This thesis reports on new music technology research which investigates the use of cellular automata (CA) for the digital synthesis of dynamic sounds. The research addresses the problem of the sound design limitations of synthesis techniques based on CA. These limitations fundamentally stem from the unpredictable and autonomous nature of these computational models. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to develop a sound synthesis technique based on CA capable of allowing a sound design process. A critical analysis of previous research in this area will be presented in order to justify that this problem has not been previously solved. Also, it will be discussed why this problem is worthwhile to solve. In order to achieve such aim, a novel approach is proposed which considers the output of CA as digital signals and uses DSP procedures to analyse them. This approach opens a large variety of possibilities for better understanding the self-organization process of CA with a view to identifying not only mapping possibilities for making the synthesis of sounds possible, but also control possibilities which enable a sound design process. As a result of this approach, this thesis presents a technique called Histogram Mapping Synthesis (HMS), which is based on the statistical analysis of CA evolutions by histogram measurements. HMS will be studied with four different automatons, and a considerable number of control mechanisms will be presented. These will show that HMS enables a reasonable sound design process. With these control mechanisms it is possible to design and produce in a predictable and controllable manner a variety of timbres. Some of these timbres are imitations of sounds produced by acoustic means and others are novel. All the sounds obtained present dynamic features and many of them, including some of those that are novel, retain important characteristics of sounds produced by acoustic means.

The delegating of thought, memory and action outside of the human body, inseparable from the process of individuation and identity formation, and the following implications for music establish an underlying theme of this text. It is a reflection on the process of "supplementation," of prosthetization or exteriorization in the recent and contemporary milieu of music making, in which nothing is any longer immediately at hand, where everything is found mediated and instrumentalized, technicized, unbalanced.

Le répertoire musical produit au moyen de la synthèse numérique du son durant les vingt premières années de développement de ces techniques (1957-1977) n’avait jamais fait l’objet d’une étude musicologique exhaustive, malgré l’importance de ce domaine en ce qui regarde l’évolution de l’univers sonore contemporain, et les nombreux documents disponibles. Notre méthode, empruntée aux musicologues Leigh Landy et Marc Battier, a consisté à rendre justice à des œuvres et à des pièces souvent traitées de façon isolée ou purement illustrative, en reconstruisant autour d’elles un récit mêlant considérations historiques, analytiques, techniques, esthétiques et culturelles. À travers cette étude, les liens qui unirent art musical, science et technologie numérique dans les années 1960 et 1970 apparaissent ainsi clairement, en renouvelant l’appréhension de répertoires basés sur le matériau sonore. / The musical repertoire generated by digital sound synthesis during the first twenty years of development of these techniques (1957-1977) had never been fully studied by musicologists, in spite of the importance of this field regarding evolution of contemporary sonic world, and the availability of numerous documents. Our method, based on Leigh Landy and Marc Battier’ideas, consisted of giving credit to pieces often dealt in an insulated or illustrative manner, by reconstructing around them a story combining historical, analytical, technical, aesthetical, and cultural elements. Thus, links that bound music, science, and digital technology in the 1960s and 1970s clearly appear, renewing comprehension of sound-based repertoires.

Sistemas computadorizados para o processamento de multimídia em tempo real demandam alta capacidade de processamento. Problemas que exigem grandes capacidades de processamento são comumente abordados através do uso de sistemas paralelos ou distribuídos; no entanto, a conjunção das dificuldades inerentes tanto aos sistemas de tempo real quanto aos sistemas paralelos e distribuídos tem levado o desenvolvimento com vistas ao processamento de multimídia em tempo real por sistemas computacionais de uso geral a ser baseado em equipamentos centralizados e monoprocessados. Em diversos sistemas para multimídia há a necessidade de baixa latência durante a interação com o usuário, o que reforça ainda mais essa tendência para o processamento em um único nó. Neste trabalho, implementamos um mecanismo para o processamento síncrono e distribuído de áudio com características de baixa latência em uma rede local, permitindo o uso de um sistema distribuído de baixo custo para esse processamento. O objetivo primário é viabilizar o uso de sistemas computacionais distribuídos para a gravação e edição de material musical em estúdios domésticos ou de pequeno porte, contornando a necessidade de hardware dedicado de alto custo. O sistema implementado consiste em duas partes: uma, genérica, implementada sob a forma de um middleware para o processamento síncrono e distribuído de mídias contínuas com baixa latência; outra, específica, baseada na primeira, voltada para o processamento de áudio e compatível com aplicações legadas através da interface padronizada LADSPA. É de se esperar que pesquisas e aplicações futuras em que necessidades semelhantes se apresentem possam utilizar o middleware aqui descrito para outros tipos de processamento de áudio bem como para o processamento de outras mídias, como vídeo. / Computer systems for real-time multimedia processing require high processing power. Problems that depend on high processing power are usually solved by using parallel or distributed computing techniques; however, the combination of the difficulties of both real-time and parallel programming has led the development of applications for real-time multimedia processing for general purpose computer systems to be based on centralized and single-processor systems. In several systems for multimedia processing, there is a need for low latency during the interaction with the user, which reinforces the tendency towards single-processor development. In this work, we implemented a mechanism for synchronous and distributed audio processing with low latency on a local area network which makes the use of a low cost distributed system for this kind of processing possible. The main goal is to allow the use of distributed systems for recording and editing of musical material in home and small studios, bypassing the need for high-cost equipment. The system we implemented is made of two parts: the first, generic, implemented as a middleware for synchronous and distributed processing of continuous media with low latency; and the second, based on the first, geared towards audio processing and compatible with legacy applications based on the standard LADSPA interface. We expect that future research and applications that share the needs of the system developed here make use of the middleware we developed, both for other kinds of audio processing as well as for the processing of other media forms, such as video.

