Flute Research Articles

Research on the Application of IU-EKF Algorithm for Feature Extraction of Flute Performers Based on Deep Learning

In order to achieve a more standardized teaching of flute playing gestures, a deep learning based application research on flute player hand shape feature extraction was proposed. Based on the theory of deep learning, a fusion network model based on VGG-16 was designed. The IU-EKF algorithm for deep learning was used to model, pose, learn, and train the hand shape of flute players. Experimental data analysis was conducted on the learning algorithm, and the experimental results showed that the model can extract gesture features for flute performance, whether on the back of the hand. The various angles of the upper and lower joints of the fingers have higher precision recognition than traditional methods. The feature extraction of flute gesture performance can also more effectively recognize the changes in different pitch angles of the gesture at different times, which has important reference value for the standardization of flute hand performance.

Power and good music: The Indigenous southern plains flute tradition

In traditional Indigenous southern plains culture, a young man could not talk to a young woman alone when they were not yet married. Instead, he would play his flute at the edge of the encampment in the evenings, and each young man had his own love song. In southern plains flute origin stories, power is attributed to good music. If a flute song achieves its intended goal of convincing the young woman to marry the flute player, one can assume the song would be considered “good.” But what criteria distinguish good from bad? Which elements typify a “good” flute song? What about the flute itself? Which features epitomize the quintessential flute? Another set of possible criteria in determining that quality is information about the flute player. In her chapter, “Culture and Aesthetics,” ethnomusicologist Marica Herndon (1980) observes the community-centered perspective of Indigenous North America. Our last set of criteria involves an assessment of the moral character of the flute player regarding service to their tribal community. This talk discusses the “good music” of two master Indigenous southern plains flute players—Belo Cozad (1864-1950) (Kiowa) and Doc Tate Nevaquaya (1932-1996) (Comanche).

Ernest Keller’s Contribution to the Formation and Development of the Russian School of Flute Playing

The purpose of the article is to study the contribution of Ernest Keller (Ernesto Köhler) to the formation and development of the Russian school of fl ute playing. The author examines the peculiarities of the formation of the Russian fl ute school related to the opening of the fi rst conservatories. The article describes Ernest Keller’s manual “The New Practical Very Understandable School for Flute, Also Convenient for Self-Study” and its role in the formation of fl ute education in Russia. The fi rst Russian fl ute school created by the musician was built on the deep preservation of traditions and continuity between generations.

LAKOĆA ŽIVLjENjA I STVARANjA

In the monograph Mosaic of Memories, Snežana Nikolajević presented the life and work of Zoran Hristić, a composer, radio and TV editor, music writer, a man who loved art, family, people, socializing. His work and life were inspiring to look at from different aspects – both biographical and musicological. The author of the monograph and the composer had an extremely harmonious, friendly and collegial relationship that resulted in wonderful texts, compositions, dedications, interpretations, shows. Therefore, it is quite natural that Zoran Hristić wanted, and Snežana Nikolejvić realized in an original, but above all interesting, accessible and interesting way, a monograph that will be interesting to both music professionals, music students, as well as art lovers and Zoran’s admirers, of which there were many. Through chapters with the titles: piano, orders, highlights, stage, screen, radio, roots, attitude, coda, we follow the chronology of Hristic’s life and professional path, along with honest, warm statements of friends and associates. The following spoke about Zoran: pianist Vesna Kršić, theologian Dragan Vukić, violinist Jovan Kolundžija, choreographer Slavko Pervan, composer, arranger, instrumentalist Slobodan Marković, Marija Ćirić, music theorist, sound engineer Zoran Jerković, traditional flute player Bora Dugić and dentist Gordana Lazarević, Zoran’s life companion during the last years. In addition to the textual material, which in a natural flow leads from the description of life events, periodization and chronological events to musicological analyses, valuable material is represented by photographs from a private archive as well as parts of sheet music, Zoran’s texts, synopsis and manuscript scores. In the coda of the Mosaic of Memories, there is a clear conclusion that Zoran Hristić had a rich, meaningful and successful life, and endowed with talent and beauty, he was ready to enjoy it.

