The sustained increase in computing performance over the last decades has brought enough computing power to perform significant audio processing in affordable personal computers. Following this revolution, we have witnessed a series of improvements in sound transformation techniques and the introduction of numerous digital audio effects to modify effectively the time, pitch, and loudness dimensions of audio signals. Due to the complex and multi-dimensional nature of timbre however, it is significantly more difficult to achieve meaningful and convincing qualitative transformations. The tools currently available for timbre modifications (e.g. equalizers) do not operate along perceptually meaningful axes of singing voice timbre (e.g. breathiness, roughness, etc.) resulting in a transformation control problem. One of the goals of this work is to examine more intuitive procedures to achieve high-fidelity qualitative transformations explicitly controlling certain dimensions of singing voice timbre. Quantitative measurements (i.e. voice timbre descriptors) are introduced and used as high-level controls in an adaptive processing system dependent on the characteristics observed in the input signal. / The transformation methods use a harmonic plus noise representation from which voice timbre descriptors are derived. This higher-level representation, closer to our perception of voice timbre, offers more intuitive controls over timbre transformations. The topics of parametric voice modeling and timbre descriptor computation are first introduced, followed by a study of the acoustical impacts of voice breathiness variations. A timbre transformation system operating specifically on the singing voice quality is then introduced with accompanying software implementations, including an example digital audio effect for the control and modification of the breathiness quality on normal voices.

The development of computer algorithms for music instrument identification and parameter extraction in digital audio signals is an active research field. A musician can listen to music and instantly identify different instruments and the timbres produced by various playing techniques. Creating software to allow computers to do the same is much more challenging. This thesis will use digital signal processing and machine learning techniques to differentiate snare drum timbres produced by different stroke positions and stroke techniques.

This study had two purposes: first, to collect information relating to harmonic and intermodulation distortion from several sources into one comprehensive report and second, to describe and develop an interactive CD-ROM as a new method of learning harmonic and intermodulation distortion. The CD-ROM allows students to interact and control the percentage amount of harmonic and intermodulation distortion in order to "calibrate" their ears. In addition, the practical testing environment changes on a random basis to continually challenge the users. These situations allow students to interact at their own speed and therefore customize their learning development. / School of Music

This thesis describes the design and use of two novel digital musical instruments (DMIs) based on moving mechanical systems. The motivation behind using mechanical devices was threefold: to explore the effect of physical effort on DMIs, to make use of the device's inherent haptic and visual feedback, and to serve as a starting point for sound mappings. It was hoped that their mechanical nature would give the instruments a character that could emerge through each of the mappings. The first DMI built was the Gyrotyre, a hand-held DMI based around a small bicycle wheel outfitted with sensors that measure its speed of rotation and as well as its angle of orientation. The second DMI built was the Springwave, which consists of a loose metal spring stretched to one meter and fixed at both ends to a metal frame. The frame is in turn mounted horizontally on a hi-hat stand so that it can be raised and lowered with the pedal, thus inducing oscillation in the spring. Various mappings were designed to reflect and make use of the physical nature of both instruments. It was found that the nature of interaction with each instrument was very different depending on the mapping used. The use of mechanical devices was found to be a useful starting point for the development of mappings, and made playing the instruments engaging for the performer by the relationship between DMIs and musical contexts, a framework for characterizing DMIs that takes musical context into account is presented.

This thesis investigates the feasibility of using existing IP-based control and monitoring protocols within professional audio installations utilising IEEE 1394 technology. Current control and monitoring technologies are examined, and the characteristics common to all are extracted and compiled into an object model. This model forms the foundation for a set of evaluation criteria against which current and future control and monitoring protocols may be measured. Protocols considered include AV/C, MIDI, QSC-24, and those utilised within the UPnP architecture. As QSC-24 and the UPnP architecture are IP-based, the facilities required to transport IP datagrams over the IEEE 1394 bus are investigated and implemented. Example QSC-24 and UPnP architecture implementations are described, which permit the control and monitoring of audio devices over the IEEE 1394 network using these IP-based technologies. The way forward for the control and monitoring of professional audio devices within installations is considered, and recommendations are provided. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

