Vocal Rhythm Research Articles

Bentuk Penyajian Musik Tari Burung Putih Oleh Grup Kesenian Talang Ojan Kabupaten Pali

The White Bird Dance is a story of farmers who are harvesting rice but are damaged by White Birds. The bird is a pest for farmers, especially rice farmers, because the bird damages the rice before the farmers harvest it, the music accompanying the dance is the Talang Ojan Arts Group, this group is a late generation group that currently still exists in Talang Ojan Village, Penukal Abab Lematang Ilir Regency, the music performed is poetic and has a Malay rhythm, with small gong instruments and drums as rhythm guides. The purpose of this research is to find out how the Form of Presentation of White Bird Dance Music by the Talang Ojan Arts Group of Pali Regency, with a subfocus on analyzing the form of dance music structure of White Bird Dance Music.The stages of data collection in this study include (1) Observation, (2) Interview, (3) Documentation. And the research data validity stage uses, and the stages of analyzing this research data include (1) Data Reduction, (2) Data Presentation, (3) Conclusion. From the research, the results found that each song in the White Bird Dance Music has a part of its structure, namely the existence of one melodic phrase with a repeating period, the question phrase from the vocal rhythm and the answer phrase from the violin, each of these structures is always repeated in the next section only the song text is different.

Cetaceans are the next frontier for vocal rhythm research

While rhythm can facilitate and enhance many aspects of behavior, its evolutionary trajectory in vocal communication systems remains enigmatic. We can trace evolutionary processes by investigating rhythmic abilities in different species, but research to date has largely focused on songbirds and primates. We present evidence that cetaceans—whales, dolphins, and porpoises—are a missing piece of the puzzle for understanding why rhythm evolved in vocal communication systems. Cetaceans not only produce rhythmic vocalizations but also exhibit behaviors known or thought to play a role in the evolution of different features of rhythm. These behaviors include vocal learning abilities, advanced breathing control, sexually selected vocal displays, prolonged mother–infant bonds, and behavioral synchronization. The untapped comparative potential of cetaceans is further enhanced by high interspecific diversity, which generates natural ranges of vocal and social complexity for investigating various evolutionary hypotheses. We show that rhythm (particularly isochronous rhythm, when sounds are equally spaced in time) is prevalent in cetacean vocalizations but is used in different contexts by baleen and toothed whales. We also highlight key questions and research areas that will enhance understanding of vocal rhythms across taxa. By coupling an infraorder-level taxonomic assessment of vocal rhythm production with comparisons to other species, we illustrate how broadly comparative research can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the prevalence, evolution, and possible functions of rhythm in animal communication.

A genomic basis of vocal rhythm in birds

Vocal rhythm plays a fundamental role in sexual selection and species recognition in birds, but little is known of its genetic basis due to the confounding effect of vocal learning in model systems. Uncovering its genetic basis could facilitate identifying genes potentially important in speciation. Here we investigate the genomic underpinnings of rhythm in vocal non-learning Pogoniulus tinkerbirds using 135 individual whole genomes distributed across a southern African hybrid zone. We find rhythm speed is associated with two genes that are also known to affect human speech, Neurexin-1 and Coenzyme Q8A. Models leveraging ancestry reveal these candidate loci also impact rhythmic stability, a trait linked with motor performance which is an indicator of quality. Character displacement in rhythmic stability suggests possible reinforcement against hybridization, supported by evidence of asymmetric assortative mating in the species producing faster, more stable rhythms. Because rhythm is omnipresent in animal communication, candidate genes identified here may shape vocal rhythm across birds and other vertebrates.

