Musical Notation Research Articles

Fostering a Public Appreciation of Film Music in the U.S.A.

The American periodical Film Music Notes spurred a critical consideration of film music and of building public appreciation of the arts during its run from 1941 to 1958. This history of its first decade starts with the connections and efforts of a group of Hollywood women on behalf of the National Federation of Music Clubs, to their founding of the National Film Music Council, to the final stage in editor turnover from the founding editors. It contributes to histories of professionalization of artistic and cultural study through its analysis of how the editors experimented with structuring content in a way to encourage the public to appreciate film music. This was influenced by changing relations between Film Music Notes and Hollywood studios, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, and educational organizations. This context explains how prominent composers and critics came to contribute to the periodical and the larger debates that were shaping their writings.

Musical Notation

The main goal of this essay is to propose and make plausible a framework for developing a philosophical account of musical notation. The proposed framework countenances four elements of notation: symbols (abstract objects that collectively constitute the backbone of a ‘system’ of notation), their characteristic ‘forms’ (for example, shapes, understood abstractly), the concrete instances, or ‘engravings’, of those forms, and the meanings of the symbols. It is argued that these elements are distinct. Along the way, several preliminary arguments are given for how one ought to understand them—for example, it is suggested that engravings represent symbols rather than instantiate forms, although they are characteristically seen to represent a symbol by being seen to instantiate an associated form. Having proposed this framework, the essay explores the nature of musical instructions, as the meanings of symbols, and offers an argument in favor of the commonly held (but recently challenged) view that those meanings are imperative. Specifically, composites of musical notation (paradigmatically, musical scores) primarily express instructional meaning, and denote something like ‘sonic structures’ only secondarily, in virtue of their primary, imperative, meaning.

Toward a better knowledge of Beethoven's creative process through the ink characterization: A non-invasive study of the sketchleaves held at the Civic Library in Bergamo (Italy)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) used to record his ideas in sketchleaves and sketchbooks, where he collected preparatory materials before publishing his final work. These handwritten documents are rich in information. Nonetheless, as a consequence of the creative process, the annotations are much reworked by the composer itself, making them hard to interpret. This study aims, for the first time, at a non-invasive characterization of the inks used by Ludwig van Beethoven in his manuscripts. Distinguishing the inks used for the notes and the rewritten or modified parts would allow a better comprehension of his creative process. With this purpose, the manuscript BG0044 Piatti-Lochis PREIS.J1.9686, held at the Angelo Mai Civic Library of Bergamo (Italy), was investigated by exploiting portable imaging and spectroscopic techniques. The photographic documentation under Visible (VIS) and Ultraviolet light (UVIF) illumination, along with the Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) in the spectral range 450 nm to 1000 nm were essential to identify the areas of interest for further analysis and provide a working hypothesis on the inks used by Beethoven. Afterwards, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy was employed to get an insight into the chemical composition of the inks. The foremost result revealed the presence of two different iron-based inks, used for the staves and the handwritten musical notations, respectively. The superimposed strokes observed among the staves on the same material composition led us to suppose that they have been applied immediately to the paper or in a limited time during which the same ink recipe was maintained. Hence, it seems that the composer made changes almost at the same time as he wrote the first version. These results represent the first scientific evidence to endorse the hypothesis of a rapid change of mind in his writing process.

Cantacumine.ro - An E-Learning Tool that Supports Composition Approach. An Illustrative Application Within a Collaboration Between Two Music-Specialized Schools / cantacumine.ro - Resursă tehnologică suport în abordarea aspectelor creative. Exemple de bune practici din cadrul unui parteneriat dintre două licee vocaționale cu profil muzică din țară

This article showcases a successful cooperation that addresses a novel addition introduced in the 2017 Music Theory school curricula, with a particular emphasis on creative elements. The exemplified scenario is a product of a partnership between two Music-Specialised High Schools. The students, who played a pivotal and valued role in this activity, were guided by coordinating teachers and supported by the section dedicated to creative aspects of the platform https://www.cantacumine.ro/. They had the opportunity to develop their creative talent in rhythmical-melodic and harmonic contexts, creating new musical structures in one, two or three parts. The students used notation programs to create their compositions, demonstrating their eagerness to acquire digital music notation skills through dedicated practice, largely carried out after school hours.

Human Action Recognition and Note Recognition: A Deep Learning Approach Using STA-GCN.

