Iterative sound synthesis by means of cross-coupled digital oscillators

Abstract

Musicians have long been interested in using iterative processes to aid the composition of musical forms (macrostructure) and to synthesize sounds (microstructure). This paper introduces a new sound synthesis method exploring the non-linear behaviour of two iterative cross-coupled digital oscillators. It begins with a brief introduction to iterative systems followed by background information on previous attempts at using them for synthesizing sounds (e.g. feedback frequency and amplitude modulations). Next, it introduces our synthesis method and briefly explains how it has been implemented in a system for real-time composition and performance. The paper concludes with a discussion on how the system has been put into practice to compose and perform a number of works.     

Exposure influences expressive timing judgments in music.

This study is concerned with the question whether, and to what extent, listeners' previous exposure to music in everyday life, and expertise as a result of formal musical training, play a role in making expressive timing judgments in music. This was investigated by using a Web-based listening experiment in which listeners with a wide range of musical backgrounds were asked to compare 2 recordings of the same composition (15 pairs, grouped in 3 musical genres), 1 of which was tempo-transformed (manipulating the expressive timing). The results show that expressive timing judgments are not so much influenced by expertise levels, as is suggested by the expertise hypothesis, but by exposure to a certain musical idiom, as is suggested by the exposure hypothesis. As such, the current study provides evidence for the idea that some musical capabilities are acquired through mere exposure to music, and that these abilities are more likely enhanced by active listening (exposure) than by formal musical training (expertise). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

多媒体技术对民族民间音乐的推动与保护作用--以中国民族民间音乐为例

民间音乐是我国古老文化中的一颗璀璨夺目的明珠，文章从民族民间音乐的定义和地位出发，重点分析了民族音乐的具体特征。现代互联网技术，将这些特征进行更好的发扬，在保证了传统民间音乐的精华的同时，给民间音乐注入了更多新的活力，目前，多媒体技术，将民族音乐带入了课堂、带入了影视行业，为我们民族音乐的更好发展提供了更为宽广的途径。     

Musical expertise, bilingualism, and executive functioning.

The authors investigated whether intensive musical experience leads to enhancements in executive processing, as has been shown for bilingualism. Young adults who were bilinguals, musical performers (instrumentalists or vocalists), or neither completed 3 cognitive measures and 2 executive function tasks based on conflict. Both executive function tasks included control conditions that assessed performance in the absence of conflict. All participants performed equivalently for the cognitive measures and the control conditions of the executive function tasks, but performance diverged in the conflict conditions. In a version of the Simon task involving spatial conflict between a target cue and its position, bilinguals and musicians outperformed monolinguals, replicating earlier research with bilinguals. In a version of the Stroop task involving auditory and linguistic conflict between a word and its pitch, the musicians performed better than the other participants. Instrumentalists and vocalists did not differ on any measure. Results demonstrate that extended musical experience enhances executive control on a nonverbal spatial task, as previously shown for bilingualism, but also enhances control in a more specialized auditory task, although the effect of bilingualism did not extend to that domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants prefer the musical meter of their own culture: A cross-cultural comparison.

Infants prefer native structures such as familiar faces and languages. Music is a universal human activity containing structures that vary cross-culturally. For example, Western music has temporally regular metric structures, whereas music of the Balkans (e.g., Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey) can have both regular and irregular structures. We presented 4- to 8-month-old American and Turkish infants with contrasting melodies to determine whether cultural background would influence their preferences for musical meter. In Experiment 1, American infants preferred Western over Balkan meter, whereas Turkish infants, who were familiar with both Western and Balkan meters, exhibited no preference. Experiments 2 and 3 presented infants with either a Western or Balkan meter paired with an arbitrary rhythm with complex ratios not common to any musical culture. Both Turkish and American infants preferred Western and Balkan meter to an arbitrary meter. Infants’ musical preferences appear to be driven by culture-specific experience and a culture-general preference for simplicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Film music influences how viewers relate to movie characters.

Film music has powerful aesthetic effects on the perception and understanding of screen content, but does it also influence viewers' sense of connection with movie characters thereby creating antecedents for an experience of empathy? Participants viewed clips showing characters' neutral or ambiguous reaction to an event, person, or object. Viewers rated character likability and their certainty about characters' thoughts in three conditions: thriller music, melodrama music, and no music. The effect of music conditions differed significantly from the no music condition. Compared to melodramatic music, thriller music significantly lowered likability and certainty about characters' thoughts. During subsequent cued recall of screen content, thriller music increased anger attributions and lowered sadness attributions, while melodramatic music increased love attributions and lowered fear attributions. The study provides evidence that film music can influence character likability and the certainty of knowing the character's thoughts, which are antecedents of empathetic concern and emphatic accuracy. Thus film music may be regarded as modulating antecedents of empathic concern and empathic accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design of weave patterns: when engineering textiles meets music

This study aims to present a novel approach in creation of new patterns for woven textiles, which is based on musical scores. Such a design method has not been presented in the literature. It is based on the similarity between the music notation and the 2D coding of woven patterns. Theoretical and practical details on application of the design method are discussed. Weave patterns, based on famous musical pieces, are presented together with exemplary color designs. The four ‘musical’ patterns and their color designs could be considered as successful first attempts that open up additional opportunities for design and production of original, unique fabrics.     

王季烈“主腔说”理论之探讨

著名昆曲理论家王季烈在《螾庐曲谈》中首次提出"主腔说"。"主腔说"的提出具有一定的时代意义和理论意义。后人在王季烈"主腔说"理论基础上,对其作了更详尽和科学的阐释,并放之于实际创作中,切实地解决了昆曲曲牌的联套问题。     

浅谈我国音乐教育中的母语教育

面对新的国际形势,弘扬中华文化,正确理解和把握我国音乐教育界提出的“以中华文化为母语的音乐教育观”。把中国音乐文化传统作为当代中华音乐文化和音乐教育发展的重要基础和资源,对我国音乐教育中的母语教育方面谈一些粗浅的看法。     

大学生音乐教育现状初探

音乐教育属于审美教育范畴,是全面素质教育的重要途径和手段,通过对在校大学生音乐知识的调查可以反观中小学音乐教育的现状及存在的问题,针对大学生音乐知识薄弱的现状,必须加强音乐素质教育.要加强引导,让大学生多欣赏古典音乐和民族音乐,提高审美情趣和创造美鉴赏美的能力.