Music Production Research Articles

Computer Technologies and Music Therapy / Tehnologii informatice și meloterapie

Music therapists who are more likely to use music technology are men who were born between 1970 and 1989. Depending on the specific musical activity, therapists may assume several roles, including facilitator, teacher, collaborator, operator, and producer. One concern is how to maintain the ethical standards of music therapy and social media using computers. The ultimate goal is for the client to get involved in the music production process, this will lead to achieving non-musical goals in other areas through music production. Age and gender are both special characteristics that affect professionals’ willingness and ability to participate in music therapy. Many writers believe that when using technology in music therapy, the therapist is a witness, sound engineer, and producer, sometimes as part of the musical theater team. Music therapists use a variety of technological resources in clinical practice, not only for musical careers but also for evaluation and research. Therapists bring a variety of skills to the therapeutic alliance, but most importantly they understand their clients’ needs and have clear treatment goals. These phenomena have new implications and possibilities for the field and practice of melanoma treatment, which we will discuss partially, but not entirely. Here, therapeutic and educational musical endeavors are associated with recipients. Many research studies in music therapy and technology are also observed as growing interest in the fields of musicology, music, and health, especially in Scandinavian countries, where technology is used in everyday life as a means of promoting health.

“This kind of life has no meaning”

“This kind of life has no meaning”

Audio

Audio

Design of Music Physiotherapy Products for Alzheimer's Disease Based on Kansei Engineering and the Kano Model

Design of Music Physiotherapy Products for Alzheimer's Disease Based on Kansei Engineering and the Kano Model

Binaural Beats and Music: A Preliminary Case Report

We recruited subjects who reported feeling stressed and needing a break and were seeking an opportunity to experience relaxation. Inaudible binaural beats (BB) were used to measure the ability of BB to induce relaxation. Measurements included EEG, Menlascan (cardiovascular and ANS) (Menla Technologies, Independence, Missouri), and GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization/Kirlian Photography) (Korotkov et al., 2020). Further, a Big Five Character Assessment was administered, and individual Brief Mood Introspection Scales (BMIS) were collected for each condition. Subjects experienced an improvement in brain function, microcirculation or cardiovascular score, bioenergy, and a calmer brain after adding binaural beats to brown noise or to music plus brown noise, although the Menlascan scores and Big Five character assessment results were less conclusive. BB seems to have profound effects on the physiology of subjects, and since the beats were not audible, these effects could not be attributed to the placebo effect. These results are encouraging in terms of developing musical products incorporating BB to affect human neural rhythms and corollary states of consciousness and warrant further research with more subjects and different frequencies of BB and different music tracks.

Write, record, optimize? How musicians reflect on music optimization strategies in the creative production process

Musicians are believed to increasingly “optimize” their music to positively influence discoverability and engagement on music and social media platforms. Common examples of such optimization strategies are skipping intros, quickly moving to the chorus, or inserting danceable “hooks.” But to what extent are optimization strategies actively considered in the creative production process? And, if so, in what stage of production? In this article, we explore how professional musicians reflect on the opportunities and constraints that optimization strategies offer in the creative music production process. Based on 20 in-depth interviews with early to mid-career professional musicians and songwriters, we identify four different positions between “pure” artistic autonomy and “pure” commercialism that musicians typically take on in relation to these optimization strategies. We demonstrate that musicians are aware that sonically “working towards” platforms may bring economic success, while simultaneously maintaining a general reluctance towards outright commercial, “full optimization” ideologies.

DISONANSI NADA DALAM HARMONI MUSIK MEDITASI:

Music plays a central role in conveying messages and expressing emotions, often serving as an escape from daily life. In the context of Western music production, complexity is commonly considered a measure of the value of a musical work. However, this work aims to present a new perspective by asserting that beauty exists in simple music. Inspiration is drawn from meditation music, a discourse that fosters reflection and contemplation through the medium of music. Meditation music, as a means to seek tranquility and mental balance, can influence listeners physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This research explores the dissonance of tones within the harmony of meditation music, bringing forth new thoughts on musical elements and integrating principles of Zen Buddhism, particularly the concept of satori as the essence of Zen that reflects the teachings of enlightenment. The hope is that this composition not only enriches the auditory experience but also provides support in the journey of individuals seeking tranquility amidst the chaos of daily life.