Human action recognition (HAR) is growing in machine learning with a wide range of applications. One challenging aspect of HAR is recognizing human actions while playing music, further complicated by the need to recognize the musical notes being played. This paper proposes a deep learning-based method for simultaneous HAR and musical note recognition in music performances. We conducted experiments on Morin khuur performances, a traditional Mongolian instrument. The proposed method consists of two stages. First, we created a new dataset of Morin khuur performances. We used motion capture systems and depth sensors to collect data that includes hand keypoints, instrument segmentation information, and detailed movement information. We then analyzed RGB images, depth images, and motion data to determine which type of data provides the most valuable features for recognizing actions and notes in music performances. The second stage utilizes a Spatial Temporal Attention Graph Convolutional Network (STA-GCN) to recognize musical notes as continuous gestures. The STA-GCN model is designed to learn the relationships between hand keypoints and instrument segmentation information, which are crucial for accurate recognition. Evaluation on our dataset demonstrates that our model outperforms the traditional ST-GCN model, achieving an accuracy of 81.4%.

Recognition of music symbol notation using convolutional neural network

Musical notation is one thing that needs to be learned to play music. This notation has an important role in music because it can help in visualizing instructions for playing musical instruments and singing. Unfortunately, musical symbols that are commonly written in musical notation are difficult for beginners who have just started learning music. This research proposed a solution to create an optical music recognition (OMR) using a deep learning model to classify musical notes more accurately with some of the latest convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures. The research was carried out by implementing vision transformer (ViT), CoAtNet-0, and ConvNeXt-Tiny architecture. The training process was also combined with data augmentation to provide more information for the model to learn. Then the accuracy results of each model were compared to find out the best model for the OMR solution in this research. This experiment uses the Andrea dataset and Attwenger dataset which both get the best result by using the augmentation method and ConvNeXt-Tiny as the model. The best accuracy for the Andrea dataset is 98.15% and for the Attwenger dataset is 98.43%.

Improvisations towards a sonorous ethics in Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractTaonga puoro is a Māori instrumental tradition through which one cultivates an improvisational form of playing with the world. It does not follow musical notation. ‘Instruments’ vary from rocks, to bones, wood and other non‐traditional materials, such as glass. They can be found in situ, or carefully crafted and gifted. Each performance is different, new and responsive not only to the riffing soundings of fellow humans but also to the wider worlds of more‐than‐human sensuous agency with which we attune, respond and participate. In both their materiality and their performativity, taonga puoro draws attention to points of convergence, in which histories, ancestors, human and more‐than‐human entities mingle as affective co‐collaborators in a world already playing in co‐composition. Thinking and riffing with this idea of co‐composition as a practice of attuning to how I participate in the world that I have come to know, this sound–image–text article is made to revisit and dwell within moments of creative‐critical world‐making through playing with my close friend Jessica Kahukura (Te Ātihaunui‐a‐Pāpārangi, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). It focuses particularly on my own practices as a Pākehā (non‐Māori New Zealander) researcher‐musician by attuning to my creative‐critical positionality in relation to a broader politics and ethics of participation and invention.

Symmetry, Music and Water

There is a deep link existing between symmetry and nature that may be best apprehended by using group theory. In physics, giving a symmetry group is entirely equivalent to fix natural laws (Noether’s theorem). Within such a framework, it follows that all fundamental mechanical laws may be given by defining a group of symmetry operations belonging to the Gal (3,1) symmetry group having ten generators (3 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 10). The move to special relativity amounts simply to substitute another group ISO (3,1) to Gal (3,1) and having the same number of generators. In both cases, one immediately perceives that we live in universe with 3 dimensions of space and 1 dimension of time. A further progress could be made by looking for the symmetry group that leaves Maxwell’s equations invariant. The answer to this fundamental question is the group ISO (4,2) ⊗U (2) ⊗U (2) characterized by 23 generators: 15 = 10 + 5 for the conformal group ISO(4,2), 4 for U(2) and hence 8 = 4 + 4 for the compact part U(2) ⊗U(2) that could be related to the existence of quantum physics besides relativity. As ISO (3,1) is a sub-group of ISO (4,2), the two numbers 4 and 2 suggests that, taking into account the existence of light besides matter, we live in an universe having 4 spacelike dimensions and 2 time-like dimensions. Here, it is proposed that, as music is characterized by a scale-invariant symmetry operation (transposition by octaves) and that as time may be perceived differently in shamanic trance for instance, the two “new” dimensions of our universe may be related to music and consciousness. Related to the fifth dimension of music, the notion of diapason linking physical frequencies to a musical note is revisited. It is thus proposed to adopt a new A4 = 429.62 Hz value based on universal physical constants of our universe and on the mass of the water molecule H₂O, "The most abundant heteronuclear molecule in the entire universe". Demonstration is done that this new diapason is superior to other diapasons based on frequencies of 440 Hz or even 432 Hz.