Practical Teaching of College Music Courses Based on Vocal Rhythmic Pedagogy

Abstract Under the development needs of the times, cultivating students’ ability to master rhythms is crucial to improving the quality of English talent cultivation. The vocal rhythm teaching method is used to establish an optimization model for music teaching in colleges and universities in this paper. In this teaching model, a real-time music beat recognition method combining music styles is proposed based on recurrent neural network and long and short-term memory neural network, and the feature fusion of mutual attention mechanism is utilized to carry out emotion recognition of multimodal music, to accurately control the music learning effect of students. Concerning the effectiveness of the optimization model of music teaching in colleges and universities, it is applied to the teaching practice, and the data are quantitatively analyzed in terms of music recognition ability and teaching effect. The results show that the recognition rate of the multimodal music emotion recognition method for 10 kinds of emotion categories of folk songs reaches up to 0.98, and the mean value of the final music literacy assessment scores of the experimental class after the experiment is increased by 2.89-3.38 points compared with that before the experiment, and the positive classroom mood shows a very significant difference at the level of 5%. The application of the optimization mode of college music teaching based on vocal rhythmic teaching methods in the practical teaching of music courses can cultivate students’ interest in music, help students improve their aesthetic level, and promote their overall development.

변칙 리듬의 그루핑 구조 활용 방법 연구 - 알 자로의 리듬 표현기법 분석을 중심으로 -

This paper, a study on how to use anomalous rhythm in vocals. The purpose of this study is to suggest a method so that musicians, such as composers, lyricists, arrangers,producers, and vocalists, who make songs that include songs can utilize more diverse and original vocal rhythms. The research method is to compare the melodies and scat of anomalous rhythms used in the album and live performances of representative fusion jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, and compare the structure of the music beat and the modified beat derived from the structural point of view of grouping at a glance. made it recognizable. As a result of the study, <Spain>, <Don't You Worry' 'bout a Thing> and <Step By Step> were performed in 4 A grouping structure that combines the lengths of quarter notes and 8th notes was used, and <Last Night> uses a grouping structure that combines the lengths of quarter note and 16th note for vocals. It was derived that unique songs and scat were created by applying anomalous grouping to the rhythm played by all instruments except for four beats per word.

Segmentation, Phrasing, and Meter in Hip-Hop Music

Abstract This article proposes a theory of flow (the rapped vocals of hip-hop music) segmentation, phrasing, and meter that considers the way linguistic, syntactic, articulative, and corporeal aspects of rapping engage with vocal rhythm and its grouping structures. While flow is organized into phrases, hip-hop beats (the sampled or instrumental accompaniment) typically express a periodic, looped, highly repetitive metric structure against which these flow phrases operate. The patterns of metric alignment and non-alignment generated between flow and beat layers imbue hip-hop music with nuanced variety, especially at sub-sectional formal levels.

Toward a Horizon of Un-Knowing: Voice, Aurality, and the Politics of Identification in the Art of Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier

These are the words that open the film All that’s solid melts into air (Karl Marx), a film made by Vong Phaophanit (b. 1961, Savannakhet, Laos) with text by Claire Oboussier (b. 1963, London) in 2006. The anecdote is recounted in the Lao language and is foregrounded only as sound: the voice of the artist. No visual imagery is shown, only a black screen with English-language subtitles. For those who do not understand Lao, the words are slowly processed as sonic textures, as vocal rhythms. Through their translation, the words engender a relationship between storyteller and listener, speaking of speech and describing the sound of song. Lured into this sonic imagination, this intimate matrix of memory, conjured both at the level of listening and reading, the transition to visual stimuli feels sudden, like being jolted awake. We now perceive a film crew from afar, as they ascend the steep steps leading from the river’s edge to a temple at the top of a hill. We follow their progress in closer proximity as a procession of flower-bearing young women crosses the top of the steps, passes under, and continues along the length of the camera jib crane, heeding the director’s prompts (Fig. 1). A moment later, we watch the crew ascend another set of steps to reach the temple grounds, the team working together to transport the cumbersome jib crane. From there the camera zooms in to focus on the eerie and seemingly autonomous rotational movements of the film camera mounted on the jib crane as it stretches to an optimal height for panning its setting in Luang Prabang, Laos (Fig. 2). Evincing an omnipotence of vision, and set in stark contrast against the sky and temple rooftop, this representation of the optical apparatus in motion heightens our attention to the work of visual capture, or the shaping of what one sees on film as a process that conditions the act of seeing as one of knowing.