State of the temporomandibular joint of professional flute players according to clinical examination and vibrography

BACKGROUND: When playing the flute, flautists take an asymmetrical posture, involve their masseter muscles extraordinarily, and experience stress. All these factors can affect the temporomandibular joint.
 AIM: To identify pathognomonic signs of temporomandibular dysfunction in professional musicians playing the flute by analyzing clinical examination data in combination with joint vibration.
 MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty professional flautists and 30 asymptomatic control subjects were examined. A standard clinical examination, a questionnaire survey based on the OHIP-14 questionnaire with additional questions, and a simple Hamburg test were conducted. We also conducted joint vibration analysis in both flautists and control subjects using the BioJVA device from the BioPAK complex (BioResearch, USA).
 RESULTS: The survey showed that flautists experience clicks and pain in the temporomandibular joint and pain in the muscles of the head and neck significantly more often than the control group. According to the results of the Hamburg test, symptoms of temporomandibular joint dysfunction were detected much more often among the musicians than among the control subjects. These were clicks in the joint and pain during palpation of the masticatory and temporal muscles. Joint vibration analysis showed that the total integral in flautists tracks exceeded 20 PaHz, which was three times more often than that in the control group and indicates a pathology in the temporomandibular joint.
 CONCLUSIONS: Clinical examination and joint vibration analysis revealed that the symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction are more common in flute players than in the control participants; however, no pathognomonic signs of dysfunction were found.

ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНОЕ СОСТОЯНИЕ ЖЕВАТЕЛЬНЫХ И ВИСОЧНЫХ МЫШЦ МУЗЫКАНТОВ, ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНО ИГРАЮЩИХ НА ПОПЕРЕЧНОЙ ФЛЕЙТЕ, ПО ДАННЫМ ЭЛЕКТРОМИОГРАФИИ

Flautists are at risk of developing muscular and joint pain. While playing the flute muscles of the maxillofacial region do not work physiologically. In addition, the musicians stay in an asymmetrical posture for a long time and often experience stress during performance. All these factors can affect masseter and temporal muscles and consequently lead to temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD).
 The aim of research was to investigate the state of the temporal and masseter muscles of flautists by means of electromyography in comparison to the control group.
 Electromyography of the temporal and masseter muscles was performed in 30 flautists and 30 control subjects aged 18 to 35 with the BioEMG from the BioPAK complex (BioResearch, USA). Electromyography at rest registered increased bioelectric potential of the temporal and/or masseter muscles in a subgroup of flautists who play more than 3 hours a day in 37.5% of cases. In a clench test both musicians and control subjects showed asymmetrical work of masticatory and temporal muscles, while in the control group, symmetry below 50% was noted only in the work of the temporal muscles. Synergy between temporal and masseter muscles less then 50% was 1.3 times more common in the control group than among flute players though right-sided disorders were more common in flute players.
 Electromyography of masticatory muscles is an important stage in a comprehensive examination of the TMJ condition, however, this method cannot be used as the single one or decisive one to diagnose the professional pathology of flautists.

Innovative Contributions to the Art of Established Word Games

Over the last 50-60 years, the art of interpretation on Pan flute has developed considerably, which is conditioned by technical improvement of the instrument, setting up pan flute classes at special musical institutions in the republic. In particular, however, this process has been marked by the artistic activity of some famous pan flute – Gheorghe Zamfir, Simion Stanciu, Boris Rudenco, Vasile Iovu and others – players who have taken the fame of this instrument away from the country's borders. The Article is dedicated to analysing the contributions made by renowned pan flute players in this respect from the point of view of their artistic activities and of interpretation techniques, which, at the time of their appearance, were innovative steps in the way of the universal contemporary affirmation of this instrument. The problem is addressed from the diacritical - evolution and cultural perspectives that refer to the Romanian space, European and universal space, one of the purposes of the article is to shaping and complete the international path of the pan flute, in the light of the innovations brought into the art of interpretation during the defined period.