Représentations symboliques musicales et calcul spatial. La notion d'espace symbolique est fréquemment utilisée en théorie, analyse et composition musicale. La représentation de séquences dans des espaces de hauteurs, comme le Tonnetz, permet de capturer des propriétés mélodiques et harmoniques qui échappent aux systèmes de représentation traditionnels. Nous généralisons cette approche en reformulant d'un point de vue spatial différents problèmes musicaux (reconnaissance de style, transformations mélodiques et harmoniques, classification des séries tous-intervalles, etc.). Les espaces sont formalisés à l'aide de collections topologiques, une notion correspondant à la décoration d'un complexe cellulaire en topologie algébrique. Un complexe cellulaire per- met la représentation discrète d'un espace à travers un ensemble de cellules topologiques liées les unes aux autres par des relations de voisinage spécifiques. Nous représentons des objets musicaux élémentaires (par exemple des hauteurs ou des accords) par des cellules et construisons un complexe en les organisant suivant une relation de voisinage définie par une propriété musicale. Une séquence musicale est représentée dans un complexe par une trajectoire. L'aspect de la trajectoire révèle des informations sur le style de la pièce et les stratégies de composition employées. L'application d'opérations géométriques sur les trajectoires entraîne des transformations sur la pièce musicale initiale. Les espaces et les trajectoires sont construits à l'aide du langage MGS, un langage de programmation expérimental dédié au calcul spatial, qui vise à introduire la notion d'espace dans le calcul. Un outil, HexaChord, a été développé afin de faciliter l'utilisation de ces notions pour un ensemble prédéfinis d'espaces musicaux / Musical symbolic representations and spatial computing. The notion of symbolic space is frequently used in music theory, analysis and composition. Representing sequences in pitch (or chord) spaces, like the Tonnetz, enables to catch some harmonic and melodic properties that elude traditional representation systems. We generalize this approach by rephrasing in spatial terms different musical purposes (style recognition, melodic and harmonic transformations, all-interval series classification, etc.). Spaces are formalized as topological collections, a notion corresponding with the label- ling of a cellular complex in algebraic topology. A cellular complex enables the discrete representation of a space through a set of topological cells linked by specific neighborhood relationships. We represent simple musical objects (for example pitches or chords) by cells and build a complex by organizing them following a particular neighborhood relationship defined by a musical property. A musical sequence is represented in a complex by a trajectory. The look of the trajectory reveals some informations concerning the style of the piece, and musical strategies used by the composer. Spaces and trajectories are computed with MGS, an experimental programming language dedicated to spatial computing, that aims at introducing the notion of space in computation. A tool, HexaChord, has been developped in order to facilitate the use of these notions for a predefined set of musical spaces

