Duet Performance Research Articles

Temporal Coordination between Performing Musicians

Many common behaviours require people to coordinate the timing of their actions with the timing of others' actions. We examined whether representations of musicians' actions are activated in coperformers with whom they must coordinate their actions in time and whether coperformers simulate each other's actions using their own motor systems during temporal coordination. Pianists performed right-hand melodies along with simple or complex left-hand accompaniments produced by themselves or by another pianist. Individual performers' preferred performance rates were measured in solo performance of the right-hand melody. The complexity of the left-hand accompaniment influenced the temporal grouping structure of the right-hand melody in the same way when it was performed by the self or by the duet partner, providing some support for the action corepresentation hypothesis. In contrast, accompaniment complexity had little influence on temporal coordination measures (asynchronies and cross-correlations between parts). Temporal coordination measures were influenced by a priori similarities between partners' preferred rates; partners who had similar preferred rates in solo performance were better synchronized and showed mutual adaptation to each other's timing during duet performances. These findings extend previous findings of action corepresentation and action simulation to a task that requires precise temporal coordination of independent yet simultaneous actions.

Development of the Anthropomorphic Saxophonist Robot WAS-1: Mechanical Design of the Simulated Organs and Implementation of Air Pressure Feedback Control

The research on the Waseda Flutist Robot, since 1990, is an approach to understand human motor control from an engineering point of view, as well as introducing novel ways of musical teaching. More recently, the authors have proposed as a long-term goal the aim to enable musical performance robots to interact with musical partners. For this purpose, we present two research approaches: implementing more advanced cognitive capabilities on the Waseda Flutist Robot no. 4 Refined IV (WF-4RIV) (i.e., visual/aural processing) and developing a new musical performance robot (i.e., duet performance). In this paper, we have focused our research on developing an anthropomorphic saxophonist robot as a benchmark to better understand how the interaction with musical partners can be facilitated. As a result, we have developed the Waseda Saxophonist Robot no. 1 (WAS-1) with 15 d.o.f. that mechanically simulates the organs involved during saxophone playing. In this paper, we present the details of the mechanical design of the simulated organs, as well as the implementation of the musical performance control system based on air pressure feedback control. A set of experiments was proposed to verify the effectiveness of the designed simulated organs to produce the saxophone sound and to verify the effectiveness of the proposed air pressure feedback control by comparing the saxophone performance of WAS-1 against an intermediate saxophonist. Finally, a preliminary experiment was carried out to analyze the feasibility of realizing a duet performance with the WF-4RIV. From the experimental results, we have confirmed that WAS-1 is capable of producing a saxophone sound nearly similar in terms of pitch and volume to the performance of a human player.

Duet for one, Almeida Theatre, London (January 22nd to March 14th 2009)

Peter Brook, the theatre director, once told me in an interview that he had spent 10 years attempting to bring science to the stage. It was difficult, he said, because, at the level of the lab bench, science is essentially reductionist and devoid of emotion and drama. He thought of treating the theme biographically, but decided that scientists are not interested in themselves apart from their science (a notion contradicted, I think, in Michael Frayn's Copenhagen where the ethical and political conflict between the atomic physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg during World War II is portrayed). ![Graphic][1] In the end Brook decided to dramatize neurological illness, after being impressed with Oliver Sacks's book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat . The reason, he said, was that in neurological case histories one sees the ‘wayward molecules meeting the essential human being’. The production that ensued— The Man Who —was a remarkable dramatization of essential humanity surviving and even thriving despite serious neurological conditions. The play ran into problems in rehearsal, as it happened, for Brook was insistent that neurological symptoms, such as visual agnosia, should be understood at a deep and highly accurate level by the actors and director. In the case of The Man Who , he was dissatisfied with the cast's ability to render accurately the different neurological conditions based on the available symptomatology in the book. I found myself recalling Brook's struggles with dramatized neurology while watching a performance of Duet for One , … [1]: awp057i1

The Mechanics of Duetting in a New Zealand Endemic, the Kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni): Song at a Snail's Pace

AbstractNew Zealand's endemic, duetting kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) produce one of the longest known bird songs (ca 30 s) and duets that differ strikingly from those of most duetters in their unusual length and non‐repetitive structure, long pauses between component phrases, and the great flexibility in sex roles. Here we present a structural analysis of the vocalizations of 17 kokako pairs collected during natural song bouts and in response to conspecific playback, to gain insight into the functional role of this extraordinary vocal behavior. Males tend to sing a greater proportion of the duet than females. Like many duetting species, kokako have a moderately sized repertoire of phrases (mean repertoire size =18) and pair members tend to sing antiphonally rather than in unison. Sharing of phrase types is high among neighboring kokako ( = 86%) and repertoires are not sex specific, as is typical of some but not all duetting species. Timing characteristics, broad sharing of phrase types, and countersinging behavior strongly suggest that kokako duets play an important role in territory defense. Additionally, differences in pairs’ sex role and phrase sequence flexibility suggest that these aspects of duet performance may reflect pair‐bond length or commitment, and require a time investment by pair members.