Особливості музичного метроритму в естрадному вокальному виконавстві

У статті порушується питання специфіки музичного метроритму в професійній підготовці естрадного вокаліста. Пропонується дискурсивний аналіз поняття «метроритм»; визначаються проблемні зони вивчення теорії ритму в сучасному вокальному виконавстві та науковому естрадознавчому полі.&#x0D; Однією з головних проблем вокальної естради залишається поверхневий підхід до вивчення основ музичного метроритму. Актуальність питання полягає в забезпеченні представників науково-педагогічної галузі конструктивними знаннями з означеної проблематики. Розглядається не тривіальне бачення ритміки з позиції факультативного матеріалу або основ ділення тривалості нот (їх чіткого відтворення), а пропозиція підготувати у естрадного вокаліста професійне мислення до вивчення художньо-естетичних принципів ритму.&#x0D; В освітніх програмах вокально-естрадного напряму відзначається дефіцит науково-дослідних матеріалів вивчення ритмічної культури, на якій базуються джаз, рок і поп-музика. У статті уточнюються особливості термінології сучасного вокаліста (офф-біт, патерн, стомпінг, риф, скет, крунінг); аналізується поняття «драйв», його специфічна особливість як чинника емоційного стану виконавця.&#x0D; Встановлено, що змістовне наповнення музичного ритму є основним інструментом динамічного мислення вокаліста/музиканта, іншими словами, першоджерелом формування інтонаційно-динамічного способу вираження мелодичної і гармонічної структури сучасної виконавської техніки.&#x0D; Визначено, що в професійній освіті естрадного вокаліста приділяється недостатньо уваги принципам ритмічної мови джазу як особливого виду музичної естетики та імпровізаційної складової музикування. Наводяться практичні приклади кореляції вокальної партії на основі метроритмічної інтерпретації.&#x0D; У статті зосереджується увага на важливості поглибленого вивчення вокальної ритміки, оволодінні метроритмічними принципами та ритмоінтонаційними прийомами виконавської техніки, що належним чином збагачує та ефективно доповнює художньо-естетичний бік вокального мистецтва естради.

The originality of neoclassic principles reflection in the Sonata for two pianos by Paul Hindemith