Les logiciels de patching audio traditionnels, tels que Max ou Pure Data, sont des environnements qui permettent de concevoir et d’exécuter des traitements sonores en temps réel. Ces logiciels sont mono-utilisateurs, or, dans bien des cas, les utilisateurs ont besoin de travailler en étroite collaboration à l’élaboration ou à l’exécution d’un même traitement. C’est notamment le cas dans un contexte pédagogique ainsi que pour la création musicale collective. Des solutions existent, mais ne conviennent pas forcément à tous les usages. Aussi avons-nous cherché à nous confronter de manière concrète à cette problématique en développant une nouvelle solution de patching audio collaborative, baptisée Kiwi, qui permet l’élaboration d’un même traitement sonore à plusieurs mains de manière distribuée. À travers une étude critique des solutions logicielles existantes nous donnons des clefs de compréhension pour appréhender la conception d’un système multi-utilisateur de ce type. Nous énonçons les principaux verrous que nous avons eu à lever pour rendre cette pratique viable et présentons la solution logicielle. Nous exposons les possibilités offertes par l’application et les choix de mise en œuvre techniques et ergonomiques que nous avons faits pour permettre à plusieurs personnes de coordonner leurs activités au sein d’un espace de travail mis en commun. Nous revenons ensuite sur différents cas d’utilisation de ce collecticiel dans un contexte pédagogique et de création musicale afin d’évaluer la solution proposée. Nous exposons enfin les développements plus récents et ouvrons sur les perspectives futures que cette application nous permet d’envisager. / Traditional audio patching software, such as Max or Pure Data, are environments that allow you to design and execute sound processing in real time. These programs are single-user, but, in many cases, users need to work together and in a tight way to create and play the same sound processing. This is particularly the case in a pedagogical context and for collective musical creation. Solutions exist, but are not necessarily suitable for all uses. We have tried to confront this problem in a concrete way by developing a new collaborative audio patching solution, named Kiwi, which allows the design of a sound processing with several hands in a distributed manner. Through a critical study of the existing software solutions we give keys of comprehension to apprehend the design of a multi-user system of this type. We present the main barriers that we had to lift to make this practice viable and present the software solution. We show the possibilities offered by the application and the technical and ergonomic implementation choices that we have made to allow several people to coordinate their activities within a shared workspace. Then, we study several uses of this groupware in pedagogical and musical creation contexts in order to evaluate the proposed solution. Finally, we present the recent developments and open up new perspectives for the application.

Research on workforce development has focused on general employment trends and traditional industry. Few researchers have studied the potential workforce development implications of emerging industries particularly in those that have sprung from the digital economy. This thesis focuses upon the digital music industry in the Atlanta region. An economic impact study was conducted to illustrate and define the digital music industry and understand its implications for workforce and economic development. This research is significant because it will enable Atlanta workforce developers to assist in reducing unemployment and educational attainment gaps particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Implications for the state includes creating a workforce development strategy based upon digital music innovation that increases Atlanta s overall competitiveness and quality of life by increasing the high-technology and Information-technology workforces.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2007. / Typescript. Includes 2 sound discs and 1 DVD-ROM in back pocket. CD 1: The animation of lists; CD 2: And the archytan transpositions. DVD-ROM contains Part Three - Appendix. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 291-301.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

A tablatura é um formato de notação musical alternativo para instrumentos de corda. Ela contém a posição exata (corda e casa) que necessita ser tocada para produzir um som desejado. A conversão da notação musical padrão (partitura) para uma tablatura de violão, também conhecida como transcrição, não é um processo simplificado. A razão é que cada nota da notação musical padrão pode ser tocada em diferentes posições no braço do violão. Desta forma este problema pode ser classificada como um problema de otimização combinatório. Neste trabalho, foi empregado um estudo comparativo de diferentes algoritmos: A*, algoritmos genéticos (AG), algoritmos genéticos com uso de subpopulações (AG-SP), otimização por colônia de formigas (ACO), e evolução diferencial (ED). Heurísticas baseadas nas buscas locais 2-opt e 3-opt para as abordagens AG, AG-SP e ED também foram inclusas. Os resultados experimentais com um conjunto de dados de 87 músicas monofônicas demonstraram que os algoritmos ACO, AG-SP 2-opt e AG 2-opt apresentaram os melhores resultados. Por fim, cada abordagem foi estatisticamente comparada utilizando o teste ANOVA em conjunto com o pós-teste de Tukey (Tukey post hoc), onde as análises demonstraram que há diferenças significativas entre os algoritmos avaliados. / A tablature is an alternative music notation format for string instruments. It contains the exact position (string and fret) witch needs to be played to produce the desired sound. The conversion of the musical staff notation (sheet music) to a guitar tablature, also known as transcription, is not a straightforward process. The reason is that each note on the music notation format can be played in different positions of the guitar fretboard. So this problem can be classified as a combinatorial optimization problem. In this work, we have employed a comparative study of different algorithms: A*, genetic algorithms (AG), genetic algorithms with use of subpopulations (AG-SP), ant colony optimization (ACO) and differential evolution (ED). I was also included heuristics based on local search 2-opt and 3-opt in the aproaches AG, AG-SP and ED. The experimental results with a dataset of 87 monophonic musics indicated that the approaches ACO, AG-SP 2-opt and AG 2-opt obtained the best results. Finally, each approach were statistically compared using the ANOVA with the Tukey post hoc, where the analysis indicated that there are significant differences between the evaluated algorithms.