Learning and Consolidation as Re-representation: Revising the Meaning of Memory

In this Hypothesis and Theory paper, we consider the problem of learning deeply structured knowledge representations in the absence of predefined ontologies, and in the context of long-term learning. In particular, we consider this process as a sequence of re-representation steps, of various kinds. The Information Dynamics of Thinking theory (IDyOT) admits such learning, and provides a hypothetical mechanism for the human-like construction of hierarchical memory, with the provision of symbols constructed by the system that embodies the theory. The combination of long-term learning and meaning construction in terms of symbols grounded in perceptual experience entails that the system, like a human, be capable of memory consolidation, to manage the complex and inconsistent structures that can result from learning of information that becomes more complete over time. Such consolidation changes memory structures, and thus changes their meaning. Therefore, memory consolidation entails re-representation, while re-representation entails changes of meaning. Ultimately, the theory proposes that the processes of learning and consolidation should be considered as repeated re-representation of what is learned

An approach for identifying salient repetition in multidimensional representations of polyphonic music

SIATEC is an algorithm for discovering patterns in multidimensional datasets (Meredith et al., 2002). This algorithm has been shown to be particularly useful for analysing musical works. However, in raw form, the results generated by SIATEC are large and difficult to interpret. We propose an approach, based on the generation of set-covers, which aims to identify particularly salient patterns that may be of musicological interest. Our method is capable of identifying principal musical themes in Bach Two-Part Inventions, and is able to offer a human analyst interesting insight into the structure of a musical work

09051 Abstracts Collection -- Knowledge representation for intelligent music processing

From the twenty-fifth to the thirtieth of January, 2009, the Dagstuhl Seminar 09051 on ``Knowledge representation for intelligent music processing\u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Centre for Informatics. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations and demos given during the seminar as well as plenary presentations, reports of workshop discussions, results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general, followed by plenary `stimulus\u27 papers, followed by reports and abstracts arranged by workshop followed finally by some concluding materials providing views of both the seminar itself and also forward to the longer-term goals of the discipline. Links to extended abstracts, full papers and supporting materials are provided, if available. The organisers thank David Lewis for editing these proceedings

Computational Creativity and Live Algorithms

We examine the field of algorithmic composition from the perspective of computational creativity. We begin by introducing the idea of computational creativity as a philosophical perspective. Next, we introduce a method for consideration of the properties of creative systems, the Creative Systems Framework (CSF). We then use the CSF as a starting point for discussion of a system of comparison specific to algorithmic composition as an artistic and technical practice. Finally, we sketch a road map for future developments in algorithmic composition and live coding, in these terms

A Computational Approach to the Detection and Prediction of (Ir)Regularity in Children's Folk Songs

We examine (ir)regularity in the musical structure of 736 monophonic children's folk songs from 22 European countries, by simulating and detecting (ir)regularity with the computational model, IDyOM, and our own algorithm, Ir_Reg, which classifies melodies according to regularity of their musical structure. IDyOM offers a range of viewpoints which allow observation and prediction of various musical features. We used five viewpoints to measure the information content and entropy of musical events in songs. Analysis across the data shows absence of irregular musical structure in children's folk songs from Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Portugal, Hungary, and Romania. Conversely, absence of regular structure in children's folk songs was found in Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland. Further analysis of (ir)regularity, by individual country, revealed the importance of patterns repeated at pitch in regular songs, and a higher occurrence of transposed repeated patterns in irregular songs. Principal component analysis (PCA) shows the salience of pitch and pitch intervals in the perception of (ir)regular structure. Neither rhythm nor contour affects the perception of regularity. Recurring pulse/meter and arch-like melodic structure were found in the majority of children's folk songs. The study shows that irregularity exists in children's folk songs, and that this genre can be complex

The Semantic Music Player: A Smart Mobile Player Based on Ontological Structures and Analytical Feature Metadata

Presented at the 2nd Web Audio Conference (WAC), April 4-6, 2016, Atlanta, Georgia.The Semantic Music Player is a cross-platform web and mobile app built with Ionic and the Web Audio API that explores new ways of playing back music on mobile devices, particularly indeterministic, context-dependent, and interactive ways. It is based on Dynamic Music Objects, a format that represents musical content and structure in an abstract way and makes it modifiable within definable constraints. For each Dynamic Music Object, the Semantic Music Player generates a custom graphical interface and enables appropriate user interface controls and mobile sensors based on its requirements. When the object is played back, the player takes spontaneous decisions based on the given structural information and the analytical data and reacts to sensor and user interface inputs. In this paper, we introduce the player and its underlying concepts and give some examples of the potentially infinite amount of use cases and musical results

Case Study ``Beatles Songs'' — What can be Learned from Unreliable Music Alignments?

As a result of massive digitization efforts and the world wide web, there is an exploding amount of available digital data describing and representing music at various semantic levels and in diverse formats. For example, in the case of the Beatles songs, there are numerous recordings including an increasing number of cover songs and arrangements as well as MIDI data and other symbolic music representations. The general goal of music synchronization is to align the multiple information sources related to a given piece of music. This becomes a difficult problem when the various representations reveal significant differences in structure and polyphony, while exhibiting various types of artifacts. In this paper, we address the issue of how music synchronization techniques are useful for automatically revealing critical passages with significant difference between the two versions to be aligned. Using the corpus of the Beatles songs as test bed, we analyze the kind of differences occurring in audio and MIDI versions available for the song

The evolutionary roots of creativity: mechanisms and motivations

Funding: MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.We consider the evolution of cognition and the emergence of creative behaviour, in relation to vocal communication. We address two key questions: (i) what cognitive and/or social mechanisms have evolved that afford aspects of creativity?; (ii) has natural and/or sexual selection favoured human behaviours considered ‘creative’? This entails analysis of ‘creativity’, an imprecise construct: comparable properties in non-humans differ in magnitude and teleology from generally agreed human creativity. We then address two apparent problems: (i) the difference between merely novel productions and ‘creative’ ones; (ii) the emergence of creative behaviour in spite of high cost: does it fit the idea that females choose a male who succeeds in spite of a handicap (costly ornament); or that creative males capable of producing a large and complex song repertoire grew up under favourable conditions; or a demonstration of generally beneficial heightened reasoning capacity; or an opportunity to continually reinforce social bonding through changing communication tropes; or something else? We illustrate and support our argument by reference to whale and bird song; these independently evolved biological signal mechanisms objectively share surface properties with human behaviours generally called ‘creative’. Studying them may elucidate mechanisms underlying human creativity; we outline a research programme to do so.PostprintPeer reviewe