Background. The neoclassicism of the first decades of the 20th century turned to be a kind of opposition to atonalism, which captured many radical composers. The supposed “bilingualism” of neoclassicism opened wide perspectives for individual concepts realization, broadening the boundaries of new knowledge of the Baroque and early classicism. Instrumental sonata, including the Sonata for Two Pianos naturally entered the neoclassical trend mainstream in a number of others, non-symphonic classical and romantic genres, compensating for the rejection of effective dramaturgy by enhancing the contrast between the cycle’s parts, thus tending to Baroque cyclic compositions. For Paul Hindemith, whose name is always associated with this art movement, “communication” with musical past was not an instant hobby but something that determined the focus of his creative thought. Objectives. The article’s purpose is to reveal the peculiarity of neoclassic principles embodiment in the Sonata for Two Pianos by P. Hindemith, to consider its composition, semantic and structural units. Methods. The study’s methodology is based on historicism principle, which involves the study of artistic phenomena being connected with the established musical art experience, and a comprehensive approach that allows involving of different methods of music analysis. Results. Sonata for Two Pianos (1942) consists of five movements; each one has its name. P. Hindemith’s individual approach to the sonata genre is usually evaluated in terms of the artist’s refusal of traditional composition, changes in sonata form, which often includes dramatic function changing. This is due to the desire to make equal all the forms involved in the cycle, in particular the most important polyphonic ones. The movements’ names “The Bells”, “Allegro”, “Canon”, “Recitative”, “Fugue” reveal the suite’s features. “The Bells” opening the cycle show a wide range of musical associations: from French harpsichordists gravitating to sound expression to representatives of different national cultures of the 20th century. The textured thematic drawing of the part reveals another modus of play with tradition expressing itself in improvisational principle domination and Baroque fantasy revival. The Old English verse text preceding “Recitative” reminds of 16–17th century program compositions and shows connection with opera art. “Recitative” combines concise musical phrases typical for Baroque culture vocal genres and typical rhythm formulas that embody the freedom of language intonation and bring in improvisation and allusion on basso continuo. The reference to Baroque era polyphony is evidenced by “Canon” and “Fugue”. In the “Canon”, polyphonic interaction is reached by two piano parties and not by individual voices of the four-voice ensemble texture. The slow tempo Lento, the static movement of musical thought, where “step” pulsation is felt in 4/8 metrics, unusual for classic and romantic culture, the predominance of quiet sound implies tragic pathetic element in “Recitative”. These two parts, “Canon” and “Recitative”, constitute a complementary semantic pair as play modes of tragic imagery embodiment through Baroque era high style, its objective and subjective beginnings. Actually, sonata genre is represented only by the second part “Allegro” with its fast tempo, clarity of form, volitional character of the main theme, scherzo grace of the subsidiary theme, large coda. The composer maintains contrast method choosing his complex of expressive means for each exposition sections. The Sonata is finished by a grand three-theme fugue with metro-rhythmic design associated with the corresponding polyphonic music structures, and more, the initial fifth step corresponds to J. S. Bach’s “Fugue Art”. The first theme’s imperative character establishes the dramatic imagery as fundamental in Sonata’s artistic concept. Its intonational content is characterized by fourth and fifth interval structures, some of them are creating the frame of the whole cycle. The second theme is more melodic and contrasting. The bass register of the third theme in rhythmic augmentation, the wave-like pattern of its melodic line covering the range of the diminished octave, is perceived as embodying of the modern thinking tension, the “echo” of Baroque era aesthetic ideas. The artistic idea of the Sonata for Two Pianos by P. Hindemith is built on drama concentration, overcoming suite separation of the parts and reflecting the full life realities and the inviolability of Universe laws. Conclusions. Sonata for Two Pianos by P. Hindemith returns to its origins thanks to the 20th century artists’ interest to the Baroque culture, demonstrating irregular genre boundaries and the ability to maintain high polyphony means, unregulated cycle and synthesis of several compositional principles within one work. The neoclassical principles did not deprive the Sonata of being presented in that time’s social and spiritual events, and allowed it to generalize modern world conflicts with the help of established semantic and compositional units. Thus, P. Hindemith’s Sonata for Two Pianos preserves its own approach to musical experience and possibilities of ensemble technique distinguished in almost full absence of performing competition idea, dialogism in its traditional reflection while retaining the parties’ equality.

Sound features and vocal rhythms as a proxy for locating the spawning ground ofSciaena umbrain the wild

AbstractThe brown meagre (Sciaena umbra) is a demersal sciaenid fish recognized as indicative of good environmental quality and is defined as an umbrella species for the ecological community of rocky coastal habitats.Sciaena umbrais classified as a Vulnerable fish species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and knowledge on the distribution of its spawning habitats is essential for its conservation.Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a suitable tool to monitorS. umbradistribution because of the high consistency, over space and time, of the communication sounds that this species emits during the reproductive period, with irregular or regular rhythms, or with calls merging into a chorus.During the summer of 2019, the presence of this species was investigated acoustically at 40 listening points distributed along the tidal inlets that connect the Venice lagoon with the open sea.Longer sounds, comprising a higher number of faster repeated pulses, were found during the chorus and were used as a proxy of spawning activity; similar sound features have been recorded in different captive Sciaenids during spawning.The three inlets were classified as more or less suitable for spawning on the basis of the vocal rhythms identified, demonstrating a clear preference along a north–south gradient and indicating higher spawning activity in the internal‐facing areas of the inlets, compared with the seaward‐facing areas. The chorus occurred in localized areas consistently throughout the breeding season, suggesting that spawning is concentrated in preferred areas.For the first time a relationship between the sound features and vocal rhythms of fish has been highlighted by anin situstudy. This validates the use of the chorus as a reliable natural indicator ofS. umbrabreeding sites, and in turn suggests a potential non‐invasive approach based on PAM for mapping the key reproductive areas of this vulnerable species in the Mediterranean Sea.

Emerging From Deadness: A Microanalysis of the Analytic Relationship.

