Musical Interface Research Articles

Gocen: Appropriating Simpl ified Handwritten Notation as a Musical Interface

Gocen: Appropriating Simpl ified Handwritten Notation as a Musical Interface

Advancements in violin-related human-computer interaction

Finesse is required while performing with many traditional musical instruments, as they are extremely responsive to human inputs. The violin is specifically examined here, as it excels at translating a performer’s gestures into sound in manners that evoke a wide range of affective qualities. This type of rich responsiveness is simultaneously what makes it so challenging to play, what keeps it interesting to practice for long periods of time, and what makes overcoming these difficulties worthwhile to performer and audience alike. The capability of an instrument to render audible the complexity of human intelligence and emotion is at the core of the musical interface technology design space, MITDS. This is a framework that endeavours to retain and enhance such traits of traditional instruments in the design of interactive live performance interfaces. Utilising the MITDS, advanced human-computer interaction technologies for the violin are developed in order to allow musicians to explore new methods of creating music. Through this process, the aim is to provide musicians with control systems that let them transcend the interface itself, and focus on musically compelling performances.

Music in China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture by Frederick Lau (review)

Reviewed by: Music in China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture by Frederick Lau Ying Diao (bio) Music in China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Frederick Lau. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Global Music Series. xxv + 182 pp., illustrations, glossary, bibliography, index + one CD-ROM. ISBN: 978-0-19530123-6 (Hardcover), $47.95; ISBN: 978-0-19530124-3 (Paperback), $29.95. Companion website: http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195301243. Music in China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture is one of the many case study volumes in the Global Music Series published by Oxford University Press, a series written for use in world music courses. Chinese music is notoriously difficult to describe, partly due to China’s long history developed over five thousand years through which all musical traditions are formed and practiced, partly due to China’s vast territory in which regional variations and genres develop, and partly due to the existence of 55 minority ethnic groups within the country, each one of which has respective traditions of its own. Thus, the author begins with posing these perplexing yet intriguing questions: What is Chinese music? What are the criteria for defining Chinese music? Lau tries to answer these questions by examining various dimensions of Chinese music, especially the close relationship between musical practice and China’s changing social environment. He has explained throughout all the chapters that “Chinese music is context-specific rather than based on essentialized notions of Chinese sound” (141). In keeping with the overall design of the series, rather than surveying as many of the principal musical traditions as possible, Lau chooses to address three themes. These are: the identity of people and music, the modernization of Chinese music at the turn of the twentieth century, and the issue of music [End Page 142] and ideology in ancient and modern China. Using these three themes, the book is divided into six chapters. In chapter 1, “Music of the People,” the author begins with a comparative ethnographic description of two regional genres, Jiangnan teahouse music and Chaozhou xianshi music, bringing about the central concerns that unite the remaining chapters: the distinction between amateur and professional music, as well as the meaning of regional music in relation to understanding Chinese music. Chapter 2, “Constructing National Music,” and chapter 3, “Regional Musics with the National Soundscape,” are the core chapters, following the framework for exploring Chinese music presented in the first chapter. Chapter 2 is devoted to the formation of China’s national music guoyue. It covers the historical development of the modern Chinese orchestra and instrumental solo genres. The respective solo repertory for the most well-known traditional instruments (dizi, erhu, pipa, and guzheng) is discussed in detail. Chapter 3 presents the variety of prominent regional genres and their repertory, instrumentation, and performance practice, from northern Beijing Opera to southern Fujian nanguan music. Lau suggests viewing regional genres and national music as mutually constituted. The chapter includes many photographs and diagrams. The audio examples are particularly helpful for the nonspecialist. Chapter 4, “Musical Interfaces between East and West,” investigates the mutual influences between Chinese music and Western music. On the one hand, it briefly examines how Western composers have incorporated Chinese elements in their music; on the other, it focuses more on the ways in which Chinese musicians have adopted Western music in classical and popular music realms. Lau centers listening activities in this chapter upon identifying those compositional techniques or musical styles involving fusion, which one might find interesting and challenging. Chapter 5 explores the third theme: music and ideology. Lau takes the student through several traditions as a result of long-standing Confucianism or the establishment of the post-1949 communist regime. All the case studies demonstrate how music is used to impress certain values upon listeners in the Chinese cultural context. Lau emphasizes the Confucian view “that considered music as a means of governance and self-cultivation” (118). To this end, he examines in particular the aesthetics and notational system of guqin music, a literati genre closely linked to Confucianism. Revolutionary songs and Dongjing music of the Naxi people are other cases briefly considered. Given the prominent influences of music upon society in China, it would have...