Певческие рукописи Антониево-Сийского монастыря как источник по истории Русского церковного пения XVII в. (нотация, редакции текста, певческие стили)

The Synodal Cantatory Collection of the State Historical Museum contains a complex of cantatory MSs from Antonievo-Siysky Monastery. Most of them date from the 17th century. This was the time when the Russian tradition of church singing was being actively transformed. At Antonievo-Siysky Monastery, these changes took place quite intensively, and the Siysky complex of MSs is a valuable source for the history of Russian church singing of the transitional period. All types of musical notation, known in the ancient Russian manuscript tradition of the 15th — 17th centuries, are found in Antonievo-Siysky cantatory MSs, including “double-signs” (Rus. двознаменники), as well as several pre-reform MSs with a naon edition, in which cinnabar marks of the same period as the main text are affi xed. The complex allows us to trace how the preferences of Siya’s scribes and singers in using a certain type of notation changed during the 16th — 18th centuries. According to the edition of the verbal text, Siysky MSs are divided into three groups, i.e. pre-reform, transitional, and post-reform. The variety of editions of the verbal text makes it possible to study the methods of Nikon’s editors of the Printing House (Rus. Печатный двор) and their monastic followers. The repertoire of chants found in Siysky MSs shows that Siya’s professional singers had excellent knowledge of both the cantatory heritage of the late 15th — 16th centuries and the achievements of their contemporaries from major centres of singing of that time.

Polish research on publishing in Poland between 1945 and 2015: Themes, legacy and implications for further research

The history of publishing in Poland encompasses many issues associated with the emergence and dissemination of printed books. Of fundamental significance to the study of these issues are the records of the publishing output: while we have nearly complete, though still underexamined, records of this output for the period from the 15th to the 18th century, documented in bibliographies and catalogues, the situation is worse when it comes to the 19th and 20th centuries, until the outbreak of the Second World War. In this respect, what we need is not only a continuation, but a radical intensification of bibliographic work. This concerns works published in the Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew and Greek scripts, as well as musical notation. Polish book scholars have devoted a lot of attention to the beginnings of printing in Poland. The historiography concerning various typographic workshops located in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is rich; however, it still requires further extensive studies. Scholars have also been interested in phenomena influ- encing the content structure of printed publications, such as publishing privileges (in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), censorship and restrictions imposed by the partitioning powers and later by Poland’s communist authorities, as a result of which Polish publications had to be printed abroad and an independent publishing movement emerged. The scholars’ research interests have also focused on books as products of printers and publishers and on the publication of written works. Scholars have examined both the various components of the book (title page, printer’s signet, stemmata, etc.) and its editorial composition as a whole. Their undoubted achievements in the studies of the history of publishing in Poland are significant, yet in many areas they need to be continued and expanded (one important task is the edition of sources for the study of the history of Polish publishing) and to investigate the phenomena that stem from developmental tendencies in modern book studies.

Deep Learning-Based Optical Music Recognition for Semantic Representation of Non-overlap and Overlap Music Notes

In the technology era, the process of teaching a computer to interpret musical notation is termed optical music recognition (OMR). It aims to convert musical note sheets presented in an image into a computer-readable format. Recently, the sequence-to-sequence model along with the attention mechanism (which is used in text and handwritten recognition) has been used in music notes recognition. However, due to the gradual disappearance of excessively long sequences of musical sheets, the mentioned OMR models which consist of long short-term memory are facing difficulties in learning the relationships among the musical notations. Consequently, a new framework has been proposed, leveraging the image segmentation technique to break up the procedure into several steps. In addition, an overlap problem in OMR has been addressed in this study. Overlapping can result in misinterpretation of music notations, producing inaccurate findings. Thus, a novel algorithm is being suggested to detect and segment the notations that are extremely close to each other. Our experiments are based on the usage of the Convolutional Neural Network block as a feature extractor from the image of the musical sheet and the sequence-to-sequence model to retrieve the corresponding semantic representation. The proposed approach is evaluated on The Printed Images of Music Staves dataset. The achieved results confirm that our suggested framework successfully solves the problem of long sequence music sheets, obtaining SER 0% for the non-overlap symbols in the best scenario. Furthermore, our approach has shown promising results in addressing the overlapping problem: 23.12 % SER for overlapping symbols.