Multiple functions to duet singing: hidden conflicts and apparent cooperation

Joint territory defence, mate guarding and pair bond formation are the three principal hypotheses put forward to explain the occurrence of duet singing in birds and primates. We tested predictions from all three hypotheses in a subspecies of the plain, or canebrake, wren, Thryothorus modestus zeledoni. This species performs one of the most complex antiphonal duet songs described, and we examined the function of these duets through a combination of observations and playback experiments. There has been little consensus on how to distinguish between the different hypotheses, and we combined experiments and observations to help to distinguish between the hypotheses in the field. Duets in this species appeared to function primarily in cooperative joint territory defence, but our results suggest that both males and females also used their contribution to the duet to mate-guard. We found evidence of learning duet performance after pair bond formation but, contrary to predictions, not in the temporal coordination of a pair's duets. Instead, more established pairs were more consistent in their duet repertoires than newly formed pairs, which combined their song types more randomly. We also found plasticity in the speed of duet performance, with pairs apparently adjusting the temporal pattern of their duet in response to different stimuli. We discuss the implications of these results for the use of duets in this species.

A musical duet performance MIDI over IP system

The Musical Digital Interface (MIDI) engineering specification offers a lower bandwidth alternative to real-time audio for the transmission of musical gesture data over the Internet (MIDI over IP). MIDI, while widely used in studio work and live performance by professional musicians, has historically only been transmitted over dedicated synchronous serial connections due to its requirements of low latency and zero packet loss. We demonstrate a musically viable MIDI over IP performance system. The system can be used for remote performance, collaboration, or musical instruction.

Song behaviour and reproductive strategies in a duetting wren, Thryothorus nigricapillus: I. Removal experiments

Mate removal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses that vocal duetting functions in pair bond maintenance and/or territory defence in the bay wren, Thryothorus nigricapillus, in the Republic of Panama. Males and females were observed while in established pairs, while alone after mate removal and following the arrival of a new mate. Duet repertoires and precision of duet performance were then compared in birds singing with old and new mates. Another experiment in which males were exchanged between two territories was similarly analysed. These experiments demonstrated that (1) individual repertoires and duet precision do not change following a change in mates, refuting the pair bond maintenance hypothesis, and (2) unpaired birds do not lose their territories, failing to support the hypothesis that duets are necessary for territory defence. Analysis of vocalization rates suggested that male and female songs serve different functions. Male vocal behaviour was sensitive to male mating status: when males were alone, their vocalization rates dramatically increased. However, males answered the songs of a new mate less frequently than they did those of their original mate. These results suggest that unpaired males sing to attract females and that males might use participation in duets to assess new mates. The function of duetting by males in established pairs remains unclear. Female song rates were unaffected by female mating status, suggesting that female songs may be directed to conspecific females. Results also indicated that territory residency may play a more important role in mate acquisition for males than it does for females.

Timing in Solo and Duet Piano Performances

Perhaps some of the most refined forms of timing arise in musical performance, particularly in the coordination between musicians playing together. Studies of timing in solo and duet piano performances are described, in which the musicians gave repeat performances of the music. In both solo and duet performances there was expressive use of timing, modulating the tempo of the music and the phase relationship between the voices, and the expressive forms were similar in successive performances of the piece. There was also evidence of separate timing control of the metre and of the production of notes and rests. Thus timing in musical performance is best modelled by assuming two levels of timekeeper, one pacing the metre and the other contained in the movement trajectories of note production, computed by motor procedure in relation to the metre. It is argued that expressive forms are derived from an interpretation of the music rather than memorized; and that coordination between voices in the music is achieved at the level of the metre.

Behavioural Significance of Duet Interactions: Cues From Antiphonal Duetting Between Males (Cossypha Heuglini H.)

AbstractAntiphonal duetting is regarded as a formalized interaction display between, usually mated, individuals of different sex. Proceeding from observations that antiphonal duetting can also occur between male conspecifics, we investigated the structure and context dependance of the display in aviary kept male robin chats (Cossypha heuglini H.). In the male/male duets, which were confined to a particular dyad of our tests subjects, all characteristic features corresponded to those of the male/female display (Fig. 1). Duet roles were not exchanged between males, and the "female" contribution was exclusively delivered by the younger male. Duetting obviously influenced both, interactions within the dyad (in terms of inhibiting overt aggression) and the territorial behaviours (attacks, chases) towards third introduced conspecifics. During confrontation with such males, the duetters took different roles in attempting to deter an outsider (test 3), which were similar to those observed for mated individuals of a pair. In tests where only one individual could attack, duet rates and attack rates were positively related (Fig. 4). Preceding a duet performance, one male approached the other one (Fig. 3), and restriction of such proximity (tests 1s, 2s) lowered both, duet rates and attack rates against an introduced male (Fig. 4 & 5). Our results allow to discuss relationships between duet behaviour and alliance formation in our males. To our knowledge such a cooperation, though presumably temporary, has not been described for adult males of highly territorial bird species.

Discrimination between Tone Quality and Intonation in Unaccompanied Flute/Oboe Duets

The purpose of the study was to investigate discrimination in tone quality and intonation. Four-hundred-eighty (480) music and nonmusic graduate and undergraduate subjects checked good and bad quality/intonation classifications by listening to each of twenty-four oboe and flute duet performances. The duets were unaccompanied and performed either with good or bad quality and close to equal temperament or were adjusted 50 cents sharp between one instrument and the other. Results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between the music and nonmusic majors across categories, with the music majors making more correct discriminations than nonmusic students. A significant difference in subjects' indications of total intonation performance errors showed 38% “sharp” responses and 62% “flat” responses. This finding, while somewhat surprising, is consistent with prior research. Subjects perceived more intonation errors (although incorrectly) than tone quality errors. When indicating a preference for tone quality subjects were actually responding to intonation variables as opposed to quality variables throughout almost all of the com parisons.