Music Techniques Research Articles

Museums of sound: audio bird guides and the pleasures of knowledge

Since the first commercial field guides appeared in the United States in the 1940s, audio guides have taught generations of listeners how to hear and recognise birds. In the pages that follow, I look at two different traditions of listening taught by these American guides. The first teaches rapid and efficient species identification; the second teaches more focused musical techniques that frame birds as autonomous, music-making beings. Drawing on the frameworks of animal studies, I situate the aural representations of birds in this essay as sites at which inequality is both performed and defined. In examining the pedagogies of audio field guides, I am also inviting questions about how traditions of listening shape our habits of perceiving others: how we hear birds, how we hear nonhuman animals, and how we hear those who are different more broadly.

Souls intact: The soul performances of Audre Lorde, Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone

This article redefines and regenders the meaning of soul in black expressive culture. The author argues that by the late 1960s the term encodes a narrative whereby racialized struggle yields a culturally superior style, and it shows how black women artists use literary and musical techniques to perform this recuperative alchemy. Reading Audre Lorde’s 1982 biomythography Zami as a paradigmatic soul text, the author contends that this text invites us to deprioritize concerns about the commodification of soul and to show instead how precisely black women artists such as Lorde, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin draw energy from the movement of the spiritual into the secular to create virtuosic, inclusive, and transformative forms of survivorship; the article suggests that they do so by weaving many genres together to create a home out of no home in the body, on the page, and on the stage. This analysis challenges interpretations of soul that privilege its marketization and appropriation and that reproduce a masculinist, heteronormative account, either as “fact,” in histories of popular music, or as the grounds for critique, in recent scholarship on “post-soul aesthetics.”

Effect of a Single Musical Cakra Activation Manoeuvre on Body Temperature: An Exploratory Study.

Cakra activation/balancing and music therapy are part of the traditional Indian healing system. Little is known about effect of musical (vocal) technique of cakra activation on body temperature. We conducted a single-session exploratory study to evaluate effects of a single musical (vocal) cakra activation manoeuvre on body temperature in controlled settings. Seven healthy adults performed a single musical (vocal) cakra activation manoeuvre for approximately 12 minutes in controlled environmental conditions. Pre- and post-manoeuvre body temperatures were recorded with a clinical mercury thermometer. After a single manoeuvre, increase in body temperature was recorded in all seven subjects. The range of increase in body temperature was from 0.2°F to 1.4°F; with mean temperature rise being 0.5°F and median temperature rise being 0.4°F. We conclude that a single session of musical (vocal) technique of cakra activation elevated body temperatures in all 7 subjects. Further research is required to study effects of various cakra activation techniques on body temperature and other physiological parameters.

The Poetics of Meráki: Dialogue and Speech Genre in Kalymnian Song

The dominant vehicle for oral poetry in the song culture of Kálymnos is the mantinádha, a rhyming couplet in iambic decapentameter. Though this poetic form has been studied extensively by philologists and anthropologists working in the Greek Aegean, a combined philological, ethnographic, and musicological approach is necessary to establish an expanded theoretical framework capable of exploring the interaction between poetry, music, and sociality. In performance, the texts of these poems are stretched, rearranged, interrupted, and delayed in order to conform to the contours of different melodies, each of which makes unique structural demands on the couplets that are sung to it. Close musical, metrical, and ethnographic analysis of several performances and attention to the interpretive choices of the expert performer or meraklís suggests an implicit theory, a model of the internal theory encoded in the music that governs the Kalymnian melody-poetry interface and reveals the ways in which the application of specific poetic and musical techniques both heightens the dialogic quality of these couplets and imbues them with socially poetic power.

