Music Technology Research Articles

Vocal improvisation using interactive music technology

ABSTRACT This paper aims to study the features of vocal improvisation using interactive musical technologies. The survey method contributed to determining the level of vocal skills of 214 respondents auditioned before the experiment. The authors developed a training programme based on previously received information. It included breathing, technical, aesthetic, and vocal improvisation skills. The results showed that 93% of the experimental group believed that interactive technologies had advantages in the educational process, and 63% of the control group believed that they had no advantages. The survey of the students allowed identifying elements that required improvement or changes in the curriculum. The students of the experimental group showed that using national Chinese instruments for accompaniment was important for 32% of the respondents, 27% chose the answer “other”, which included systematic and more frequent cross-sections of knowledge, the involvement of foreign approaches to learning. The calculation of the level of knowledge obtained showed that 88% of the students demonstrated a high level in the experimental group, a low one was only in 2%. Study prospects relate to studying technical and aesthetic elements to be applied during classical and folk vocal performance.

Exploring older adult needs and preferences for technology-assisted group music-making. A qualitative analysis of data collected during the participatory user-centred design process

Purpose Engagement with arts, recreation and leisure is highly valued by older adults, with positive links to their continued wellbeing. Despite an availability of new music technology, these devices are rarely designed with older adults in mind. This project explores the needs and preferences of older adults in residential care as they interact with digital music interfaces in a group music-making context. Materials and methods Twenty participants at an Australian residential aged-care facility were involved in a user-centred design process (20 sessions across six months) to develop digital music interfaces suitable for group music-making. Participants’ verbal comments were audio-recorded and transcribed, supported by further written observation notes made by the activity facilitators. Results A hybrid inductive and deductive approach to thematic analysis revealed three main themes: individual music-making, ensemble music-making and social engagement. Our results suggest that when interfaces are designed with older adults in mind, technology-assisted group music-making can facilitate bringing together residents with different experiences and abilities. Conclusions These findings suggest implications for rehabilitation in developing a range of musical devices for older adults to account for required flexibility, whilst maintaining an appropriate and satisfyingly “rich” musical outcome.

Guest editorial: Music perception and cognition in music technology

Guest editorial: Music perception and cognition in music technology

Intelligent Analysis of Music Education Singing Skills Based on Music Waveform Feature Extraction

In order to improve the effect of intelligent analysis of singing skills in music education, this paper conducts an intelligent analysis of singing skills in music education with the support of music waveform feature extraction technology. Moreover, this paper uses the traditional IMM optimal waveform selection algorithm to solve the model and analyzes the tracking effect and the changes of transmission parameters. Compared with the fixed transmission parameters, the algorithm can effectively reduce the tracking error. From the experimental analysis, it can be seen that the intelligent analysis system for music education singing skills based on the extraction of music waveform features has good effects and can effectively promote the improvement of music singing skills and the improvement of music teaching effects.

Construction of an Intelligent Arrangement Model for Vocal Music Based on HPC Cluster Programming

We model in this paper the HPC cluster programming structure and perform a multidimensional computational analysis to design a vocal intelligent arrangement model based on HPC cluster programming using brilliant vocal arrangement. This paper proposes the construction scheme of the HPC interconnection simulation environment based on the full investigation of the research related to the construction of a supercomputer simulation environment at home and abroad. The rapid development of HPC technology has promoted the study of automatic music generation technology, which effectively avoids the traditional machine learning method of music. The rapid growth of HPC technology has facilitated the research of automated music generation techniques, which effectively avoids the overreliance of conventional machine learning methods on music rules and artificial design features. It achieves better results in complex music generation tasks. The key features of intelligent music arrangement are designed and implemented by summarizing the principles of converting paintings to music and then creating the rules of converting images to music and the corresponding relationships based on the theoretical basis. After the conversion rules are clarified, the specific design is carried out according to the computing process of the genetic algorithm. At the same time, the framework of the arrangement is combined with children’s aesthetic psychology; the evolutionary adaptation function is developed in combination with music theory, which finally ensures the motility of the generated music.