New Musical Instrument Design Considerations

This article discusses the proliferation of new musical instruments and interfaces for computer-based music performance (digital musical instruments). It discusses the notion of a musical instrument schema and how preexisting musical practice can be used to provide design guidelines for this developing field. In so doing, it teases out notions of control and creation and discusses a number of theoretical positions for those notions in musical performance. The author provides a model for musical interface design and discusses it in terms of a large online database of digital musical instruments he has created.

Introdução ao GenVirtual: uma interface musical com realidade aumentada para apoiar o “fazer musical” de pessoas com deficiência motora e cognitiva

This paper presents the research and development of GenVirtual, an augmented reality musical interface to support the “music-making” for children with physical disabilities and cognitive. GenVirtual enables adding in the real world, virtual objects that emit audible sounds of various musical instruments like the stringed, wind and percussion. Virtual objects are handled naturally by hand, without the use of conventional apparatuses interaction. During the development phase, GenVirtual was evaluated by a group of 11 experts in music in order to validate the set of requirements related to pedagogical and therapeutic "make music". At the end of development, GenVirtual was evaluated by a group of 5 children with cognitive and motor deficits in music therapy sessions. Results showed that GenVirtual possible approaches used in the "musicmaking". Moreover, improved performance and stimulating action of children, these characteristics that contribute to motivation during the “music-making”.

Curve Analysis on Learning Potential and Multimedia Music Courseware Design Based on Web Technology

With the continuous development of Internet, Internet technology has laid a solid foundation for the implementation of multimedia teaching courseware design. Based on computer Internet resource, multimedia courseware design is paid more and more attention, and Internet multimedia courseware design network frame construction has become one of the urgent problems in the field of education. This paper analyses the access path and method of computer Internet multimedia English courseware resources, on this basis, Web multimedia music courseware students end is constructed based on OMAP590 audio design idea, and build the analysis model of music learning potential curve under the multimedia interactive music courseware interface, to a certain extent to provide theoretical basis and technical support for the multimedia courseware design and music teaching machine assessment.

Music selection interface for car audio system using SOM with personal distance function

Devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs of various sizes have become increasingly popular, finding new applications, including in-car audio systems. This paper proposes a new car audio system. In the architecture, music data is stored in an online database, which users are then able to select a genre of music or a playlist from through a 2D interface. Self-organizing map, depending on a personalized distance function and music contents, is utilized to map music tracks to the interface. With this data model and interface, drivers can easily select the type of music they want to listen to without interfering with their driving. Artificial neural networks record and analyze user preference, allowing the system to select and order the music tracks to be played automatically. Experiments have shown that the system satisfies user requirements.

A design process of musical interface “PocoPoco”: An interactive artwork case study

We developed original solenoid actuator units with several built-in sensors, and produced a box-shaped musical interface named “PocoPoco”, using 16 units of them as a universal input / output. From the beginning to the time when a professional artist used it for live performance, we were confronted with many problems and had to solve them. In this paper we present a design process of PocoPoco, explaining actual problems and solutions. Then we discuss the process to design a artistic and practical interface.

Community-Based Design: The Democratization of Musical Interface Construction

The advent of on-line communities has democratized the process of musical interface design and allowed users to directly participate in the future development of the devices they use. On-line communities, acting as centralized repositories for information pertaining to the development of an interface, allow users to discuss their experiences and ideas as well as providing a framework for managing information pertaining to an interface. This centralized access to information regarding the design, use and development of an interface both focuses and accelerates the developmental process.

