Music System Research Articles

New musical interfaces for older adults in residential care: assessing a user-centred design approach

Purpose:For older adults in aged-care, group music-making can bring numerous physical and psychological benefits, ultimately improving their quality of life. However, personalising music-making to optimise these benefits is often difficult given their diverse ages, experiences, abilities, cognitive and motor skills, and their experience with music technology. Materialsandmethods:In this study, we conducted a 10-week group music-making intervention with twenty participants in an aged-care home, using a prototype digital musical instrument that we iteratively refined by following a user-centred design approach from direct resident feedback. The prototype instrument adopted a novel method for errorless learning in music-making settings, which we also refined, by increasing the difficulty level of the instrument's operation. We also assessed the residents' engagement with the sessions by obtaining feedback from caregivers and facilitators. Results:Results show that residents' enjoyment decreased as the complexity (difficulty) of our errorless learning implementation increased. We also found that resident engagement increased when changes to the prototype digital musical instrument were provided, but not when residents were giving feedback. Results also found that participation over the course of the intervention, and the number of songs played during each session also enhanced engagement. Conclusions: Overall, our results show the intervention was beneficial to residents, although we note some areas of enhancement for further interventions in designing prototype musical instruments for group music-making in aged-care settings. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Older adults positively engage with novel music technology, and do so increasingly over subsequent sessions. Repeated sessions may have the potential to enhance longer-term adoption of technologies as well as any rehabilitative effects of the group music-making activity. There is significant potential for residents with different abilities to all make music together, although to maximise the sustainability of the devices, the sessions, and the subsequent rehabilitative benefits, residents must be given the right adaptation for individual interfaces that balances ambition and ability. Rapid DMI prototyping positively enhances engagement among older adults, suggesting that in the case of a custom DMI, an upgrade schedule should be aligned with key rehabilitative milestones. Similarly, in the case of pre-developed digital music systems, resident exposure to new features or functionality should be strategically introduced, so as to maximise engagement for key phases of resident rehabilitation.

Research on the Application of Computer Multimedia Music System in College Music Teaching

With the rapid development of China’s economy, computers have been widely used. We can see it in people’s daily life and teaching. Computers have been widely used in teaching. Music courses in colleges and universities are essential and a basic content in aesthetic education, which can not only cultivate students’ aesthetic ability, but also cultivate students’ sentiment, and have very important teaching significance. At present, the traditional music teaching method has been gradually eliminated, which can not meet the needs of today’s teaching. Therefore, to further improve the efficiency of music in colleges and universities is a problem that all colleges and universities in our country have to face, and it must also be widely valued. Multimedia technology is widely used in teaching, which points out a new direction for the development of music teaching in colleges and universities in China. At present, due to a lot of focus on professional education in colleges and universities, neglect the cultivation of the students’ basic quality, at the same time, the traditional music appreciation teaching mode cannot achieve the result of comprehensive and rapid improve students’ music quality, therefore, the current college students’ music quality is generally low in common colleges and universities, the basic music knowledge, skills, master the situation is grim, such as is the weakest link in the whole education. With the popularity of personal computers among students, the effective application of computers and the Internet is a very good entry point to improve music education. The potential of computers and Internet music in colleges and universities. The computer is an indispensable tool in our life and work today.

Syncretic Art in the Musical Language of the Opus 27 by Eugène Ysaÿe

Violinist, conductor, pedagogue, composer Eugène Ysaÿe represents a transitional sacrosanct monolith from a musical point of view situated at the crossroads of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the art of which we encounter with much skill the jointing of a well established musical system together with a debordant overflowing imagination. Eugène Ysaÿe has managed therefore to obtain a masterpiece worthy of the full attention of musicologists and anyone curious enough about innovative evolutionary principles in music as well as in other domains.