Korean popular music in-between: Identity strategies between Japanese style and American standards in the 1960s

This article explores collective experiences of Japanese popular music within the post-Second World War South Korean society along with related identity strategies – elimination, stratification and standardization – from postcolonial perspectives and discuss what characterizes ‘Japanese-ness’ as a musical, industrial and social product. In the context of strategies to eradicate it from the urban spaces, cultural industry and memories and bodies of Korean people, Japanese-ness – labelled under the moniker waesaek – was proscribed as a cultural remnant of imperialism, militarism and colonial dominion and thus, a harmful influence on its public. South Korean popular songs categorized as waesaek music within this model were subject to social criticism and gentrified in the music marketplace as trot. On the other hand, Americanization was an important strategy used to construct a new ‘Korean-ness’ separate from the Japanese-ness lingering within the country from its colonial past. Japanese-ness in popular music in post-war South Korea continually changed as it was re-imagined and re-constructed in parallel with musical, social and industrial changes in South Korea. Each of these strategies carries its own corresponding paradoxes, and Korean-ness and Japanese-ness are cast in sharp relief as distinct cultural products while still containing those paradoxes. This article argues that these strategies, both global and local in scope, highlight the fact that post-colonialism cannot be explained merely by the relationship between one colony and one empire but rather evolves in a global and local milieu, in which multiple empires and colonies are intertwined.

MODERN TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMOTE PERFORMING IN MUSICAL ENSEMBLES

During the pandemic, the issue of remote education was seriously raised for the first time, through the use of Internet. Music education has specific activities, such as performing in ensembles, where the usual internet solutions have proven inadequate, especially due to the very high latency. The article presents the results of the research project entitled “Development of solutions for remote musical education”, carried out in the “George Enescu” National University of Arts in Iași, whose first objective was to find technical solutions suitable for remote performing in ensembles, solutions which also offers new opportunities for collaboration between institutions located at a great distance, ensuring access to music education for those with disabilities, for those located at a great distance from university centers, as well as streamlining musical productions involving artists located at a distance.

Music Production Based on Brainwave and Acoustic Theory

Music Production Based on Brainwave and Acoustic Theory

Music, Phones and Bank Loans

This article explores the making of two branded Spotify playlists to critique the concept of ‘affective labor.’ Over the last few decades, scholars have argued that social media users and creative industries workers alike are engaged in a new type of labor, affective labor, which generates economic value for companies. The article challenges this framing. Drawing on Marxist concepts of productive and unproductive labor, in addition to feminist social reproduction theory, it details playlists made for Motorola phones and Itaú bank by paid contractors. The article situates the role of these playlists, as part of advertising campaigns, within the broader circuits of capital, showing how both paid and unpaid playlisting are unproductive labor, and therefore do not produce surplus value. The playlists do, however, assist in the overall reproduction of capitalism, particularly through the commodification of labor power for the paid lists. The article argues that characterizing musical production involving affect, especially online, as ‘affective labor’ hampers our ability to understand affect within the production and reproduction of capitalist social relations. It contends that a key political question of affect is not only the production of subjectivities, but the conversion of affectively dense, social values into commodified labor controlled by capital. Affective politics is when affects are literally put to work.