音楽インタフェース研究 : 親しみやすい音楽との付き合い方(B-3 プロダクトデザイン,研究発表,芸術工学会2011年度秋期大会in金沢)

音楽インタフェース研究 : 親しみやすい音楽との付き合い方(B-3 プロダクトデザイン,研究発表,芸術工学会2011年度秋期大会in金沢)

Brain-Computer Music Interfacing (BCMI): From Basic Research to the Real World of Special Needs

This paper reports on the development of a proof-of-concept brain-computer music interfacing system (BCMI), which we built to be tested with a patient with Locked-in Syndrome at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in London. The system uses the Steady State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) method, whereby targets are presented to a user on a computer monitor representing actions available to perform with the system. Each target is encoded by a flashing visual pattern reversing at a unique frequency. In order to make a selection, the user must direct her gaze at the target corresponding to the action she would like to perform. The patient grasped the concept quickly and rapidly demonstrated her skill at controlling the system with minimal practice. She was able to vary the intensity of her gaze, thus changing the amplitude of her EEG and vary the consequent musical parameters. We have proved the concept that such a BCMI system is cost-effective to build, viable, and useful. However, ergonomic and design aspects of the system require further refinement in order to make it more practical for clinical usage. For instance, the system at present requires a therapist to place individual electrodes and calibrate a user’s response to each stimulus, which can be time consuming. A new version of the system will require just positioning of a headset and, due to advanced algorithms, will require no calibration.

Plymouth brain-computer music interfacing project: from EEG audio mixers to composition informed by cognitive neuroscience

This paper reports the current level of development achieved by our research into brain-computer music interfacing (BCMI), which is aimed at special needs and Music Therapy, in addition to the entertainment industry. It surveys the technology developed to date at ICCMR and glances at work-in- progress designs informed by cognitive experiments. Research into BCMI involves three major challenging problems: (1) the extraction of meaningful control information from signals emanating from the brain, (2) the design of generative music techniques that respond to such information and (3) the definition of ways in which such technology can effectively improve the lives of people with special needs and address therapeutic needs. This paper focuses on the first two challenges, particularly the music technology side of BCMI research. In overall, this paper focuses on the creative computer music component of our research rather than on the minutiae of its underlying scientific protocols and experimental methods.

The Musical Interface Technology Design Space

This article presents a theoretical framework for the design of expressive musical instruments, the Musical Interface Technology Design Space: MITDS. The activities of imagining, designing and building new musical instruments, performing, composing, and improvising with them, and analysing the whole process in an effort to better understand the interface, our physical and cognitive associations with it, and the relationship between performer, instrument and audience can only be seen as an ongoing iterative work-in-progress. It is long-term evolutionary research, as each generation of a new musical instrument requires inventiveness and years of dedication towards the practice and mastery of its performance system (comprising the interface, synthesis and the mappings between them). Many revisions of the system may be required in order to develop musical interface technologies that enable us to achieve truly expressive performances. The MITDS provides a conceptual framework for describing, analysing, designing and extending the interfaces, mappings, synthesis algorithms and performance techniques for interactive musical instruments. It provides designers with a theoretical base to draw upon when creating technologically advanced performance systems, and can be seen as a set of guidelines for analysis, and a taxonomy of design patterns for interactivity in musical instruments. The MITDS focuses mainly on human-centred design approaches to realtime control of the multidimensional parameter spaces in musical composition and performance, where the primary objective is to close the gap between human gestures and complex synthesis methods.