Video microanalysis, a technique developed by infant researchers, is used to understand the withdrawal that developed between analyst and analysand when the latter resumed use of the couch after a period of sitting up. The case includes three excerpts of microprocess, accompanied by descriptions of content apart from explicit verbal material, content such as tone of voice, speech patterns, facial expression, and body movements, along with diagrams showing the second-by-second vocal rhythm coordination of analyst and analysand. Supervision using the video, as well as the analyst's viewing the video with the analysand in a modified use of video feedback, widened the pair's understanding of the determinants of their mutual participation in withdrawal and a feeling of deadness, thus freeing them from the repetition of an enactment. It is shown how (1) movement to the couch created an affectively heightened state that brought central psychodynamic aspects of the analysand's experience to the fore; (2) video microanalysis allowed access to previously unavailable content; and (3) understanding of unconscious, dynamically determined conflicts and defenses embedded in body movement, facial expression, speech tone, and rhythm patterns illuminated facets of the co-created relatedness between analysand and analyst.

Meeting a Brilliant but Quirky Mind: Insights Offered by Infant Research

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the “moving along process” toward “moments of meeting” identified in the Boston Process of Change Study Group’s “Something More” paper. Insights from infant research–Tronick’s dynamic description of “match, mismatch, and repair” and Beebe’s model of vocal rhythm coordination–will be used to explore the “moving along process” that can lead to a “moment of meeting”. These theoretical considerations will be illustrated with clinical material from the psychoanalytic treatment of a 3-4 year-old boy. The author suggests that these insights into psychoanalytic process derived from infant observation research are useful to understanding therapeutic change and may in some ways be more helpful than focusing on a specific psychoanalytic theory or technique.

The Community of Classical Japanese Music Transmission: The Preservation Imperative and the Production of Change in Nō. By Takanori Fujita. Translated by Edgar W. Pope.

A puzzling situation defines the contemporary transmission of nō theater. On one hand, the genre’s community of practice is governed by strict orders to preserve musical sound through repeated imitation and to avoid change at all costs. On the other hand, the community discourages explicit dialogue between teachers and learners concerning what exactly constitutes those ideal musical sounds as well as the extent to which those sonic ideals are being faithfully maintained across performances. With a focus on the transmission of hiranori vocal rhythms, Fujita explores the ambivalent strategies with which participants navigate this conundrum and discovers a paradoxical process by which nō theater’s so-called “preservation imperative” actually encourages musical change.&#x0D; Citation: Fujita, Takanori. The Community of Classical Japanese Music Transmission: The Preservation Imperative and the Production of Change in Nō. Translated by Edgar W. Pope. Ethnomusicology Translations, no. 9. Bloomington, IN: Society for Ethnomusicology, 2019.&#x0D; Originally published in Japanese as “Koten ongaku denshō no kyōdōtai: nō ni okeru hozon meirei to henka no sōshutsu." In Shintai no kōchikugaku: shakaiteki gakushū katei toshite no shintai gihō, edited by Fukushima Masato, 357-413. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobō, 1995.&#x0D; 藤田隆則 1995年「古典音楽伝承の共同体―能における保存命令と変化の創出」福島真人編『身体の構築学』：357-413&#x0D; Note to Reader: This 2.5 mb PDF file includes photographs, musical transcriptions, and embedded audio tracks. Embedded audio will not work when viewed in a browser; the file must be downloaded and opened in Adobe Acrobat. Please ensure that your Flash Player is up to date and that Acrobat "trusts" the document.

Vocal rhythm as useful information for social behaviors in the songbird

Vocal rhythm as useful information for social behaviors in the songbird

Sequence and hierarchy in vocal rhythms and phonology.