Advancing Handwritten Musical Notation Recognition Using Deep Learning: A Convolutional Neural Network-Based Approach with Improved Accuracy

The use of computers to read musical scores is referred to as optical music recognition (OMR). The recent advancements in artificial intelligence and big data have led to the development of deep learning approaches for recognizing musical notes. Previous research has shown that there is a lot of room for improvement in handwritten musical notation recognition systems due to differences in writing styles and the complex structure of musical symbols. The research described here aims to develop a deep learning-based system for recognizing handwritten musical notation. The system uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract and learn pixel features of musical symbols and achieve a recognition accuracy of over 90%. The CNN model was trained using image samples from the HOMUS dataset and fine-tuned to minimize the loss function and reduce classification errors. The CNN model achieved an accuracy of 96.95% on the test samples, which is a significant improvement over the 86.0% accuracy from previous studies. The performance of the CNN model was also compared to five state-of-the-art deep learning methods, namely, quantum gray Wolf optimization (QGWO) algorithm, nonfully connected network (NFC-Net) classifier, nearest neighbor classifier, data augmentation and ensemble learning, and the CNN model outperformed four of them. However, the CNN model occasionally misclassified musical symbols with similar shapes, indicating that there is still room for improvement in the system’s performance. Future research could focus on improving the model’s performance on similar-shaped symbols. Overall, the research demonstrates the effectiveness of using a CNN model for handwritten musical notation recognition and highlights the potential of deep learning approaches in this area.

Playing melodies on a single string by exciting harmonics using the Lorentz force

We show how a single metal guitar string of fixed length can produce a musical scale. The string is placed near a permanent magnet, and by applying an AC to the string at the frequency of the desired musical note, the Lorentz force creates vibrations in the string at that frequency. The tension of the string is set so that its harmonics correspond to the desired notes. A one-octave scale can be approximated by using these harmonic frequencies, allowing several melodies to be played using our non-contact monochord. This project could be adopted for demonstration or laboratory projects.

Русский музыкальный жаргон как предмет лингвистического изучения

e paper deals with Russian musical jargon treated as a professional sociolect of musicians. The material has been taken from the data presented in the Internet. Stylistically, musical jargon belongs to a colloquial register of the Russian language. A thematic classification of Russian musical jargon has been offered. This class of words and expressions may be subdivided into two unequal groups – specialized and non-specialized jargon units. The former comprises units reflecting the sphere of musical performance whereas the latter refer to various spheres of everyday life. Specialized musical jargon group is subdivided into three subgroups – nominations of subjects, objects and ways of musical performance. Nomination technique of the jargon described includes occasional affixal word formation, word composition, metaphorical transference, borrowings (mainly from the English language), dialectal and dated words, and onomatopoeia. Transference of musical notions into various sphere of reality is also a feature of the jargon described.

Philosophy of Al-Farabi In Developing A Digital Music Notation Training Model for High School Art and Culture Teachers Based on CSCL

This article explores the philosophical aspects of Al-Farabi in the development of a music art training model, aimed at assisting high school Art and Culture teachers in understanding and teaching digital music notation. Al-Farabi, a great philosopher from the Classical Islamic period, offers valuable insights into education and learning, which are applicable in the context of music art teaching. The article elucidates how Al-Farabi's views, particularly on ethics, morality, and happiness, can be integrated into a training model based on Computer Support Collaborative Learning (CSCL) to enrich the art teachers' learning experience. Furthermore, it provides an overview of how digital music notation can be implemented in high school cultural arts education and why this approach is relevant in the rapidly evolving context of music education. This article is expected to serve as a guide for developing a holistic and philosophical training model in music art education, focusing on understanding digital music notation and applying Al-Farabi's philosophical principles in the learning process. Additionally, this research highlights the importance of integrating technology in art education, demonstrating how digital approaches can broaden the horizons of music art learning. Moreover, the article seeks to prove how teaching methods inspired by Al-Farabi's thoughts can enhance students' creativity and conceptual understanding in music art.

Is Standard Music Notation Able to Picture Aristotle’s Time?

Abstract It is argued that standard music notation pictures Aristotle’s time (time, as Aristotle conceived of it) in a number of important respects, which concern its micro-structure. It is then argued that this allows us to see some features of Aristotle’s time more clearly. Most importantly, Aristotelian instants can be pictured by bar-lines. This allows us to see as how radically devoid of any content Aristotelian instants should be interpreted. Thus, attention to music notation may show why Aristotle was not a presentist.