Analysis and Optimization of Flute Playing and Teaching System Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Influenced by cultural background, economic development, social system, education system, and other factors, there is still a big gap between Chinese institutions and developed countries in flute teaching, even with our neighbors, South Korea and Japan. Under the influence of cultural background, economic development, social system, and educational system, there is still a very big gap between Chinese colleges and universities and developed countries in flute teaching, even with our neighbors, South Korea and Japan. Because of its local perception and weight-sharing structure, the convolutional neural network is closer to the biological neural network in the real world. The weight-sharing structure reduces the complexity of the neural network, which can avoid the complexity of feature extraction and classification process in data reconstruction. This paper studies the analysis and optimization of flute playing and teaching system based on a convolutional neural network. By applying local perception field and parameter sharing in a convolutional neural network at the same time and adding multiple filters, it can not only effectively reduce the number of parameters but also extract features layer by layer. In the process of convolution, the parameters of the characteristic map obtained by each layer decrease layer by layer, but the number increases gradually. Based on the analysis of the problems faced by the flute performance teaching, this paper puts forward the corresponding solutions in order to promote the flute performance teaching in China to achieve better results.

Metode Pembelajaran Suling Laras Slendro Gaya Yogyakarta

This research is motivated by the fact that many flute players, artists, musical practitioners and students do not recognize the characteristics of the Yogyakarta style flute, so there is a tendency to abandon it. On the other hand, the Yogyakarta style flute instrument has specifications that lead to special characteristics. This study aims to provide an understanding of the Yogyakarta style flute as well as produce teaching materials for the Yogyakarta style flute as a guide for learning. This study uses two methods, namely data collection and analysis and design methods. Yogyakarta Style flute learning techniques include: knowledge of the flute, basic techniques, intermediate techniques, and advanced techniques. Knowledge of the flute includes the characteristics of the shape, blow hole, tone hole, closing tone, cengkok seleh, and the application of cengkok seleh flute Yogyakarta style. Basic techniques include mastery of blowing and closing types in finding the tone of both the slendro barrels. Intermediate techniques include basic mastery of crooked selh, slendro barrel and pelog barrel. Advanced techniques include the application of seleh bends on the gending and lagon.

Metode Pembelajaran Suling Laras Slendro Gaya Yogyakarta

This research is motivated by the fact that many flute players, artists, musical practitioners and students do not recognize the characteristics of the Yogyakarta style flute, so there is a tendency to abandon it. On the other hand, the Yogyakarta style flute instrument has specifications that lead to special characteristics. This study aims to provide an understanding of the Yogyakarta style flute as well as produce teaching materials for the Yogyakarta style flute as a guide for learning. This study uses two methods, namely data collection and analysis and design methods. Yogyakarta Style flute learning techniques include: knowledge of the flute, basic techniques, intermediate techniques, and advanced techniques. Knowledge of the flute includes the characteristics of the shape, blow hole, tone hole, closing tone, cengkok seleh, and the application of cengkok seleh flute Yogyakarta style. Basic techniques include mastery of blowing and closing types in finding the tone of both the slendro barrels. Intermediate techniques include basic mastery of crooked selh, slendro barrel and pelog barrel. Advanced techniques include the application of seleh bends on the gending and lagon.

Sensing Control Parameters of Flute from Microphone Sound Based on Machine Learning from Robotic Performer.