I explore the neural and evolutionary origins of phonological hierarchy, building on Peter MacNeilage's frame/content model, which suggests that human speech evolved from primate nonvocal jaw oscillations, for example, lip smack displays, combined with phonation. Considerable recent data, reviewed here, support this proposition. I argue that the evolution of speech motor control required two independent components. The first, identified by MacNeilage, is the diversification of phonetic “content” within a simple sequential “frame,” and would be within reach of nonhuman primates, by simply intermittently activating phonation during lip smack displays. Such voicing control requires laryngeal control, hypothesized to necessitate direct corticomotor connections to the nucleus ambiguus. The second component, proposed here, involves imposing additional hierarchical rhythmic structure upon the “flat” control sequences typifying mammalian vocal tract oscillations and is required for the flexible combinatorial capacity observed in modern phonology. I hypothesize that phonological hierarchy resulted from a marriage of a preexisting capacity for sequential structure seen in other primates, with novel hierarchical motor control circuitry (potentially evolved in tool use and/or musical contexts). In turn, this phonological hierarchy paved the way for phrasal syntactic hierarchy. I support these arguments using comparative and neural data from nonhuman primates and birdsong.

Ontogeny of vocal rhythms in harbor seal pups: an exploratory study.

Puppyhood is a very active social and vocal period in a harbor seal’s life Phoca vitulina. An important feature of vocalizations is their temporal and rhythmic structure, and understanding vocal timing and rhythms in harbor seals is critical to a cross-species hypothesis in evolutionary neuroscience that links vocal learning, rhythm perception, and synchronization. This study utilized analytical techniques that may best capture rhythmic structure in pup vocalizations with the goal of examining whether (1) harbor seal pups show rhythmic structure in their calls and (2) rhythms evolve over time. Calls of 3 wild-born seal pups were recorded daily over the course of 1–3 weeks; 3 temporal features were analyzed using 3 complementary techniques. We identified temporal and rhythmic structure in pup calls across different time windows. The calls of harbor seal pups exhibit some degree of temporal and rhythmic organization, which evolves over puppyhood and resembles that of other species’ interactive communication. We suggest next steps for investigating call structure in harbor seal pups and propose comparative hypotheses to test in other pinniped species.

Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro

Reviewed by: Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro Todd James Coulter OEDIPUS EL REY. By Luis Alfaro. Directed by Chay Yew. Public Theater, Shiva Theater, New York City. December 2, 2017. Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey is not a new play. Written in 2007, it received its New York City premiere in fall 2017 at the Public Theater in collaboration with the Sol Project. The production punctuated a three-year relationship that began in 2014 with a series of roundtables and conversations on how to bring more inclusive representations, specifically Latinx artists and art, to a larger public. This Oedipus maintained all the prophecy, hubris, and incest of its source material. However, Alfaro and director Chay Yew took fate and agency head-on within the context of gangs, family, and loyalty in Los Angeles. The Public’s artistic director Oskar Eustis and Yew offered Alfaro’s take on the literal bedrock of Western theatre as a way to end the mythic trajectory of the Oedipus story in our contemporary society. Oedipus El Rey was staged in the smaller, more intimate Shiva Theater at the Public. Shallow and wide, the space forced the visual world into a flat plane, presenting the play against iconographic imagery. Scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez’s stylized graffiti mural, which featured a Madonna wrapped in billowing blue folds at center, spanned the entire upstage wall. A large blue figure with outstretched hand holding a small female bride resembling a wedding-cake topper flanked her right side. To her left was another figure, with a male groom in her hand matching the former’s in scale. Cherubic figures fell/flew in the interstitial spaces. The stage area looked paved, at once evoking the sidewalks and streets of LA’s Pico Union district and a prison yard. Multiple sections of prison gates slid on and off on tracks, further emphasizing the two-dimensional quality of the space and story. Hernandez did not offer the generic palace steps of Western antiquity, but a brightly colored world that contrasted the religious ecstasy of the Virgin Mary and Mesoamerican iconography with the confined world of the prison industry. [End Page 561] Click for larger view View full resolution Brian Quijada (Coro), Joel Perez (Coro/Creon), Juan Francisco Villa (Coro/Laius), Reza Salazar (Coro), Julio Monge (Coro/Tiresias), and Juan Castano (Oedipus) in Oedipus El Rey. (Photo: Joan Marcus.) It was against this brightly colored imagery that the play began. Five men dressed in prison orange uniforms entered the space. Yew immediately altered the flatness of the theatre as actors came into the house and climbed ladder rungs embedded in structural columns and the upstage wall. This was the Coro, a small ensemble of six actors from whom Laius, Tiresias, Creon, and Oedipus would emerge. They began a call and response between the house and stage, asking what stories were going to be told. The response accumulated from a single voice answering to the entire Coro responding in unison. Alfaro’s simple use of choral voices at the opening of the production introduced a successful and engaging device that was maintained throughout the Coro’s odes in the play. The vocal rhythm was precise, clipped, and sometimes playful, sometimes threatening, but it always pushed the pacing of the play, demanding that the audience actively listen to keep up. The stories to be told in the prison yard were not immediately for us, the outsiders, but for inmates. The Coro led us to the familiar story of pride, prophecy, and ruin. Characters were announced. Oedipus (Juan Castano)—young, shirtless, and fit—did pushups and sit ups in the yard. As the Coro told the story, actor Julio Monge put on a pair of sun glasses and revealed a collapsible support cane to become Tiresias; Juan Francisco Villa put on a blinged-out chain with a crown to become Laius; and, Joel Perez pulled out a large styrofoam cup, sipped his horchata to become a somewhat hapless Creon. Jocasta was introduced in a similar way, but was soon replaced onstage by Sandra Delgado in a simple black wrap dress. Yew’s presentational staging of the opening kept the characters at a sympathetic remove, further...