NEST 2: A Parallel Simulator for Large Neuronal Networks

Event Abstract Back to Event NEST 2: A Parallel Simulator for Large Neuronal Networks Marc-Oliver Gewaltig1* 1 Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH, Germany NEST is a simulator for large heterogeneous networks of point neurons or neurons with few compartments. NEST supports parallel simulation on multi-core computers and computer clusters, with excellent scaling [1].NEST is best suited for models that focus on the dynamics, size, and structure of neural systems rather than on the detailed morphology of individual neurons. Examples are: Models of sensory processing in visual or auditory cortex. Models of network dynamics, e.g. in laminar cortical networks or random networks. Models of spike-synchronization in feed-forward networks such as synfire chains. Models of learning and plasticity. Here we demonstrate NEST 2 and invite visitors to try it interactively. The new Python-based user interface PyNEST makes it easier to learn and use NEST. Together with analysis packages like Scientific Python (www.scipy.org) and analysis tools from neuralensemble.org, users can now simulate networks and analyze results in one interactive Python session [2]. The new Topology module allows concise specification and efficient construction of large models with spatial structure, such as models of the visual system. A new multi-compartment model with soma, proximal and distal dendrite, provides a scaffold for users to implement their own multi-compartment models. Our new implementation of synaptic plasticity incorporates external factors such as dopamine modulation. Users can write new neuron models in NEST's simulation language SLI. The dynamic equations can be given in standard mathematical notation and NEST will compile them into efficient code.A lot of work was put into ensuring the reliability of NEST. An automated test-suite allows users to check their installation and helps us to detect errors and regressions as new features are added (see companion poster by Eppler et al.) We have also increased the numerical accuracy of many of our neuron models. NEST now supports the recently proposed MUSIC interface [3], to link NEST with different simulators and analysis modules at run-time in a parallel distributed fashion. Since 2007, pre-releases of NEST 2 have been used with great success at international computational neuroscience courses. NEST is released under an open source license for non-commercial use. For more information, please visit our web site at www.nest-initiative.org.NEST is developed by the NEST Initiative, a contract-based collaboration between academic and industrial research institutes. The author presents for the NEST Initiative and would like to thank all its members, particularly (in alphabetic order): Kittel Austvoll, Markus Diesmann, Jochen Martin Eppler, Alexander Hanuschkin, Moritz Helias, Susanne Kunkel, Rüdiger Kupper, Abigail Morrison, Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Tobias Potjans, Wiebke Potjans, and Sven Schrader. Acknowledgements: Research Council of Norway Grant 178892/V3 eNeuro, Next-Generation Supercomputer Project of MEXT, EU Grant 15879 (FACETS), BMBF Grant 01GQ0420, Helmholtz Alliance on Systems Biology

New musical interface for playing the guitar solo.

This paper describes the development of a new musical interface to play guitar solo with the nonstringed guitar. The previous work of authors is the implementation of the nonstringed guitar comprised of laser strings and a chord glove [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 122, 3055 (2007)]. It is hard to express guitar solo, so voltage dividers are set up on the neck to represent frets. In the case of the chord glove, the same voltage source of the TMS320F2812 is supplied instead of attaching force sensing registers to the fingertip. Consequently, there are three essential components for the proposed interface: voltage dividers, laser strings, and the chord glove. Voltage dividers replace the six strings on the neck and send fret information to DSP, laser strings represent strokes, and the chord glove expresses playing chords and solo. This proposed interface represents many kinds of playing styles. In the case of hammering on, pulling off, and sliding, it needs fret information from voltage divider to express these things. On the other hand, bending that varies the pitch in a fret needs to detect how much flex sensors are bent to play. [Work supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government(MOEHRD)(KRF‐2006‐521‐2)]