When learning to play a musical instrument, it is important to improve the quality of self-practice. Many systems have been developed to assist practice. Some practice assistance systems use special sensors (pressure, flow, and motion sensors) to acquire the control parameters of the musical instrument, and provide specific guidance. However, it is difficult to acquire the control parameters of wind instruments (e.g., saxophone or flute) such as flow and angle between the player and the musical instrument, since it is not possible to place sensors into the mouth. In this paper, we propose a sensorless control parameter estimation system based on the recorded sound of a wind instrument using only machine learning. In the machine learning framework, many training samples that have both sound and correct labels are required. Therefore, we generated training samples using a robotic performer. This has two advantages: (1) it is easy to obtain many training samples with exhaustive control parameters, and (2) we can use the correct labels as the given control parameters of the robot. In addition to the samples generated by the robot, some human performance data were also used for training to construct an estimation model that enhanced the feature differences between robot and human performance. Finally, a flute control parameter estimation system was developed, and its estimation accuracy for eight novice flute players was evaluated using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The experimental results showed that the proposed system was able to estimate human control parameters with high accuracy.

Investigating the origins of pitch modulation in flute vibrato

Like most musicians, flute players often add vibrato to their playing for expressive effect. This is accomplished by a periodic modulation of the supplied air pressure resulting in significant amplitude and timbre variations of the resulting sound. However, a sizeable modulation in pitch also results in most cases with a width ranging from 20 to 50 cents of total variation. This work investigates the physical origins of this pitch variation based on an analysis of multiple databases of flute vibrato tones. Detailed tracking of the amplitude and pitch trajectories of each overtone is used to characterize the extent of amplitude and frequency modulation of each partial as well as their relative correlation. A high degree of correlation between amplitude and frequency modulation tracks suggests that both variations are controlled by the same physical parameter. However, the mechanisms for pressure-controlled pitch modulation are not well understood and many physically modeled synthesis algorithms do not produce this pitch variation when the input pressure is modulated. As such, this work systematically modifies existing physical models to reproduce the characteristics of recorded vibrato tones and evaluate potential mechanisms that may underlay the observed pitch modulations.

Texas Clovis Fluted Point Survey (TCFPS): Call for Data

Texas Clovis Fluted Point Survey (TCFPS): Call for Data

Gergely Ittzes – the composer of avant-garde music for flute

Gergely Ittzes – the composer of avant-garde music for flute

Evaluation of the surface nanoscale changes of R-phase, M-wire nickel-titanium instruments after use in extracted molars: An in vitro study

Introduction: The objective was to explore the impact of root canal instrumentation on the surface nanoscale characteristics of M-wire (ProTaper Next®[PTN]) and R-phase (twisted file [TF]) nickel–titanium (NiTi) instruments. Materials and Methods: Endodontic cleaning and shaping was performed on the curved canals of the mesial roots of mandibular extracted molars (n = 32). Canal curvatures ranged from 20° to 30° according to the Schneider method. PTN and TF NiTi instruments were used for this purpose. The surface parameters of NiTi instruments were evaluated before and after the root canal instrumentation using a Dektak three-dimensional nanoscale surface profiler. An analysis of variance and Student's t-test were used to determine the significance of various parameters of the NiTi instruments before and after the root canal instrumentation. The statistical significance level was set at P Results: There were no significant differences in the root mean square roughness (Sq), average roughness value (Sa), and peak to valley height (Sz) in flutes between the instruments (P > 0.05) or in the Sq in blade location. However, the Sa and Sz in blade location were significantly greater for TF than PTN. The TF instruments had greater surface roughness than PTN. The PTN instruments exhibited minor surface cracks, while TF instruments exhibited cracks and microcavities. Conclusion: Endodontic instrumentation altered the surface characteristics; the surface distortion was significantly greater for the TF instruments than the PTN instruments.