From Musical Writings To Writing Music: Book-Writing Leading to Music School in Nineteenth-Century Calcutta

Print created the urge to innovate new modalities of musical knowledge production and dissemination in nineteenth-century Bengal. Publication of music books made the bifurcation between music theory and practice clearer, but only as a textual category. As the literature suggests, these were two categories for organizing musical knowledge, intimately entwined, where one produces the other and also doesn't exist without each other. The technology of ‘swaralipi’ (musical notation) used in the modern printed books materialized the project of disseminating music to the reader who could now ‘read’ the music from the book. For some book writers, music books were meant to be a replacement for the oral tutelage, published as ‘self-instructors’. But, on the contrary, the most prolific book-writers of the time used their books as the basis of oral tutelage in the music school. In the modern setting of the music school, the person of the ‘guru’ or ‘ustad’ was replaced by the formalized, systematic teaching of the ‘professors’ of music. Music books, as the medium of modern music pedagogy, thus changed not only the way students learned – making it possible to learn from the book with no instructor – but also the role of teachers, whose teaching was validated by the book. The music books came to function as the ‘modern shastras’ – to exercise regulatory authority over music practice, and how music is learned and taught. The ‘orality’ of music emerges as a liminal space in the gap between the writings on music and the writing of music. What emerges is an unlikely milieu where a new form of musical education is devised, the possibility of an education without a guru is conceived, and the schema of musical notation brings the entire process to life.

Automated Digital Wind Instrument using Arduino UNO Microcontroller

Recently, Blackstar Amplification Ltd. has introduced a Compact Carry-On Digital Wind Instrument (CDWI), mirroring the design of traditional recorder instruments in their size and shape. This CDWI can be played as a traditional wind instrument by blowing into the mouthpiece and simultaneously manipulating finger holes, enabling the production of desired musical notes. The main aim of this research work is the development of a prototype model to automate the CDWI, by utilizing the Arduino UNO microcontroller board and introducing the Automated Digital Wind Instrument (ADWI). The CDWI has a mouthpiece, nine finger holes, and one thumb hole, and the blowing mechanism can be automated by using a 12 Volts DC air blower and a servo valve. The author ingeniously develops a new servo valve using a plastic syringe, a ball, and a 5 Volts DC micro servo motor to regulate the air pressure blown into the mouthpiece. The ADWI fingers are meticulously crafted using plastic pen barrels, thrust tubes, and metallic springs to simulate the actions of a human music player's fingers. Positioned to maintain all finger holes in an open state by default, the selective closing of specific holes is achieved by ten micro servo motors to produce a specific musical note. In a preliminary test, the ADWI prototype is programmed to perform the Nursery Rhyme "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." While evaluating the sound output by hearing, it is evident that the proposed ADWI effectively generates all the necessary musical notes. However, the noise generated by the air blower and micro servo motors introduces interference, impacting the clarity of the produced musical notes. Consequently, it is planned to integrate a noise reduction mechanism as part of future work.

Research on the Application of Computer Music Technology in Solfeggio Teaching in Universities

This paper investigates the potential impact and benefits of integrating computer music technology into solfeggio teaching within university music programs. Solfeggio, as a foundational skill in music education, encompasses sight-singing and ear training, yet traditional teaching methods often encounter challenges in engaging students and providing personalized instruction. The paper explores the theoretical foundations of solfeggio teaching and the role of technology in music education, highlighting the potential advantages of incorporating computer music technology. Specific examples of technology applications, such as interactive software for ear training, digital music notation tools, and virtual reality applications, are examined for their potential to enhance student engagement and provide personalized feedback. Furthermore, the paper reviews case studies of successful technology integration in solfeggio instruction and presents empirical research findings on the impact of technology on learning outcomes. Pedagogical considerations for technology integration, including instructional design, assessment methods, and student engagement strategies, are discussed, along with recommendations for educators and institutions interested in adopting technology-enhanced solfeggio instruction. The paper emphasizes the broader significance of technology-enhanced music education and its potential to enhance students' aural skills and overall musical proficiency.

Brief Exposure to Notated Scores: Pianists' Quick Impressions of Musical Style

This study concerns classical musicians' ability to recognize style periods from very brief visual exposure to musical notation. 25 professional pianists were shown nine 500-ms displays of musical excerpts from piano works by J. S. Bach, L. v. Beethoven, and F. Chopin. The pianists were told to describe what they saw and to assess the style period of the music. Recognition was relatively good: 49% of the verbal protocols included a correct style period label or the right composer name. Verbal protocols also supported the notion that style recognition chiefly relies on intuitive, holistic integration of information, rather than on reflective, analytic processing. First, correct responses regarding style period occurred significantly earlier than incorrect ones, which suggests that they may have taken place more intuitively. Second, correct recognitions were not preceded by richer spoken contents than was found in the case of non-recognition. Indeed, the opposite was the case for composer recognition, which again associates recognition with intuitive processing. It is argued that the rapid recognition of musical style characteristics is a prerequisite for stylistically sensitive sight reading.