Digital Music Recommendation Technology for Music Teaching Based on Deep Learning

With the rapid development of music streaming media service industry, users can easily hear any song on mobile devices. Internet has become a huge music storage platform. With the development of network and large-scale digital music industry, the acquisition and listening of music are presented to users in a more convenient way. How to find the music loved by users from the massive Internet digital music data has become the key problem and main goal to be solved in the field of music information retrieval. Personalized music recommendation system can accurately find and push songs that users may be interested in from tens of millions of huge music libraries according to users’ information under the condition that users only have vague demand for listening to songs. Relying on the traditional search method to find the music that you are interested in can no longer meet the needs of users, so the current music recommendation system needs to dig out the music that has no clear needs in the long tail to help people find their favorite songs.

Analysis of Music Teaching in Basic Education Integrating Scientific Computing Visualization and Computer Music Technology

In the current music education, the music teaching method is too simple, boring, relatively backward, unable to attract the attention of the students, and the students gradually lose their interest in music courses. In basic education, music, as a highly practical subject, must create a good classroom atmosphere, make the classroom active, and enable students to better experience music, enjoy music, and like music. Therefore, in order to change this situation, this paper, based on scientific computing visualization, studies the application of computer music technology in basic education music teaching, and proposes a related computing method based on scientific computing visualization-image segmentation method. This review compares the spectrum extraction accuracy between the improved algorithm and the two traditional algorithms and finds that the average accuracy of the improved algorithm is 90.88%. It can be seen that the method proposed in this review is more suitable for the study of computer music technology in basic education music teaching. Applied research and most students are more interested in music teaching combined with computer music technology, so learning music teaching combined with computer music technology is very necessary. The development of computer music technology is closely related to the development of modern information technology.

Application of Spectrum Analysis Technology in Music Audio Analysis

In order to improve the music analysis technology, this paper studies the music analysis technology combined with the spectrum analysis technology and builds an intelligent audio analysis model. In this paper, the nonlinear theoretical method is adopted, and the motion equation of the audio frequency is obtained through variable processing, so as to obtain the mean square fluctuation of the two sound wave models and then obtain the entanglement and compression. Moreover, this paper introduces the combined mode method to describe the interaction of the two laser fields and atomic matter and verifies that both the differential modes are decoupled from the interaction and only the sum mode participates in the interaction. The experiment verifies that the music audio analysis system based on spectrum analysis technology proposed in this paper can play an important role in music analysis.

Research on the Fusion Model of Professional Vocal Music Performance Voice Care and Artificial Intelligence Technology in Intelligent Medical Treatment

Intelligent medical treatment is an important research field in today’s world. Artificial intelligence technology is the key factor to construct intelligent medical treatment. In the development of artificial intelligence technology, it is necessary to establish a scientific, systematic, and comprehensive system analysis model, inevitably with certain professional characteristics. At present, in the research of vocal health care in professional vocal music performance, the application of intelligent medical care and vocal health care in professional vocal music performance is studied. According to the DEMATEL-ISM research method, this paper constructs 4 internal and external factors and 16 influencing factors to build a comprehensive and systematic weight analysis model, which provides a theoretical and practical basis for the scientific construction of AI technology algorithms. The aim is to improve the value and research significance of intelligent medical artificial intelligence technology in professional vocal music performance sound care.

ICT and music technology during COVID-19: Australian music educator perspectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced music teachers to modify their practice as delivery moved online in education settings around the globe. This article forms part of our wider study, Re-imaging the future: Music teaching and learning, and ICT in blended environments in Australia, that commenced in March 2021. In this article, the authors analyze and discuss Australian music teachers' perceptions of confidence, preference, and usage of music technologies, combined with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) while teaching during COVID-19. Employing a quantitative methodology from data collected using an anonymous survey (N = 105), they report on teachers' attitudinal responses about ICT devices, confidence, and technology usage. The findings outline descriptive and correlational analyses between ICT use and teachers' integration of various devices, software, and related music technologies. The data show that teachers adapted their practice during this time of uncertainty, reporting increased confidence, application, and ICT usage. Data revealed an increase in the use of multiple technologies, resources, and software, which became an essential component of online teaching. The article concludes with recommendations for a longitudinal study of ICT usage in music education across Australia, accompanied by suggestions for increased professional learning, initial teacher training, changes in practice, and contingencies to sustain online learning into the future.

Gesture, Music and Computer: The Centro di Sonologia Computazionale at Padova University, a 50-Year History.