The Creolization of American Culture: William Sidney Mount and the Roots of Blackface Minstrelsy

The Creolization of American Culture examines the artworks, letters, sketchbooks, music collection, and biography of the painter William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) as a lens through which to see the multiethnic antebellum world that gave birth to blackface minstrelsy. As a young man living in the multiethnic working-class community of New York's Lower East Side, Mount took part in the black-white musical interchange his paintings depict. An avid musician and tune collector as well as an artist, he was the among the first to depict vernacular fiddlers, banjo players, and dancers precisely and sympathetically. His close observations and meticulous renderings provide rich evidence of performance techniques and class-inflected paths of musical apprenticeship that connected white and black practitioners. Looking closely at the bodies and instruments Mount depicts in his paintings as well as other ephemera, Christopher J. Smith traces the performance practices of African American and Anglo-European music-and-dance traditions while recovering the sounds of that world. Further, Smith uses Mount's depictions of black and white music-making to open up fresh perspectives on cross-ethnic cultural transference in Northern and urban contexts, showing how rivers, waterfronts, and other sites of interracial interaction shaped musical practices by transporting musical culture from the South to the North and back. The Africanization of Anglo-Celtic tunes created minstrelsy's musical creole synthesis, a body of melodic and rhythmic vocabularies, repertoires, tunes, and musical techniques that became the foundation of American popular music. Reading Mount's renderings of black and white musicians against a background of historical sites and practices of cross-racial interaction, Smith offers a sophisticated interrogation and reinterpretation of minstrelsy, significantly broadening historical views of black-white musical exchange.

Constructing a Two-Way Street: An Argument for Interdisciplinary Collaboration through an Ethnomusicological Examination of Music Therapy, Medical Ethnomusicology, and Williams Syndrome

In this article, I investigate the ways in which methodological exchange between the fields of medical ethnomusicology and music therapy (MT) creates an interdisciplinary two-way street which, on the one hand enhances therapeutic practice by adopting an ethnographic and cultural understanding of disability, and on the other enriches ethnomusicological studies by ethnographically utilizing music therapy techniques. In support of this viewpoint, I offer ethnographic accounts of my time conducting research on music and Williams Syndrome and working alongside music therapists at the Whispering Trails summer camp for children with Williams Syndrome (WS) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ultimately, I argue that synergistic collaboration between the fields of medical ethnomusicology and music therapy will not only augment scholarship in these areas, but will also allow ethnomusicologists and music therapists to address issues of social justice and to promote accommodation and acceptance for disability within society.

Speeches schrijven op muzikaliteit

Rhythm and blues in speeches. Speechwriters about musicality in Dutch governmental speeches Rhythm and blues in speeches. Speechwriters about musicality in Dutch governmental speeches Politicians are not only concerned with whát they want to say but also hów something to say to persuade their audience. Classical orators (like Aristotle) stressed the importance of rhythm, volume and word stress in the actio, the fifth task of the orator (Formarier, 2011). In contemporary rhetorical handbooks like Atkinson (1984, 2004) are many advices about musical factors like intonation, accent and melody, but aren’t called as ‘being musical’ factors. To make ‘musical techniques’ more explicit, we determined the conceptions of speechwriters about musicality. The method to reach this aim was to interview ten speechwriters from different departments of the Dutch government about musical aspects. After these interviews the gathered visions are compared with each other and with the advices from the classical and modern books. The results of this qualitative research will lead to a better insight in the rhetorical use of musicality in governmental speeches.

Balancing in Light of the Purposes of Copyright: Whether Video Music Lessons Constitute Copyright Infringement

Faced with diminished sources of revenue, school systems in recent years have cut funding for music education. Looking for alternative ways to learn about music, budding musicians have turned to the Internet. On YouTube and other Web sites, visitors can view thousands of instructional videos on how to play popular songs, complex genres, and a seemingly unlimited variety of musical techniques. Despite altruistic motivations, creators of video music lessons routinely use copyrighted content during lessons. This article argues that the defense of fair use should protect the creators of video music lessons from liability in a copyright infringement lawsuit. Specifically, the author argues that it is the purpose of copyright law to promote knowledge and that video music lessons further this objective.