This thesis investigates the feasibility of using a new digital interconnection technology, the IEEE-1394 High Performance Serial Bus, for audio and control data distribution in local and remote music recording studio environments. Current methods for connecting studio devices are described, and the need for a new digital interconnection technology explained. It is shown how this new interconnection technology and developing protocol standards make provision for multi-channel audio and control data distribution, routing, copyright protection, and device synchronisation. Feasibility is demonstrated by the implementation of a custom hardware and software solution. Remote music studio connectivity is considered, and the emerging standards and technologies for connecting future music studio utilising this new technology are discussed. / Microsoft Word / Adobe Acrobat 9.46 Paper Capture Plug-in

A number of companies have developed a variety of network approaches to the transfer of audio and MIDI data. By doing this, they have addressed the configuration complications that were present when using direct patching for analogue audio, digital audio, word clock, and control connections. Along with their approaches, controlling software, usually running on a PC, is used to set up and manage audio routings from the outputs to the inputs of devices. However one of the advantages of direct patching is the conceptual simplicity it provides for a user in connecting plugs of devices, the ability to connect from the host plug of one device to the host plug of another. The connection management or routing applications of the current audio networks do not allow for such a capability, and instead employ what is referred to as a two-step approach to connection management. This two-step approach requires that devices be first configured at the transport layer of the network for input and output routings, after which the transmit and receive plugs of devices are manually configured to transmit or receive data. From a user’s point of view, it is desirable for the connection management or audio routing applications of the current audio networks to be able to establish routings directly between the host plugs of devices, and not the audio channels exposed by a network’s transport, as is currently the case. The main goal of this work has been to retain the conceptual simplicity of point-to-point connection management within digital audio networks, while gaining all the benefits that digital audio networking can offer.

Orientador: Orly Zucatto Mantovani de Assis / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T12:15:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Abrahao_AnaMariaPaesLemeCarrijo_M.pdf: 8957924 bytes, checksum: 892100e4fbc023a5355bf39870841dd9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: A presente pesquisa pretende discutir a importância das atividades musicais para o trabalho com crianças no cotidiano da escola. Apresenta uma avaliação qualitativa intitulada rede semântica natural proposta por Figueroa, González e Solís (1981) sobre a concepção dos professores de educação infantil e ensino fundamental 1º e 2º ciclos de talento musical e a importância da música no ambiente escolar. Os resultados confirmam o julgamento, muito freqüente, do privilégio de poucos ¿dotados¿ de talento nato para o fazer musical e revela um reconhecimento das contribuições da música para o desenvolvimento cognitivo, afetivo, social e motor das crianças, embora as concepções dos professores sobre a música na escola não apresentem categorias que envolvam a prática musical como o cantar, tocar ou fazer música. Esses resultados provocaram algumas necessidades. Para tanto, pretendeu-se conhecer o processo de construção das noções musicais em crianças de educação infantil e propor um caminho de reflexão sobre as possibilidades musicais comum a todos. Assim, o estudo apresenta o registro gráfico do som realizado por crianças de 3 a 6 anos de idade que visa analisar à luz da psicologia genética o processo de representação gráfica do som e sua relação com a natureza da inteligência. Foram propostas duas observações, uma do ambiente sonoro da escola e outra da percepção de quatro instrumentos musicais: o par de cocos, o metalofone, a queixada e a flauta doce. Os estudos permitiram observar uma evolução do registro do som que parte das garatujas, sem semelhanças com os sons emitidos, passando pelo registro da fonte sonora, inicialmente sem nenhum sinal acompanhando o corpo do objeto e posteriormente com sinais que indicam o som como um prolongamento do objeto sonoro. Algumas representações apresentaram a evocação de objetos ausentes, características nas crianças pré-operatórias. Os registros mais evoluídos apresentaram o som desligado da fonte sonora se mantendo estável pela generalização do significante para um mesmo significado, caracterizando a passagem de símbolo para signo. A partir dessas observações, pôde-se concluir que a compreensão dos signos musicais exige a construção de estruturas mentais, fruto das explorações e invenções organizadas e criadas pelas crianças em contato com os elementos sonoros e das possibilidades de transformação do invisível para visível por meio da escrita, relacionando os signos arbitrários e convencionais às suas experiências anteriores. À guisa de conclusão, são apresentadas algumas reflexões sobre as práticas musicais decorrentes da exploração sonora e de suas representações escritas, possíveis de serem realizadas por qualquer profissional da educação, independente de ser ou não um especialista em música / Abstract: The present research intends to argue the importance of the musical activities for the work with children in the daily one of the school. It presents a qualitative evaluation intitled net natural semantics proposal for Figueroa, González and Solís (1981) on the conception of the professors of infantile education and basic education 1º and 2º cycles on musical talent and the importance of music in the pertaining to school environment. The results confirm the judgment, very frequent, of the privilege of few "endowed" with born talent to make musical comedy and disclose a recognition to it of the contributions of music for cognizance, affective, social and motor the development of the children, even so the conceptions of the professors on music in the school do not present categories that involve the practical musical comedy as singing, touching or to make music. These results had provoked some necessities. For in such a way, it was intended to know the process of construction of the musical slight knowledge in children of infantile education and to consider a reflection way on the musical possibilities common to all. Thus, the study it presents the graphical register of the sound carried through for children of 3 the 6 years of age that it aims at to analyze to the light of genetic psychology the process of graphical representation of the sound and its relation with the nature of intelligence. Two comments environment the school the sonorous another one of the perception of four musical instruments had been proposals, one of and: the pair of coconuts, metalofone, the jaw and the flute candy. The studies had allowed to observe an evolution of the register of the sound that has left of garatujas, without similarities with the emitted sounds, passing for the register of the sonorous source, initially without no signal following the body of the object and later with signals that indicate the sound as a prolongation of the sonorous object. Some representations had presented the absent, characteristic object mandate in the children daily pay-operative. The evolved registers more had presented the off sound of steady the sonorous source if keeping for the generalization of the significant one for one exactly meant, characterizing the ticket of symbol for sign. To leave of these comments, it could be concluded that the understanding of the musical signs demands the construction of mental structures, fruit of the explorations and inventions organized and created for the children in contact with the sonorous elements and of the possibilities of transformation of the invisible one for visible by means of the writing, relating the arbitrary and conventional signs to its previous experiences. To it stews of conclusion, are presented some reflections on the practical decurrent musical comedies of the sonorous exploration and its written, possible representations to be carried through for any professional of the education, independent of being or not a specialist in music / Mestrado / Psicologia, Desenvolvimento Humano e Educação / Mestre em Educação

