alternating strong and weak beats that is superimposed on the musical surface (Dowlin