Music Information Retrieval Based on Signal Processing

The main focus of this special issue is on the application of digital signal processing techniques for music information retrieval (MIR). MIR is an emerging and exciting area of research that seeks to solve a wide variety of problems dealing with preserving, analyzing, indexing, searching, and accessing large collections of digitized music. There are also strong interests in this field of research from music libraries and the recording industry as they move towards digital music distribution. The demands from the general public for easy access to these music libraries challenge researchers to create tools and algorithms that are robust, small, and fast. Music is represented in either encoded audio waveforms (CD audio, MP3, etc.) or symbolic forms (musical score, MIDI, etc.). Audio representations, in particular, require robust signal processing techniques for many applications of MIR since meaningful descriptions need to be extracted from audio signals in which sounds from multiple instruments and vocals are often mixed together. Researchers in MIR are therefore developing a wide range of new methods based on statistical pattern recognition, classification, andmachine learning techniques such as the HiddenMarkov Model (HMM), maximum likelihood estimation, and Bayes estimation as well as digital signal processing techniques such as Fourier and wavelet transforms, adaptive filtering, and source-filter models. New music interface and query systems leveraging such methods are also important for end users to benefit from MIR research. This issue contains sixteen papers covering wide range of topics in MIR. In the first paper, Diniz et al. introduce new spectral analysis methods that may be useful for pitch and feature extraction of music. In the second paper, Lacoste and Eck make an important contribution in detecting where a note starts, which is fundamental to many of higher-level MIR tasks. The next two papers, by Peeters and Alonso et al. deal with the challenge of finding tempo in music. The subsequent two papers by Kitahara et al. and Woodruff and Pardo consider the problem separating and identifying instruments in music with multiple instruments playing together while Poliner and Ellis focus on the difficult problem of piano transcription. To enhance queries based on sung melodies, Suzuki et al. use both lyric and pitch information. The problem of segmenting music into large sections is refined in the two papers by Jensen and Muller and Kurth. The issue of key finding in music is nontrivial and is covered by Chuan and Chew. The next three papers by West and Lamere, Cataltepe et al., and Barbedo and Lopes address the problem of music similarity and genre classification. A paper by Rossant and Bloch contributes to the advancement of optical music recognition systems, which help to create large symbolic music databases. The last paper by Goto et al. makes a worthy contribution by converting the emerging music notation standard MusicXML to Braille music notation.

Brain-computer music interface for composition and performance

This paper introduces a new brain-computer interface (BCI) system that uses electroencephalogram (EEG) information to steer generative rules to compose and perform music. It starts by noting the various attempts at the design of BCI systems, including systems for music. Then it presents a short technical introduction to EEG sensing and analysis. Next, it introduces the generative music component of the system, which employs our own adapted version of a machine-learning technique based on ATNs (Augmented Transition Networks) for the computer-replication of musical styles. The system constantly monitors the EEG of the subject and activates generative rules associated with the activity of different frequency bands of the spectrum of the EEG signal. The system also measures the complexity of the EEG signal to modulate the tempo (beat) and dynamics (loudness) of the performance. Subjects can be trained to select between different classes of generative rules to produce original pieces of music.

Interfacing the Brain Directly with Musical Systems: On Developing Systems for Making Music with Brain Signals

The authors discuss their work on developing technology to interface the brain directly with music systems, a field of research generally known as Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI). The paper gives a brief background of BCI in general and surveys various attempts at musical BCI, or Brain-Computer Music Interface (BCMI) — systems designed to make music from brain signals, or brainwaves. The authors present a technical introduction to the electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures brainwaves detected by electrodes placed directly on the scalp. They introduce approaches to the design of BCI and BCMI systems and present two case study systems of their own design: the BCMI-Piano and the Inter-Harmonium.

Music via Motion: Transdomain Mapping of Motion and Sound for Interactive Performances

This paper presents a framework called Music via Motion (MvM) designed for the transdomain mapping between physical movements of the performer(s) and multimedia events, translating activities from one creative domain to another-for example, from physical gesture to audio output. With a brief background of this domain and prototype designs, the paper describes a number of inter- and multidisciplinary collaborative works for interactive multimedia performances. These include a virtual musical instrument interface, exploring video-based tracking technology to provide an intuitive and nonintrusive musical interface, and sensor-based augmented instrument designs. The paper also describes a distributed multimedia-mapping server which allows multiplatform and multisensory integrations and presents a sample application which integrates a real-time face tracking system. Ongoing developments and plausible future explorations on stage augmentation with virtual and augmented realities as well as gesture analysis on the correlations of musical gesture and physical gesture are also discussed.

Current Trends in Electronic Music Interfaces. Guest Editors’ Introduction

(2003). Current Trends in Electronic Music Interfaces. Guest Editors’ Introduction. Journal of New Music Research: Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 345-349.