Due to the accelerated growth in digital music distribution, it becomes easy to modify, intercept, and distribute material illegally. To overcome the urgent need for copyright protection against piracy, several audio watermarking schemes have been proposed and implemented. These digital audio watermarking schemes have the purpose of embedding inaudible information within the host file to cover copyright and authentication issues. This thesis proposes an audio watermarking model using MATLAB® and Simulink® software for 1K and 2K fast Fourier transform (FFT) lengths. The watermark insertion process is performed in the frequency domain to guarantee the imperceptibility of the watermark to the human auditory system. Additionally, the proposed audio watermarking model was implemented in a Cyclone® II FPGA device from Altera® using the Altera® DSP Builder tool and MATLAB/Simulink® software. To evaluate the performance of the proposed audio watermarking scheme, effectiveness and fidelity performance tests were conducted for the proposed software and hardware-in-the-loop based audio watermarking model.

Wind bands have been recording for over one hundred years. Through advancements in both technology and process, recordings have made a monumental impact on the wind band and its repertoire. These advancements have created clarity regarding the performance practice of pieces and helped to preserve the wind band repertoire. Many early works have gained masterwork status due, in large part, to the fact that recordings have preserved them. The increase in popularity of recording and, in particular, the wind band, warrants an investigation into the various aspects of the process. Additionally, gaining insight from wind band professionals who record will help to evaluate the contributions that recording has made to the education of performers and listeners, the preservation of repertoire and the artistic enhancement of the wind band. Each chapter explores aspects of the recording process and how those aspects have shaped the wind band, its repertoire and performance practice. Information from conductors, composers and engineers provide valuable insight pertaining to the educational, historical and artistic components of the recording process. The goal of all involved in the recording process should be the pursuit of technical perfection, which does not eclipse the ultimate musical goals of the project and the integrity of the composer's intentions.