Using gestural emotions recognised through a neural network as input for an adaptive music system in virtual reality

In this article, a head gesture recognition system is developed in order to identify emotional inputs and provide them to an adaptive music system (LitSens) in virtual reality applications, improving virtual presence in the process. Two iterations of this system, both founded on neural networks, are presented: the first one is based on a multi-layer perceptron, whereas the second one consists of a hybrid one-dimensional convolutional neural network. In both cases, the system is able to recognise fear by analysing head gestures. Whereas the first implementation is quicker when recognising this emotion, the second one is slower, but much more accurate, which makes it a better option overall for soundtrack adaptation. An experiment is then detailed, aimed towards validating the behaviour of a gestural recogniser when detecting fear in players. The results achieved through this validation are generally positive, but evince the need for an improvement in terms of system responsiveness.

Online Education and Wireless Network Coordination of Electronic Music Creation and Performance under Artificial Intelligence

This paper is aimed at studying the online education and wireless network collaboration on electronic music creation and performance under artificial intelligence (AI). This paper uses a fuzzy clustering algorithm (FCA), designs the sensor network‐related equipment, and uses AI to design an electronic music creation system. The analysis of simulation experiments suggests that under the premise of increasing the number of neighbors, the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Squared Error (MSE) of collaborative filtering and fuzzy C‐means clustering algorithms show a downward trend. However, with the same number of neighbors, the filtering matching algorithm is greater than FCA regarding the mean values of MAE and MSE. Meanwhile, on the electronic music performance system of AI, the digital module is designed and the sound data are imaged on the oscilloscope, and the collaboration of electronic music online education and wireless network is completed. The following conclusion is drawn: modularizing the creative mode of intelligent electronic music has achieved higher computational efficiency. Through the oscilloscope, the sound feature is converted into the image structure, and the corresponding sound and image mode is formed, which realizes the purpose of online electronic music intelligent matching and optimizes the effect of online education. In the AI environment, the matching degree of verification electronic music curriculum resources is better than traditional matching algorithms, and the accuracy is higher.

Possibilities of ethnomusicology applied to the field of public health.

This article analyses methodological possibilities of ethnomusicology in the field of public health, starting from an experience that triangulated ethnomusicological theories with discourse analysis (DA). After an introduction to applied ethnomusicology, it is followed by a description of methodological aspects of the experience in question. Subsequently, the conduction of the ethnomusicological step and the triangulation process was described. Results show that the musical systems are situated in power structures, influencing the construction of subjectivities. Applied ethnomusicology emerges, therefore, as a possibility for analyzing the structures on which the music is rooted in. From a research on the relations between forró and the perception of young people's perception about sexual violence, ethnomusicology presented itself as a theoretical possibility for the study of violent social performances and about the effects of music in identity building, besides providing elements for the confrontation of violence inside the cultural system itself. Its triangulation with DA contributes for an ethnographic-discursive research, as possibility of analysis of social practices.

Lareh Koto Piliang: Systems of Governmental Power and Bronze Music in the Study of the Concept of Musical Aesthetics in Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau

This article aims to reveal the concept of Lareh Koto Piliang: Power Systems and Bronze Music in a Study of the Concept of Musical Aesthetics in Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau. Lareh Koto Piliang is oriented towards a monarchy system. It has a main character who has the title Dt. Katumangguangan. As a legendary figure, Dt. Katumangguangan is believed by the community to be a figure who puts an autocratic (monarchic) pattern of power and leadership. The bronze music in this study is talempong bararak (procession) which is played as a musical parade in the presentation of a title for a local leader, and musically consists of three pairs of talempong – talempong jantan, talempong paningkah, and talempong pangawinan. Each of the talempong pairs plays different rhythmic patterns and the combination of the three patterns forms the unique melody of talempong bararak. The issues discussed in this article are : first, the traditional historiography of Lareh Koto Piliang as part of the trilogy of power in Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau; second, Lareh Koto Piliang and the concept of bronze music; and third, the musical concept of talempong bararak. A qualitative method involving a close observation of a talempong performance acted as a gateway to in-depth interviews. An interpretative analysis was used to reveal the connection between power and bronze music. The results of the study show a synchronization between power systems and bronze music, represented through the talempong bararak ensemble. Keywords: Lareh Koto Piliang, Bronze Music, Luhak Nan Tigo, Minangkabau, Indonesian Music.