Some Observations on Flute Playing in Malaysia

Surviving in an environment that seems to be not encouraging music performances for entertainment or for mental contemplation, Malaysian musicians have to strive very hard in order to earn a living. The situation gets worse when it comes to a particular group of musicians who have no choice but share the similar job opportunities. Apparently, the market is not offering enough opportunities for flautists compared to pianists and string instrument players. This eventually leads to a very competitive situation in both the performing and teaching scene. The time frame of this observation reaches back to the time between 2011 and 2016, a cut in cultural market matters caused by the last general election. By and large, watching pure instrumental performances is yet a new controversy for local audiences. This is the major reason stopping potential sponsors to support local arts though musicians have no way to showcase their passion for music without funding. The situation is more frustrating when focussing on flute performance alone as there is no commonly organised major flute event in Kuala Lumpur. For instance, "The Flute Festival in Malaysia" in 2007 was the first and only flute festival so far, in Malaysia. It was organized by the Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) together with The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac), the Embassy of Japan and the Flute Festival in Malaysia Organizing Committee. The flute festival opened the eyes and ears of the local flute lovers by giving flute masterclasses, bringing in different kinds of flute brands and models for free trials on the spot and having a flute orchestra to perform. It consisted of 60 professional and amateur musicians from Malaysia, Japan and other countries, who came hoping to inspire each other and to purely enjoy flute music. Not to forget the famous saxophone ensemble from Japan, the “Mi-bemol Saxophone Ensemble” that gave a marvellous performance which was greatly inspiring Malaysian audiences of wind instruments. However, this also shows that flute performances alone might not get to stand resolutely in the local market.

عازفو النای فی مصر خلال عصری البطالمة والرومان فی ضوء الوثائق البردیة

يتناول هذا البحث عازفو الناي في مصر خلال العصرين البطلمي والروماني، حيث کان عازفو الناي من أهم الموسيقيين الموجودين في تلک الفترة، وکان لهم دورا بارزا في الحياة الفنية في مصر، والتي کانت تمثل عنصرا رئيسيا للحياة الاجتماعية خلال تلک الفترة، وقد تطرق البحث لفئات عازفي الناي، وعقود تدريبهم على هذه الحرفة، ودورهم في تقديم العروض الفنية بالأعياد والاحتفالات العامة والخاصة والدينية والدنيوية، والأجور التي يحصلون عليها، سواء کانت نقدية أو عينية، وأخيرا أوضاعهم الاجتماعية وأحوالهم الاقتصادية خلال ذلک العصر. This research paper approaches the flute players in Egypt during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, where the flute players were among the most important musicians present in that period in addition to playing an exceptionally significant role in the artistic life in Egypt. More relevantly, the research tackles the categories of flute players shedding light on their training, their role in providing artistic performances, their wages, and finally their socio-economic conditions during that era.

A SNARC-like effect for music notation: The role of expertise and musical instrument

The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) suggests the existence of an association between number magnitude and response location, with faster left key-press responses to small numbers and faster right key-press responses to large numbers. We investigated whether a similar association exists between musical notes on the stave and the space of response execution, involving amateur and expert musicians (Experiment 1). Moreover, in Experiment 2 we further investigated such association in two groups of expert musicians (piano and transverse flute players) who differ in the note mapping on their instruments. Results indicate a clear association between musical notes and the space of response execution only for musicians with formal education. Furthermore, this association seems not to be influenced by the specific instrument played, as both piano and transverse flute players showed the same effect direction (left key-press advantage for low notes, and vice versa).

Corrigendum: Three Flute Players' Lived Experiences of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Preparing Contemporary Music for Performance

Corrigendum: Three Flute Players' Lived Experiences of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Preparing Contemporary Music for Performance

Pacheco and Charanga: Imitation, Innovation, and Cultural Appropriation in the Típico Tradition of New York City

Abstract In this article the performance practice of Afro-Cuban dance music is explored and discourses surrounding creativity brought to bear on questions surrounding innovation and stylistic development. A case study of Dominican-born Johnny Pacheco, charanga flute player and co-creator of the term ‘salsa,’ enables issues including imitation, innovation and cultural appropriation to be explored within the context of tipico charanga performance in mid-twentieth-century New York.