Social Action of Conversion in Islamic Art: Study on the Larasmadya Art Form in the Sleman Geocultural Region

I. IntroductionIn the Sleman region, there are many art forms having an Islamic nature. The Islamic nature is indicated by, among others, the use of the musical instrument called terbang or rebana accompanying vocal text containing Islamic hymns or elements of dakwah (preaching). Thus, they are performing art forms using musical elements and they are, among others, called Badui, Santiswara, Larasmadya, Emprak, Kobrasiswa, Angguk, Dolalak, Mondreng, Rodat, Slawatan Maulud, Berjanjen, Samroh, Hadroh, Kuntulan, and Trengganon. All these art forms, whether they are dramatic, dance, or musical art forms, are Javanese art forms showing the influence of Islam. Murgiyanto [1993] says that the Islamic influence in the Indonesian performance arts with musical elements is felt through two aspects: content or message and instrument.At first, the type of Javanese performance art using terbang as its musical intrument was called Slawatan. However, when it spread and developed from region to region, each region showing the influence of Islam varies in name but remains uniform in musical instrument [Soedarsono, 1994]. Basically, the Islamic nature only goes as far as load or content in a Javanese art form because the dramatic, dance, and musical technique itself is not present in Islam. The varieties of movement in the dances called Badui, Trengganon, Japin, Angguk, and others have not been shaped through Islamic norms. The Macapat chorus in the Larasmadya and Santiswara music is not any vocal originating in Islam. The art form called Srandhul, a folk drama incorporating elements of dakwah into it self, is not a dramatic art form shaped through Islamic dramatic concepts. Thus, all the above art forms are Javanese art forms having inserted Islamic messages or containing elements of dakwah.A form of performance art is said to contain elements of dakwah when it contains invitations to behave in accordance with the rules of Islam by being fearful of God, by being dutiful to people considered older, by inviting others to pray, by emulating the actions of the Prophet Muhammad, and so on. In addition, the reading of verses from the holy book Al Qur'an, the utterance of greeting and sholawat to the Prophet Muhammad are all found in Islamic Javanese arts. These performance forms bearing messages of being Islamic have lasted for generations [Sedyawati, 1995]. And they have their own supporting communities in their respective regions. Therefore, these art forms count as included in the treasury of traditional arts in existence in the Sleman geocultural region.The communities supporting the traditional arts in the Sleman geocultural region frequently take the social action of conversion or transfer from one genre of art to another for a certain purpose. Performers in some traditional arts have been known to make a conversion to some other traditional arts. Some of them have made a conversion from Wayang Wong Purbawanara to Jathilan, from Karawitan to Campursari, from Kethoprak to Wayang Kulit, from Samroh to Hadroh, and from Slawatan Maulud to Larasmadya, for example.Parsons [1974] mentions that social action has a social framework. The framework is a schema consisting of five basic elements, namely, (1) the actor, who acts deliberately and with awareness, (2) the goal, which is the place to which the actor's action is directed, (3) the means, which is the instrument for achieving the goal, (4) the value orientation, which makes the actor determine the choice and goal of doing the social action, and (5) the actor's biological condition and social situation. These five elements influence each other in a certain sense. Each actor taking a social action has a consciousness also influenced by the biological condition and social situation of the actor concerned. That is not the end of the matter because an actor taking a social action is also influenced by the means that the actor would choose to achieve the goal of the social action. …

Willem Marinus Dudok: the lyrical music of architecture

Willem Marinus Dudok stands out from his Dutch and European peers for resisting the temptation to conform to the aesthetic norms of the avant-garde and for the unique aesthetics in his work. A man who shunned movements and dogma in a time when new architectural manifestos abounded, Dudok preferred to say little about his designs. Yet by combining a close reading of his design work with the few essays that survive, it becomes apparent that one important inspiration for Dudok was classical music composition, in particular counterpoint. Dudok was the son of a professional musician; he played the piano all his life, even sketching his design ideas on scores, probably when he was practising. Analogies between music and architecture date back centuries; typically architects worked with the aspects of form, rhythm, harmony and proportion. But Dudok added another element to the musical arsenal: he used classical counterpoint as an organising principle in plan and elevation. Although he never outlined exactly how he translated his extensive knowledge of music to architecture, Dudok used musical metaphors often enough when describing his work for us to know that music was always on his mind. Dudok was a prolific architect, and considered important during his lifetime—he won the UK's Royal Gold Medal and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, there were Dudok societies all around the world—and yet he is largely overlooked today because his work never conformed to the aesthetic expectations of modernism. This paper examines Dudok's design method, in particular his use of musical composition techniques, and re-positions his work as an outstanding example of a different kind of modernism.