Addressing long tail problem in music recommendation systems

Addressing long tail problem in music recommendation systems

Addressing long tail problem in music recommendation systems

Addressing long tail problem in music recommendation systems

The development of potential of students with a creative approach to education

The article presents a fragment of a research project devoted to studying the impact of the musical influence system on the mental development of mentally retarded children. The author’s approach to the criterion-oriented assessment of the levels of preschoolers’ psychomotor development is applied. Three estimated levels of children’s psychomotor development are used to assess both the actual features of this development and potential opportunities. The ascertaining experiment made it possible to reveal a significant motor impairment in mentally retarded children of theageof 6–7: difficulties in performing movements in accordance with the instructions; disorders of motor and spatial coordination; decreased motor memory; distortions of tempo, rhythm, and amplitude of movements (63.6%). The development program “Music and Dance of My Body” made it possible to actualize the children’s psychomotor potential through musical-motor improvisation. The program was aimed at developing a sense of rhythm, motor skills, forming correct posture, children’s expressive movements and facial expressions, spatial coordination. The program allowed increasing the percentage of children with an average level of psychomotor development from 33.9% to 57.0%. According to the results of the control stage, the dynamics of development were statistically significant at a high level of reliability (p = 0.001).

Five Phases in the modern Chinese culture

This article reviews the universal conceptual system of Ancient China, an intrinsic part of which is the so- called quinary classification or the doctrine of Five Phases of Wuxing, and its impact upon the modern Chinese culture (modernity implies the period from the beginning of the XX century to the present). The doctrine of Five Phases , which emerged during the period of the early categorical thinking (approximately 1045 – 221 BC) and comprised the backbone of the traditional Chinese culture Yinyang and Wuxing (Yinyang Wuxing Wen hua 阴五行文化), continues influencing the life of modern China, having overcome the disastrous consequences of the “Cultural Revolution” of 1966-1976. Within the framework of historical-philosophical research, the author analyzes the two traditional spheres of Chinese culture – martial art Taijiquan and music, revealing the substantial structural components in their theoretical frameworks that indicate the profound conceptual rootedness in the culture Yinyang and Wuxing. It appears that the conceptual framework of Taijiquan includes not only the basic proto-categorical conceptual constructions Yinyang 阴阳, Sancai 三才, and Wuxing 五行, but also the closely related 8 trigrams Bagua 八卦and the magic Lo Shu Square 洛书. It is not a coincidence that the pentatonic system or five colors of Wŭ Sheng 五声 becomes the fundamentals of musical thinking in China. Along with the musical system Shí-èr-lǜ 十二律吕(12 pitches), the pentatonic system is a continuation of the ancient proto-categorical thinking that took foothold in the Chinese mentality.

Finding Untitled Goose Game’s Dynamic Music in the World of Silent Cinema

There are three unusual things about Untitled Goose Game’s music. First, for an independent video game produced by a small studio, the music is dynamic and reactive to a high degree. The game uses pre-recorded, non-generative musical performances and yet will respond to onscreen events within a buffer of only a few seconds at maximum. Second, the music takes inspiration not from other dynamic music systems in video games but from the varying practices of musical accompaniment for silent cinema and early comedy, aiming to replicate affect rather than process. Finally, the music for Untitled Goose Game takes the unusual step of adapting pre-existing classical music from the public domain—in this case, six of Claude Debussy’s Préludes for solo piano—rather than creating an original score intended from its conception to be dynamic. Accordingly, this article outlines the dynamic music system at work in Untitled Goose Game and the influence drawn on for this system from non–video game approaches to musical accompaniment. The article discusses the varying practices for music for the silent era of cinema, the theoretical frameworks used to conceptualize these many divergent approaches, and how closely we might recognize their legacy at work in Untitled Goose Game’s soundtrack. Ultimately, this article argues that by looking to approaches beyond more familiar debates about dynamic music for video games, Untitled Goose Game helped shortcut familiar problems that confront developers and composers when working with dynamic and reactive music.