Responding to misrepresentation: sample pack creation, branding and distribution

ABSTRACT This article documents the creation and distribution of a new sample pack, Instruments INDIA, as an intervention against systemic orientalist practices observable within the marketing, branding and production of non-Western instrument sample packs. This intervention draws upon Edward Said’s model of Orientalism and Stuart Hall’s theories of representation, fortifying an interrogation of practices that misrepresent diverse sonic content, musicians and cultures in negative ways. The research brings into focus the influence digital samplers and early sample library CDs had in determining technical configurations and misrepresentation tendencies found within paratextual elements of contemporary sample packs. The article joins forces with a leading sample pack distributor, Loopmasters, to cultivate change via new policy documents and good practice principles. Attending to problematic representation issues at the start of the music production chain offers a strategy to scaffold and promote positive change throughout the production process and into other connected music industry areas, where influential language and imagery align sample content with music production goals and aspirations. The article offers a first-hand account of sample pack development in collaboration with musicians of Indian musical instruments, which provide a case study to better understand and inform more ethical commercial practices in the future.

La creación sonora de la comunidad jaranera: Reflexiones y análisis sobre la práctica del son jarocho en la frontera Tijuana-San Diego

This article reflects on the collective practice of the son jarocho onthe Tijuana-San Diego border. Interviews and participant observation at places where the son jarocho is played point to music and sound production’s role in forging a sense of community among the players of this musical genre that hastaken root on the U.S.-Mexican border in the past two decades. In addition to the findings of research conducted between 2020 and 2022 in this border area, the discussion includes information gathered over at least three decades in the Veracruz region, Mexico City, and other countries. Finally, in order to revealhow this particular music is conceived as an alternative to the daily experience of living along the border, musician testimonies shed light on the history of this music along the border.

Research in the Department of Music Technology and Acoustics of the Hellenic Mediterranean University: An Overview and Prospects

The Department of Music Technology and Acoustics of the Hellenic Mediterranean University offers a unique higher education program in Greece, addressing the growing demand for specialists in music technology, sound technology, and acoustics. It aims to educate specialized professionals in the rapidly advancing scientific fields of music technology and acoustics, mainly driven by the swift progress in electronic technology. The Department aims to address a gap in the professional market by producing highly skilled graduates, capable not only of keeping up with the latest scientific and technological developments but also of leading the way by introducing innovative approaches and methods. The Department combines art, science, and technology, focusing on sound recording, analysis, synthesis, and music production. Music technology encompasses various cutting-edge fields such as network music performance, artificial intelligence in music, and music embodiment. Acoustics refers to fundamental aspects of sound as well as its generation, transmission, and related phenomena. It includes research fields such as physical acoustics, optoacoustics, and vibroacoustics. This overview presents the research activities, methodologies, and results. A discussion of future research works and pointers to future technological evolution towards real-world music and acoustics applications is also provided.

Composing music based on machine learning

As a matter of fact, the music is an important tool and pathway for human emotional communication, with great significance, especially in recent years. However, it should be noted that traditional music production methods require a lot of time, manpower, and funds, and have high costs. With the rapid development of machine learning technology as well as computation ability, the computer automatic composition based on machine learning technology is receiving more and more attention. With this in mind, this study introduces and discusses the automatic emotion recognition and emotion based music generation based on this advanced technology, as well as describes the process involved. According to the analysis, the advanced applications and implementations results have been demonstrated. At the same time, the current limitations as well as the future prospects will be clarified and discussed. Overall, these results shed light on guiding further exploration of machine learning implementations of music composition.

All that is solid melts into air (Salton Sea), 2017

This paper is an analysis of the artist Sadia Sadia’s 5’54” filmed loop three channel digital video and surround sound installation ‘all that is solid melts into air (Salton Sea)’ filmed at the Salton Sea, Coachella Valley, California in 2017. Integrating a practice that has included music production, sound design and fine art filmed installation, the artist examines the Salton Sea as a site of ecological devastation undergoing drought amplified by the climate crisis. The drying lake exposes ‘Salton Sea dust’ which contains a mix of arsenic, selenium, chromium, zinc, lead and DDT as a consequence of industrialised agricultural activity. The filmed installation employs aesthetic ‘methodologies of transcendence’ to initiate sublime, transcendent and epiphanic states, grounded in practice-based artistic research as well as existing sociological, psychological and neuroscientific research. Through an examination of the filmed installation work, the artist interrogates whether there is an element of the sacred that can be found in ecological devastation and whether the redemptive power of awe can lead from individual epiphany through to meaningful collective change. The submission is of a creative work of practice-based research with an accompanying expository text by a practicing artist and filmmaker.