GROUND SLOTTED MONOPOLE ANTENNA DESIGN FOR MICROWAVE BREAST CANCER DETECTION BASED ON TIME REVERSAL MUSIC

In this manuscript, a reduced size, ground slotted monopole antenna, operating in the range of 3.1–10.6 GHz is designed and implemented for breast cancer detection using time reversal MUSIC. A homemade breast mimicking phantom has been experimentally designed to facilitate the detection implementation. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement. The slots and blending edges of the ground, along with the feed step are some techniques applied to the designed antenna in order to achieve a broad bandwidth and reduce considerably the reflection coefficient. The resulting dielectric constant from the breast phantom is relatively close to the real normal breast tissues. After the design has been completed, some techniques of time reversal MUSIC were employed to mimic the breast cancer detection. The experimental results show that both temporal and spatial images of the cancer (tumor) are well represented here.

RE-WRITING HISTORY: BERNHARD LANG'SMONADOLOGIESERIES (2007–PRESENT)

AbstractThe oeuvre of Austrian composer Bernhard Lang (b. 1957) is based upon extreme musical repetition. In hisMonadologieseries (2007-present), short samples of pre-existing music form the starting point for a variety of automatically generated looping and transformation processes. The overwriting of pre-existing music results in the creation of meta-compositions that radically alter the listeners' understanding of the original piece.Sketching a general overview of the composer's aesthetic beliefs and the compositional strategies originating from them, this article focuses on Lang'sMonadologieseries. It aims to clarify the relationships between the individual pieces of the series, to analyse the musical techniques used to reinterpret pre-existing scores within a contemporary setting and, finally, to interpret the implications that arise from that procedure. The 2009Monadologie VII: …for Arnold…functions as a historico-analytical case study, from which a deeper insight into the series' hermeneutics can be gained.

Quoting Poetry, Translating Music (and Vice Versa): Mediation in Tennessee Williams’s Something Cloudy, Something Clear

Tennessee Williams’s penultimate full-length play Something Cloudy, Something Clear (1981) dramatises the playwright’s first homosexual love affair as well as the events leading up to his first professional theatre production. Many critics have therefore read the play in terms of its author’s life and fail to make the distinction between creator and creation. This article seeks to demonstrate the text foregrounds the mediation involved in telling a story about the past through a work of art by means of two interrelated operations: quoting and translating. Its protagonist quotes a sonnet by John Keats concerned with translation and alludes to Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duineser Elegien, whose speaker seeks to mediate between different realms. Additionally, the characters listen to music by composers interested in building bridges between different styles, religions and cultures. Williams also mediates between writing and music by making use of the musical technique of repetition and variation.

From Paul to Penny: the emergence and development of Tsonga disco 1985-1990s

In this article I trace the emergence of Tsonga disco, a Tsonga music subgenre which, at its emergence, could be differentiated from the other mentioned township styles such as township soul/jive only by its progenitor, Paul Ndlovu, who was Tsonga and his of predominantly Tsonga lyrics. Further, I discuss the musical techniques employed by producer Peter Moticoce who produced Paul Ndlovu’s music and the techniques used by singer, songwriter and producer Joe Shirimani. It is important to point out here that Shirimani not only produces his own music, but he also writes and produces music for other artists such as of singer and songwriter Eric Nkovane, who is known by his stage name Penny Penny.