With the advent of digital technologies, the computer has become a generalized tool for music production. Music can be seen as a creative form of human–human communication via a computer, and therefore, research on human–computer and computer–human interfaces is very important. This paper, for the Sensors Special Issue on 800 Years of Research at Padova University, presents a review of the research in the field of music technologies at Padova University by the Centro di Sonologia Computazionale (CSC), focusing on scientific, technological and musical aspects of interaction between musician and computer and between computer and audience. We discuss input devices for detecting information from gestures or audio signals and rendering systems for audience and user engagement. Moreover, we discuss a multilevel conceptual framework, which allows multimodal expressive content processing and coordination, which is important in art and music. Several paradigmatic musical works that stated new lines of both musical and scientific research are then presented in detail. The preservation of this heritage presents problems very different from those posed by traditional artworks. CSC is actively engaged in proposing new paradigms for the preservation of digital art.

Combination of Blockchain and AI for Music Intellectual Property Protection

In the last two years, due to the pandemic and restrictive measures, the dependence of music creators and artists on the Internet, where they could promote their work, organize live streaming concerts, and talk to the public, has increased and expanded even more and seeks higher revenue from digital music platforms. An important issue that arises from the above statement is protecting the authors' copyright regarding the uses and sharing in the digital services of their works with protected content. Although circulated in digital information, the protected content is not information but a product of ethical and commercial value. While it has an intangible owner and it owes its existence to the creative idea of its creator, it is not an idea. The imposition of legal and commercial conditions on its movement cannot be associated with any restrictions on the free movement of information, as it is not related to them. In general, the unauthorized exchange of digital music files via peer-to-peer violates copyright law. The exchange of files is unauthorized, as it does not have the relevant permission from the creators and beneficiaries and is therefore illegal. With this in mind, this paper proposes a highly effective way of protecting the copyright of music technology, which is based on the widespread use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptography technologies. Specifically, an advanced blockchain model based on Hyperledger Fabric is introduced, which, however, uses Quantum Homomorphic Encryption and Quantum Zero-Knowledge Arguments. Music files are implemented as Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs), which activate smart contracts. Finally, an advanced collaborative filtering algorithm provides recommendations for effectiveness in securing the copyrights of music industry creators. A specialized scenario was built to model the proposed system to verify the degree of protection on music intellectual property in developing a security simulation with an innovative consensus-based zero knowledge and the quantum fully homomorphic encryption technique. Experiment results show that this technique can aid in implementing a technologically aware system capable of providing a powerful answer to a current real-world problem.

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I Wayan Ary Wijaya's Creative Process in Creating Digital Gamelan Music

This paper is to trace the creative process in composing Digital Gamelan Music (DGM) done by I Wayan Ary Wijaya a balinese artist. It a qualitative study by operating observation, documentation, and interview. Interview is done with I Wayan Arsa Wijaya and other related parties. DGM was created by Ary Wijaya from linking gamelan and music technology. DGM is another way to strengthen tradition and at the same time foster creativity by using the gamelan (traditionality) and the technology (modernity) as a medium of inspiration. It is found that DGM is composed using Panca Sthiti Ngawi Sani theory: inspiration stage (ngawirasa); exploration stage (ngawacak); conception stage (ngarencana); execution stage (ngewangun); presentation stage (ngebah). DGM as a terminology is still experiencing struggles in terms of concept definition, form, and creative work process. Besides that, the digital technology belongs to a product of capitalism.

STRUCTURAL MODEL OF ESTIMATION OF INDEPENDENT WORK OF STUDENTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS BASED ON FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

The article provides a structural model for independent work of students in the educational process. This structural model is developed on the basis of functional and structural analysis. It makes it possible to visually represent the learning process as a whole as well as to objectify the process of assessing the independent work of students both for the teacher and the student himself. The developed structural model is general, it is applicable in the process of teaching and assessing independent work both in general education schools, art schools, and in various secondary and higher educational institutions. To concretize the model it is considered in the context of the studied subject supplementing it with specific content. The application of the developed model is shown as an example of music lessons of general and secondary specialized educational institutions with the use of electronic music technologies. Currently there is a contradiction between the large resources of independent work of students and the need to evaluate the process and results of independent work. One of the possible ways to solve this contradiction is to involve the students themselves in the diagnostic process using the methods of functional and structural analysis. The use of the potential of independent work of students contributes to the creation of conditions for self-realization of a person and presupposes the free development of his abilities. This is in line with current trends in education. The article indicates that in the modern education system the role of independent work of students is increasing both in mastering basic knowledge and special knowledge, skills and abilities. In this regard, the problem arises of assessing this work, both by teachers and by the students themselves. It is supposed to involve the students themselves in the process of assessing the independent work on the basis of the methods of functional and structural analysis.