Observing the Spirit of Ambition and Sentiment in the Ritual and Music Culture from "The Book of Songs•Xiaoya•Luming"

"The Book of Songs" is a bright mirror of the Zhou Dynasty society and the earliest collection of poems in our country, reflecting that rituals and music are an important part of social, political and cultural activities in ancient China. It is not only the norm of human life behavior and customs, but also the reflection and reflection of the social civilization at that time. The banquet poems in "The Book of Songs" mainly praised and strengthened the patriarchal blood relationship between the nobles in the Zhou Dynasty, established the ritual and music system of the aristocratic class and the moral customs of the nobles, included in "Xiaoya", and is an important product of the ritual and music culture of the Zhou Dynasty section.This article tries to observe the spirit of ambition brought out by the ritual and music culture in "Luming", and explores the important connection between ritual and will, pleasure and emotion.

Review of The Game Audio Strategy Guide

Review of <i>The Game Audio Strategy Guide</i>

Algorithmic Composition by Autonomous Systems with Multiple Time-Scales

Dynamic systems have found their use in sound synthesis as well as score synthesis. These levels can be integrated in monolithic autonomous systems in a novel approach to algorithmic composition that shares certain aesthetic motivations with some work with autonomous music systems, such as the search for emergence. We discuss various strategies for achieving variation on multiple time-scales by using slow-fast, hybrid dynamic systems, and statistical feedback. The ideas are illustrated with a case study.

Semantic structure of the term and semantic oppositions in musical terminology (drawing on the English and Russian language material)

The analysis of the semantics and semantic oppositions of terminological units is one of the most productive ways to understand the systemic nature of terminological phenomena. The article is devoted to the study of semantic features of English- and Russian-language musical terminological units, namely, to the identification of the semantic structure of terms and semantic oppositions that arise between them. Within the semantic structure of musical terms, in the aggregate of their connections and relationships that form the musical terminological system, the core, semantic periphery and additional semantic area are distinguished and classified according to the presence of these components into uninuclear proper, uninuclear with the periphery and uninuclear with the periphery and additional semantic area. At the first stage, a selection of musical terms in modern English and Russian has been compiled, at the second stage, the semantic structure of terminological units has been analyzed, and at the third stage, the key aspects of nomination have been identified, according to which explicit and implicit oppositions are being formed. The material for the study comprises a selection of the English- and Russian-language musical terminological units with the total volume of 1000 units (500 units of each language), selected by the method of continuous selection from electronic and printed sources, including dictionaries and glossaries, musical notations, monographs, textbooks and manuals, web portals on music topics. The research methods of the English- and Russian-language musical terminological units include the method of continuous selection, methods of component and definition analysis, the method of linguacognitive modelling, as well as techniques of quantitative analysis. Within the framework of the study, three groups of musical terms have been identified depending on their semantic structure: the first group includes uninuclear terminological units with the semantic periphery, the second group includes uninuclear terms proper, and the third group is formed by uninuclear terms with the periphery and additional area of semantics. The first group is predominant in terms of quantity, the number of terms in which is almost 2.5 times more than in the second one, and the third group is represented by a small number of terminological units. There are at least 6 frequent and 12 less frequent key aspects of nomination within the musical terminology. The frequent key aspects of nomination with the help of which explicit oppositions are formed are: «Minor / major», «Volume / pitch», «Direction», «Location (locus)», «Singularity / Multiplicity», «Quantity». Less frequent aspects of nomination are: «Weakness / strength», «Perfection / imperfection», «Colour», «Presence / absence of sound», «Structure», «Quantity / Completeness / Size», «Genre of music», «Material», «Recommendations for performing a piece of music», «Role», «Style of playing an instrument», «Type of musical instrument».