‘An Indigenous Fucking Blood Revival’: Pagan Aesthetics in The US Indigenous Black Metal Scene

This article analyzes two different modulations of Indigenous Black Metal in the contemporary US context, specifically focusing on how Indigenous Black Metal appropriates (but also distances itself from) European conceptualizations of this Metal subgenre. In this process, it adapts its lyrics to decolonial discourses. The text argues that Pagan Black Metal, although a musical product inherently connected to European understandings of pre-Christian spirituality, has found an autochthonous way in the American scenario through a sense an Indigenous-minded aesthetic vision of European paganism. After introducing the way in which senses of local land, ancestry and paganism are intertwined in the configuration of Pagan Black Metal lyrics, the article addresses two paradigmatic examples of the American Indian approach, Nechochwen and Pan-Amerikan Native Front. These two bands replicate the aggressive sounds and ontological logics of their European counterparts, erasing, nonetheless certain thematic aspects to adapt themselves to Pan-Indigenous dialectics.

The Commercialisation and Commodification of Bollywood Music

This study explores the evolution of Bollywood music. Shifts in consumer preferences and consequently commercialisation, the cultural impact of this shift and its larged commodification of Indian elements for mass consumption. The study analyses the changes in song structure and composition in Bollywood which is owed to westernisation of the film industry as well as consumer preferences. It also takes into account the origin of classical Indian compositions while providing context for general changes in Indian classical music over time- which is what Bollywood music stems from. Furthermore, it examines the commodification of songs due to the dilution of the industry and digitisation making music production easily accessible. It also explains the commercialisation of Bollywood music as a reaction- a response to consumer preferences as compared to an independent evolution caused by digitisation.

Jacques Greene’s Aging Temporalities

By way of a close reading of Quebec electronic dance music producer and DJ, Jacques Greene (né Philippe Aubin-Dionne), this article offers ways to think through and with aging studies, popular music studies and the notion of the career—which remains largely missing in studies of music scenes. Particular attention is devoted to Greene’s musical releases (two LPs, many EPs, singles and remixes), as well as his performance practice as a DJ and solo artist. To cut against dominant understandings of a career as a linear trajectory, developed in iterative stages of progress and decline, I consider the varied temporalities Greene experiences simultaneously and how his position in dance music scenes changes in relation to the contingencies of time. I argue that this temporal mode of analysis provides a generative theoretical tool kit for connecting studies of popular music with studies of aging.

Analysis Of Different Types of Digital Audio Workstations

With the development of technology, digital audio workstation (DAW) has become a must-have tool for modern music production, which allows music producers to edit, record, mix and add effects on the computer to create music works of various styles and qualities. This paper mainly introduces the definition, purpose, function, type and development of DAW, and how to choose the appropriate DAW according to individual needs. This article compares and analyzes three commonly used DAWs (Apple Logic Pro X, Cubase 12, Ableton Live Lite 11) from the aspects of personal budget, user experience, software operating system compatibility, long-term development, and whether live performances are needed. Their advantages, disadvantages and application range are pointed out. This paper also points out some limitations of DAW, (e.g., the requirements of hardware and software conditions, the difficulty of learning and mastering, the problems of music creation), and looks forward to the future development direction of DAW (the improvement of user experience and personalization, the utilization of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and the integration of other fields and media). These results can help independent music producers to understand the basic situation and selection criteria of DAW, so as to better use DAW to create and express their own music ideas, and provide some reference and inspiration for further improvement and innovation of DAW.