Is Vivaldi smooth and takete? Non-verbal sensory scales for describing music qualities

Studies on the perception of music qualities (such as induced or perceived emotions, performance styles, or timbre nuances) make a large use of verbal descriptors. Although many authors noted that particular music qualities can hardly be described by means of verbal labels, few studies have tried alternatives. This paper aims at exploring the use of non-verbal sensory scales, in order to represent different perceived qualities in Western classical music. Musically trained and untrained listeners were required to listen to six musical excerpts in major key and to evaluate them from a sensorial and semantic point of view (Experiment 1). The same design (Experiment 2) was conducted using musically trained and untrained listeners who were required to listen to six musical excerpts in minor key. The overall findings indicate that subjects\u2019 ratings on non-verbal sensory scales are consistent throughout and the results support the hypothesis that sensory scales can convey some specific sensations that cannot be described verbally, offering interesting insights to deepen our knowledge on the relationship between music and other sensorial experiences. Such research can foster interesting applications in the field of music information retrieval and timbre spaces explorations together with experiments applied to different musical cultures and contexts

CaRo 2.0: an interactive system for expressive music rendering

In several application contexts in multimedia field (educational, extreme gaming), the interaction with the user requests that system is able to render music in expressive way. The expressiveness is the added value of a performance and is part of the reason that music is interesting to listen. Understanding and modeling expressive content communication is important for many engineering applications in information technology (e.g., Music Information Retrieval, as well as several applications in the affective computing field). In this paper, we present an original approach to modify the expressive content of a performance in a gradual way, applying a smooth morphing among performances with different expressive content in order to adapt the audio expressive character to the user's desires. The system won the final stage of Rencon 2011. This performance RENdering CONtest is a research project that organizes contests for computer systems generating expressive musical performances

Mozart is still blue: a comparison of sensory and verbal scales to describe qualities in music

An experiment was carried out in order to assess the use of non-verbal sensory scales for evaluating perceived music qualities, by comparing them with the analogous verbal scales. Participants were divided into two groups; one group (SV) completed a set of non-verbal scales responses and then a set of verbal scales responses to short musical extracts. A second group (VS) completed the experiment in the reverse order. Our hypothesis was that the ratings of the SV group can provide information unmediated (or less mediated) by verbal association in a much stronger way than the VS group. Factor analysis performed separately on the SV group, the VS group and for all participants shows a recurring patterning of the majority of sensory scales versus the verbal scales into different factors. Such results suggest that the sensory scale items are indicative of a different semantic structure than the verbal scales in describing music, and so they are indexing different qualities (perhaps ineffable), making them potentially special contributors to understanding musical experience

Music Systemisers and Music Empathisers - Do They Rate Expressiveness of Computer Generated Performances the Same?

(Abstract to follow

DAX-1 Expression in Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcomas: Another Immunohistochemical Marker Useful in the Diagnosis of Translocation Positive Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of DAX-1 in a series of pediatric rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) with known translocation and compare it to Ap2\u3b2, known to be selectively expressed in ARMS. DESIGN: We revised a series of 71 alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas (ARMS), enrolled in the Italian Protocols RMS 79 and 96, and 23 embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas (ERMS) as controls. Before investigating Ap2\u3b2 and DAX-1, ARMS were reviewed and reclassified as 48 ARMS and 23 non-ARMS. RESULTS: Translocation positive ARMS showed a characteristic Ap2\u3b2/DAX-1+ staining pattern in 78% of cases, while 76% of classic ERMS were negative for both. Ap2\u3b2 alone was positive in 3.9% of RMS lacking translocation, whereas DAX-1 alone was positive in 25.4%. Conversely, 9% and 6% of translocation positive ARMS were positive only for DAX-1 or Ap2\u3b2, respectively. The 23 non-ARMS shared the same phenotype as ERMS but had a higher frequency of DAX-1 expression. CONCLUSIONS: DAX-1 is less specific than Ap2\u3b2, however it is a sensitive marker for translocation positive ARMS and can be helpful in their diagnosis if used in combination with Ap2\u3b2

Archaeology and virtual acoustics. A pan flute from ancient Egypt

This paper presents the early developments of a recently started research project, aimed at studying from a multidisciplinary perspective an exceptionally well preserved ancient pan flute. A brief discussion of the history and iconography of pan flutes is provided, with a focus on Classical Greece. Then a set of non-invasive analyses are presented, which are based on 3D scanning andmaterials chemistry, and are the starting point to inspect the geometry, construction, age and geographical origin of the instrument. Based on the available measurements, a preliminary analysis of the instrument tuning is provided, which is also informed with elements of theory of ancient Greek music. Finally, the paper presents current work aimed at realizing an interactive museum installation that recreates a virtual flute and allows intuitive access to all these research facets

Towards a multi-layer architecture for multi-modal rendering of expressive actions

International audienceExpressive content has multiple facets that can be conveyed by music, gesture, actions. Different application scenarios can require different metaphors for expressiveness control. In order to meet the requirements for flexible representation, we propose a multi-layer architecture structured into three main levels of abstraction. At the top (user level) there is a semantic description, which is adapted to specific user requirements and conceptualization. At the other end are low-level features that describe parameters strictly related to the rendering model. In between these two extremes, we propose an intermediate layer that provides a description shared by the various high-level representations on one side, and that can be instantiated to the various low-level rendering models on the other side. In order to provide a common representation of different expressive semantics and different modalities, we propose a physically-inspired description specifically suited for expressive actions

Massive non-natural proteins structure prediction using grid technologies

Background The number of natural proteins represents a small fraction of all the possible protein sequences and there is an enormous number of pr oteins never sampled by nature, the so called "never born proteins" (NBPs). A fundamental question in this regard is if the ensemble of natural proteins possesses peculiar chemical and physical properties or if it is just the product of contingency coupled to functional selection. A key feature of natural proteins is thei r ability to form a well defined three-dimensional structure. T hus, the structural study of NBPs can help to understand if natural protein sequences were selecte d for their peculiar properties or if they are just one of the possible stable and functional ensembles. Methods The structural characterization of a huge number of random proteins cannot be approached experimentally, thus the problem has been tackled using a computational approach. A large random protein sequences library (2 × 10 ^4 sequences) was generated, discarding amino acid sequences with significant simi larity to natural proteins, and the corresponding structures were predicted using Rosetta. Given th e highly computational demanding problem, Rosetta was ported in grid and a user friendly job submission environment was developed within the GENIUS Grid Portal. Protein structures generated were analysed in terms of net charge, secondary structure content, surface/volume ratio, hydrophobic core composition, etc. Results The vast majority of NBPs, according to the Rosetta mode l, are characterized by a compact three-dimensional structure with a high secondary structure content. Structure compactness and surface polarity are comparable to those of natural proteins, suggesting similar stability and solubility. Deviations are observed in α helix- β strands relative content and inydrophobic core composition, as NBPs appear to be richer in helical structure and aromatic amino acids with respect to natural proteins. Conclusion The results obtained suggest that the abil ity to form a compact, ordered and water-soluble structure is an intrinsic property of polypeptides. The tendency of random sequences to adopt α helical folds indicate that all-α proteins may have emerged ea rly in pre-biotic evolution. Further, the lower percentage of aromatic residu es observed in natural proteins has important evolutionary implications as far as tolerance to mutati ons is concerned