Structured Gaussian Process Regression of Music Mood

Modeling the music mood has wide applications in music categorization, retrieval, and recommendation systems; however, it is challenging to computationally model the affective content of music due to its subjective nature. In this work, a structured regression framework is proposed to model the valence and arousal mood dimensions of music using a single regression model at a linear computational cost. To tackle the subjectivity phenomena, a confidence-interval based estimated consensus is computed by modeling the behavior of various annotators (e.g. biased, adversarial) and is shown to perform better than using the average annotation values. For a compact feature representation of music clips, variational Bayesian inference is used to learn the Gaussian mixture model representation of acoustic features and chord-related features are used to improve the valence estimation by probing the chord progressions between chroma frames. The dimensionality of features is further reduced using an adaptive version of kernel PCA. Using an efficient implementation of twin Gaussian process for structured regression, the proposed work achieves a significant improvement in R2 for arousal and valence dimensions relative to state-of-the-art techniques on two benchmark datasets for music mood estimation.

A Web-Based Framework for Distributed Music System Research and Creation

This paper presents soundworks, a framework dedicated to prototyping and developing distributed multimedia applications using Web technologies. Since its first release in 2015, the framework has been used in numerous artistic and research projects such as concerts, installations, workshops, teaching or experimental setups. We first present how this diversity of contexts and objectives permitted to identify a set of patterns able to support recurring needs of expert users in exploratory tasks. We then detail new developments that have been achieved to provide better support to these patterns. More particularly, we describe the novel distributed state management system dedicated at simplifying the implementation of remote control and monitoring interfaces and, the plug-in system implemented to improve the extensibility of the framework and foster composition of dedicated functionalities. We believe that these new developments can provide a solid ground to further research and artistic practices in the area of distributed music systems. The soundworks framework is open-source and released under BSD-3-Clause license.

Melodic expectations in 5- and 6-year-old children

It has been argued that children implicitly acquire the rules relating to the structure of music in their environment using domain-general mechanisms such as statistical learning. Closely linked to statistical learning is the ability to form expectations about future events. Whether children as young as 5 years can make use of such internalized regularities to form expectations about the next note in a melody is still unclear. The possible effect of the home musical environment on the strength of musical expectations has also been under-explored. Using a newly developed melodic priming task that included melodies with either “expected” or “unexpected” endings according to rules of Western music theory, we tested 5- and 6-year-old children (N = 46). The stimuli in this task were constructed using the information dynamics of music (IDyOM) system, a probabilistic model estimating the level of “unexpectedness” of a note given the preceding context. Results showed that responses to expected versus unexpected tones were faster and more accurate, indicating that children have already formed robust melodic expectations at 5 years of age. Aspects of the home musical environment significantly predicted the strength of melodic expectations, suggesting that implicit musical learning may be influenced by the quantity of informal exposure to the surrounding musical environment.

A Device for Children's Instrumental Creativity and Learning: An Overview of the MIROR Platform.

This article presents the pedagogical paradigm of reflexive interaction and its application in the field of technology-enhanced learning and children’s musical creativity. The main feature of reflexive interaction is the repetition-variation mechanism: something is repeated and varied during the interaction, through a continual process of imitation and variation. In the context of the MIROR project (EU-ICT Project), we exploited the educational potential of the reflexive interaction paradigm and implemented the MIROR platform, an educational device consisting of a set of softwares that implement the reflexive paradigm not only in music improvisation (as was the case for the first interactive reflexive system), but also in the field of music composition and dance. The platform was conceived as a tool to stimulate and develop musical and motor creativity in children, although it can also be used to teach a specific musical instrument. The hypothesis of the MIROR project was that reflexive interaction sustains and promotes the learning and creative expression processes of music and movement. This initial hypothesis, which stemmed mainly from the pilot study in which we observed children who were interacting with the first prototype of the interactive reflexive musical system, was subjected to a series of empirical studies conducted within the MIROR project, and was theoretically defined in order to lay down the foundations of the reflexive interaction paradigm and its pedagogical implications. This article summarizes the state-of-the-art of the project and brings together, in a comprehensive overview, the theoretical framework, the pedagogical concepts, the empirical studies, and the description of the MIROR platform, with the aim to reflect on the results achieved so far and point out the contribution of the reflexive perspective to the field of children’s instrumental learning and creativity.