Metamorphosis Music

Metamorphosis Music Doc. PhDr. Jozef Vereš Abstract The study is focused on breaking signs in the musical artefacts. This issue is demonstrated in music perception of the interval in different periods. Study examines the prevalence of one or several intervals depending on how the perception of music covered a range with its fluctuations over the musical development of the nationalities and their musical taste. Out of the music techniques attention is given to development of vocal polyphony, which again began to consolidate the value of the chord, tonality, harmony. Text deals also with chromatics, atonality, electronic music, unconventional composing technologies aimed to find new ideals of sound, space, place, time, etc. Selected methodological approach provides not only guidance in the musical transformations, but also useful impetus for exploring many other musical attributes. In the second part of the study we have examined the relationship between music listeners and transformation of the creative production forms of musical life and new distribution activities of musical pieces. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/ijmpa.v3n1a10

Jade God In

The work "˜Jade God In' for solo piano is a working in progress in which the aim is to research different sonorities coming from a single piano gesture: the arpeggios. From the timbral point of view on the work this particular music technique is the support tool for brightness and darkness sonorities. The work is dedicated to the Brazilian composer Felipe Ribeiro and the Greek pianist and composer Ermis Theodorakis performed it.

DOA Estimation for Coherent Sources in Impulsive Noise Environments

Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of coherent sources is a significant problem in impulsive noise environments. In this paper, a robust estimation algorithm which combines the ideas of spatial smoothing (SS) and infinity-norm normalization (INF) is presented, referred to as INF-SSR. The proposed algorithm exploits the Root–MUSIC technique to computer the DOA estimates, thus avoiding the peak searching and can be applied to seriously impulsive noise environments compared with the fractional lower order moment spatial smoothing MUSIC algorithm (FLOM-SS). Simulation results demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

"Eu sou uma fruta 'gogóia', eu sou uma moça": Gal Costa e o Tropicalismo no feminino

Este artigo tem como principal objetivo discutir o fenômeno da performance musical a partir de uma imbricação de conceitos pertinentes à música, à antropologia e aos estudos de gênero e sexualidade. Defendendo a ideia de que a cantora Gal Costa desenvolveu um discurso performático - vocal e corporal - devidamente afinado aos propósitos tropicalistas, analiso as possibilidades de uso do corpo para a produção de imagens performáticas que incitam ao debate acerca das possíveis intersecções entre música, erotismo e sexualidade. Ao dialogar com a obra de autores como Clifford Geertz, Terence Turner, Mary Douglas, Marcel Mauss, Judith Butler e George Bataille, pretendo contribuir com uma revisão crítica do Tropicalismo na qual a interpretação musical e as técnicas corporais ocupam o centro da discussão. A intenção é propor uma problematização das subjetividades envolvidas no processo de construção performática que é fabricado no corpo do cantor.

Progressive Filtering Approach for Query by Humming System Through Empirical Mode Decomposition and Multiresolution Histograms

AbstractThis research work proposes an implementation of adept content-based music retrieval technique that attempts to address the demands of the rising availability of digital music. The primary objective of this research work is to balance the perilous impact of non-relevant songs through progressive filtering (PF) for query by humming (QBH) music information retrieval system. The PF is a technique of searching in manifolds for problem solving through reduced search space. A new strategy for empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis is adopted, and outcomes are propelled as a significant source of information for multiresolution histogram (MRH) representations. Finally, the concept of PF is realized through MRH to retrieve the desired song by humming. The proposed multiresolution QBH system is evaluated on a music database of 1200 fragments, and the experimental results effectively locate the humming patterns and recite the eminence of EMD analysis for retrieving the desired song through humming.

Minute to Learn It: Integrating One-Minute Videos Into Information Literacy Programming

This case study describes a series of One Minute Tips videos created by librarians at Old Dominion University. The videos deliver instruction adaptable to many formats, including traditional library instruction and point of need individual viewing. Packed with information but short in length, the One Minute Tips videos creatively mix popular culture, music, sound effects, screencasting, and instruction and layering techniques. This article discusses the creation of the videos with a focus on the learning preferences of millennials, integration into instruction and programming, promotion, branding, and assessment.