Editorial

The Guest Editors introduce the Special Issue: ‘Exploring Audio and Music Technology in Education: Pedagogical, Research and Sociocultural Perspectives’. As the body of research on audio and music technology continually expands, the guest editors provide a brief overview of emerging scholarship on music technology education (MTE) from various disciplines and theoretical perspectives and their implications for teaching and learning. After a summary of the articles in the issue, the Guest Editors conclude with implications for future music and audio technology research in educational settings.

Music Production Technology in New Nollywood Soundtracks: Context, Application, and the Effect of Globalization

Abstract New Nollywood refers to a segment of Nigerian cinema that began in 2012. The industry is based in Lagos and focuses on Hollywood-style approaches to film and film music. Generally, very little has been written about technologies in the film music of Nigerian cinema. This article is the first to focus explicitly on the impact of modern music production technology in New Nollywood soundtracks. Adopting descriptive as well as survey and historical methods of research, this article reveals what the specific and available technologies for film music in New Nollywood were and currently are; how the practitioners have employed them; as well as how the effects of such technologies have shaped the industry's cultural and economics choices. In addition to a review of the broad literature on cinema and film music, the methodology also relies on studio observation sessions with current industry practitioners as well as an analysis of the New Nollywood film The Bling Lagosians (2019). Taken together, findings reveal that the quality of New Nollywood film music is fluid and reflective of changes to the economic, cultural, and technological preferences of practitioners.

‘We Cross Examine with Old Sonic DNA’: King Britt and Tara Rodgers in conversation on Blacktronika, music technology and pedagogy

Composers, producers and educators King Britt and Tara Rodgers discuss music technology history and pedagogy in the context of King Britt’s Blacktronika course at the University of California San Diego, which researches and celebrates Black artists and other artists of colour who are pioneers of electronic music genres. Conducted over email in June 2021, this interview also touches on King Britt’s studio practice and evolution as an artist and educator, as well as on the social and political roots of contemporary electronic music genres.

Perceptions of Diversity in Electronic Music: the Impact of Listener, Artist, and Track Characteristics

Shared practices to assess the diversity of retrieval system results are still debated in the Information Retrieval community, partly because of the challenges of determining what diversity means in specific scenarios, and of understanding how diversity is perceived by end-users. The field of Music Information Retrieval is not exempt from this issue. Even if fields such as Musicology or Sociology of Music have a long tradition in questioning the representation and the impact of diversity in cultural environments, such knowledge has not been yet embedded into the design and development of music technologies. In this paper, focusing on electronic music, we investigate the characteristics of listeners, artists, and tracks that are influential in the perception of diversity. Specifically, we center our attention on 1) understanding the relationship between perceived diversity and computational methods to measure diversity, and 2) analyzing how listeners' domain knowledge and familiarity influence such perceived diversity. To accomplish this, we design a user-study in which listeners are asked to compare pairs of lists of tracks and artists, and to select the most diverse list from each pair. We compare participants' ratings with results obtained through computational models built using audio tracks' features and artist attributes. We find that such models are generally aligned with participants' choices when most of them agree that one list is more diverse than the other, while they present a mixed behaviour in cases where participants have little agreement. Moreover, we observe how differences in domain knowledge, familiarity, and demographics can influence the level of agreement among listeners, and between listeners and diversity metrics computed automatically.

Listening to the video: Hip Hop videography and Rural Black Aesthetics

ABSTRACT The Black Hip Hop tradition, specifically rap, has appropriated and rechanneled music technologies and inscribed new meanings for cultural, economic, social, and political gains, videography included. Through an ethnographic study of Hip Hop in rural northeast North Carolina, USA, this project incorporates the voices of local Hip Hop videographers and rap artists to suggest that Hip Hop videography is a form of performative Blackness that exemplifies how the visual is a site of vernacular possibility. It shows how Black artists in rural northeast North Carolina work within the specific structure of the trap subgenre, which originated in urban centres, only to rupture it with visuals of rural Blackness. By demanding audiences to ‘listen’ to images, Hip Hop artists in the area known as ‘the 252’ use local history and the visual subjectivity of the surrounding region to alter the sonic experience of songs to set forth a local identity. This research positions Hip Hop videography as a relational space where identities are inhabited, imagined, and transformed.