Tracing the Mother to the Daughter, the Self to the Image: Separation Anxiety in Beckett’s Footfalls

This paper focuses on the allure of the maternal, a metapresence in Samuel Beckett’s play Footfalls. The paper examines the pre-Oedipal role of the mother into shaping the vocal and kinetic rhythms of her daughter. There is a detailed discussion on the force that steers the daughter towards the mother and vice versa and how this force resists the spectacular matricide that the audience longs to commit on the theatrical space. This piece will seek to trace the play of the incestuous auditory and visual intimacy between May, pacing up and down the wooden plank, and her Mother. The paper will also discuss the tendencies of a defensive narcissism in these women that is gratifying, a natural consequence of pathogenic repression and concealment, and symbolizes plenitude and plurality.

Musical Similarity and Commonness Estimation Based on Probabilistic Generative Models of Musical Elements

This paper proposes a novel concept we call musical commonness, which is the similarity of a song to a set of songs; in other words, its typicality. This commonness can be used to retrieve representative songs from a set of songs (e.g. songs released in the 80s or 90s). Previous research on musical similarity has compared two songs but has not evaluated the similarity of a song to a set of songs. The methods presented here for estimating the similarity and commonness of polyphonic musical audio signals are based on a unified framework of probabilistic generative modeling of four musical elements (vocal timbre, musical timbre, rhythm, and chord progression). To estimate the commonness, we use a generative model trained from a song set instead of estimating musical similarities of all possible song-pairs by using a model trained from each song. In experimental evaluation, we used two song-sets: 3278 Japanese popular music songs and 415 English songs. Twenty estimated song-pair similarities for each element and each song-set were compared with ratings by a musician. The comparison with the results of the expert ratings suggests that the proposed methods can estimate musical similarity appropriately. Estimated musical commonnesses are evaluated on basis of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients between the estimated commonness of each song and the number of songs having high similarity with the song. Results of commonness evaluation show that a song having higher commonness is similar to songs of a song set.

The Influence of Clara Schumann’s Lieder on Declamation in Robert Schumann’s Late Songs

In his late songs (from 1849-52), Robert Schumann’s vocal rhythm strays much farther than in his earlier songs from the poetic rhythm. His late style of declamation may have been influenced by Clara Schumann’s Lieder of the 1840s. His late songs exhibit the following characteristics, which are also found in her songs: 1) the vocal rhythms are based on the poetic rhythm at least occasionally, so that listeners have a foil against which they can perceive declamatory irregularities; 2) there are numerous deviations from consistent coordination of stresses with strong beats, and of four-bar hypermeasures with poetic units; 3) rests are often employed in an unpredictable manner; and 4) there are text-expressive motivations for declamatory irregularities.