Emotions of fear have long been the driving factor towards the appeal of the horror genre. Since beingpopularised in mothern years due to the ever growing development of technology, the Uncanny Valley hasfound its way into the horror genre. Today, it’s hard not to stumble across a horror game or movie thatdoes not feature the use of either uncanny sounds or uncanny visuals. With the Uncanny Valley being sofrequently featured in horror media, there has to be a lot of research on the topic one might think. Eventhough there is a substantial amount of research done on the topic, most researchers decide to focus on theuse of visuals and sound combined to research the Uncanny Valley, with research that primarily focus onuncanny sound design are few. This study aims to compare different processing techniques to designsounds to be perceived as uncanny for use within the horror media, and observe if these added processingeffects are perceived as being associated with fear. Evidence of some processing techniques wereobserved as being perceived with emotions of fear, while other techniques showed no significant signs asbeing perceived with fear.

Two common vocal processing techniques in pop- and rock music are the use of artificial reverberation or delay. The differences between these effects have been thoroughly studied in the studio environment (Case, 2007; Henriques & Rietveld, 2018; Ronen, 2015), but research is lacking in the live realm. The purpose of this study was to answer the research question: “Understanding the perceived differences in artificial reverberation and delay (echo) on vocals in a live environment. What differences do listeners hear? What do they prefer?”. This was done through a listening test with two groups of participants, the results of which were then compared to opinions and experiences of live sound engineers working professionally within the field. The results of the study showed that listeners preferred stimuli that had been processed with delay and reverb over stimuli that had only been processed with one of the effects. In one of the listener groups, it could be determined that delay was preferred over reverb, but in the other the results were inconclusive. Overall, listeners seemed to prefer hall reverb above plate reverb, and an eighth-note delay over a quarter-note delay.

Music production is constantly evolving and new "gadgets" and "apps" to help the creation of music are continuously being released. They enable the music production, so even the most unskilled music maker can produce one ́s own slideshow from the vacation for example, or a digital Christmas card to send to the loved ones. But if we are to have education for future music producers in high school, then what are we going to teach the students, so that they are able to advance from the "everyday" use to a more professional level of music production. Are the goals that have been set up for the course music by the Agency for education really relevant to what will be expected of a music producer now and in the future? The survey that has been made by data acquisition of young people shows a picture of the progress and a future vision of the music creation. Additionally, interviews with practicing teachers and music producers have been made, where each and one are giving their personal view of music production around us today. What has emerged from these studies is that in spite of the democracy and availability, which is characteristic of today ́s music production, the need of experts who perform this profession is indeed still great. The objectives and requirements for music production in high school set by the Agency for education, reflects the realities of music producers today relatively well, but that’s mainly because the objectives are hugely extensive and interpretable. If we want a more democratic music production, the availability needs to improve further. / Musikproduktion är ett ständigt utvecklande område och för varje dag som går introduceras nya ”gadgets” och ”appar”, som möjliggör för gemene man att kunna göra sin egen musik, t.ex. till ett nyskapande bildspel från semestern eller varför inte ett digitalt julkort för att skicka till sina nära och kära. Men om vi nu ska ha utbildningar för kommande musikproducenter på gymnasiet, vad är det då som ska undervisas för att vidareutveckla sig från det ”vardagliga” användandet som enkelt går att lära sig på egen hand, till ett mer professionellt musikproducerande. Är de mål som skolverket har implementerat för kursen musikproduktion verkligen relevanta med vad som kommer att förväntas av en musikproducent, i nutid och i framtiden? Undersökningen som har gjorts genom datainsamling via enkät från ungdomar, visar en bild av utvecklingen och framtidsvisionen av musikskapandet. Vidare har intervjuer genomförts med verksamma lärare och musikproducenter, som har bidragit med sin egen uppfattning av dagens musikproduktion som finns runt omkring oss. Det som har framkommit i dessa undersökningar är att även om musikproduktionen är tämligen demokratisk och tillgänglig så finns fortfarande ett stort behov av experter som utför detta yrke professionellt. Skolverkets mål och krav för gymnasiet speglar hur verkligheten ser ut för musikproducenter idag relativt bra, men det har mycket att göra med att målen är enormt omfattande och tolkningsbara. Om vi vill ha en mer demokratisk musikproduktion behöver tillgängligheten bli ännu bättre.

Through the analysis of the spectral characteristics of thousands of mastered (or remastered) commercial recordings from a variety of genres over the history of popular music, researchers have studied stylistic trends and spectral conventions. The aim of this study was to further explore, analyse and compare the spectral characteristics of two broad but distinct popular music genres: rock and vocal-based electronic music. The main reason for this choice of genres being that rock generally predominantly is based on (amplified) acoustical elements (e.g. acoustic drums and acoustic/electric bass/guitars) and that electronic music generally predominantly is based on electronic elements (e.g. beats and synthesizers). The stimuli for the study consisted of 24 top-five hit songs from the Billboard charts between 2016-2020, divided by genre. A fast fourier transform approach was used for the computation of target spectrums as well as low level descriptors for the two independent datasets of recordings. Spectral analysis followed with the goal of answering the following research questions: What do the spectral stylistic conventions appear to be in rock versus vocal-based electronic music and what spectral differences/similarities exists between these two distinct popular music genres? The results showed that there were some significant spectral differences between the two genres, especially noticeable in the low end of the frequency spectrum. Other genre-specific spectral trends and overall spectral conventions were found as well.

This Bachelor Thesis in composition explores an alternative compositional process for creating improvised music through the approach of sound design. The questions addressed in the thesis are concerned with how the soundscape can be controlled by the composer while still maintaining the expressivity of an improvised performance. Thus, the composer’s role as both sound designer, producer and performer is investigated using live electronics and score design. The theoretical framework for the thesis is to be found in the intersection between Anglo-American experimental music, electronic music, sound design and electroacoustic improvisation. Key influences include indeterminacy as expressed in the music of John Cage, Deep Listening practices pioneered by Pauline Oliveros as well as the aesthetical paradigms of electronic and electroacoustic music. The artistic methods revolved around the following steps: studio workshops with musicians (Fredrik Ekenvi and José Louis Relova Gallego) exploring timbres, playing techniques and music technology in real-time followed by associative discussions about the soundscapes created; composing audio and graphical drafts influenced by the workshops; designing diagrams for the electronics and compiling these to a design document; workshopping and performing the final piece (Towards the Event Horizon). Towards the Event Horizon (for bass clarinet, electric guitar and live electronics) is the final result of the work, comprising a score with accompanying design document as well as a recording of the original performance at Studio Acusticum in Piteå 20th of March 2021. The artefacts and associated documentation are presented in their entirety on the dedicated Research Catalogue exposition. Conclusions include how composition and sound design are tied together and cannot be considered as isolated processes, especially in the context of live electronics; the interrelationship between the improviser, the acoustic soundscape and the artistic associations that inform the improvisation; the importance of form as the defining element of a composition and lastly; how a score for improvised music can be devised in the shape of a blueprint of form and texture, setting certain technical, sonic and gestural conditions while leaving the performer to play freely within this frame. / <p>Konstnärliga artefakter presenteras via Research Catalogue: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1250652/1250651</p>