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The purpose of the study was to determine whether students' timbre preferences in the sixth grade remain stable through the tenth grade. The investigation also examined whether gender, band instruction, or musical home environment makes any difference in influencing the stability of students' timbre preferences from grade six through ten. Students' timbre preferences at the beginning of the study were compared to their preferences four years later. The students' timbre preferences were obtained by employing Gordon's Instrument Timbre Preference Test (ITPT). A questionnaire was also utilized at the conclusion of the study to determine which students had musical home environments and which did not. All sixth grade students enrolled in a single school district took the ITPT. Each student's scores were tallied and ranked in order to determine their timbre preferences; four years later they were retested and their scores were ranked again.

O trabalho consiste na análise do processo de construção do sentido, a significação, na linguagem musical do compositor Hermeto Paschoal, por meio da Teoria Semiótica de linha francesa fundada por A. J. Greimas. Estudar a música instrumental, através da abordagem semiótica greimasiana, coloca-nos diante de uma série de questões teóricas, relativas à possibilidade de um sentido definido no plano de expressão, bem como à própria definição de sentido que procuramos desenvolver. Segundo a orientação que tomamos, procuramos verificar as possibilidades e os limites da teoria semiótica quando aplicada às linguagens abstratas, no nosso caso, a linguagem musical. Além dos problemas teóricos, encontramo-nos diante do desafio de investigar a intrigante música de Hermeto Paschoal que, se por um lado é realmente complexa, por outro, a capacidade do compositor transformar em música qualquer dado sonoro e criar incessantemente sobre todos os parâmetros do som, como altura, duração, intensidade e timbre, faz de sua obra um objeto muito rico para o trabalho que pretendemos desenvolver. Mais que isso, Hermeto vale ser estudado pela sua importância na cultura brasileira e no cenário da música internacional, tanto quanto pelo grande valor estético de sua arte. Embora nossa proposta seja a de investigar os problemas relativos ao plano da expressão e estudar a Teoria Semiótica aplicada linguagem musical, orientamo-nos, mais simplesmente, pela curiosidade de compreender o que ?diz? a música de Hermeto Paschoal, e pela convicção de que as sonoridades da música instrumental fazem sentido / This study analyzed the construction process of meaning of the musical language of Hermeto Paschoal\'s instrumental music using the A.J. Greimas\' semiotics theory. The evaluation of instrumental music using Greima\'s semiotic approach raises many theorical questions regarding the possibility of a defined meaning on the plan of expression, as well as the definition of meaning by itself, which we tried to develop. According to direction that we followed, we tried to verify the possibilities and limits when the Semiotic Theory is applied to abstract languages, such as the musical language. Besides the theoric issues, we faced the challenge of investigating the intriguing Hermeto Paschoal\'s music, which may be considerably complex, but on the other hand is an extremely rich object to be evaluated considering the composer\'s ability to convert to music any sound, and to incessantly create music varying all parameters such as volume duration, intensity and timbre. Furthermore, the study of Hermeto Paschoal\'s music is valuable not only because of the esthetic quality, but also due to its remarkable importance for the Brazilian culture and the International musical scenario. Although our aim is to investigate the issues related to the expression field and to study the Semiotic Theory applied to the musical language, we more simply attempted to focus and comprehend the meaning of Hermeto Paschoal\'s music and confirm the evidence that the sounds created on the instrumental music have a meaning

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-08-21T11:50:15Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação CRISTINA PASSOSCORAL_MENINAS_CANTORAS_DE_P.pdf: 617739 bytes, checksum: 6fc0de610636605cfd28855578febef1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-21T11:50:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação CRISTINA PASSOSCORAL_MENINAS_CANTORAS_DE_P.pdf: 617739 bytes, checksum: 6fc0de610636605cfd28855578febef1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aims at the investigation of the timbre in the interrelation of Cultural Identities with the Society, in a case study of Choir Meninas Cantoras de Porto Murtinho. Located at the border between Paraguay and Mato Grosso do Sul, Porto Murtinho is characterized by the contact of three cultures of different origins, which is materialized in the use of three languages. With an interdisciplinary approach, based on the cultural history of social sciences, of the voice and the singing, this research relates Music, Culture and Society. This work is founded on participant observation, with qualitative approach, comparing and presenting the singing of the girls before and after the vocal work as well as questionnaires and interviews with professionals, choir participants and community members. During the analysis it remains clear the feedback between the objects studied, tone, identities, culture, choir and society, and their representations, that promote changes in the lives of the girls. Out of this study emerges the importance of the relationship between tone and cultural identities. / A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar o timbre nas inter-relações das Identidades Culturais com a Sociedade, num estudo de caso do Coral Meninas Cantoras de Porto Murtinho. Situada na fronteira entre o Paraguai e o Mato Grosso do Sul, Porto Murtinho é marcada pelo contato entre três culturas de origens distintas, o que se manifesta no uso de três idiomas na região. Com abordagem interdisciplinar, a partir da história cultural, das ciências sociais, da voz e do canto, a pesquisa relaciona Música, Cultura e Sociedade. Este trabalho fundamenta-se na observação participante, com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando a comparação e apresentando o canto das meninas antes e depois do trabalho vocal, além de questionários e entrevistas com profissionais, participantes do coral e membros da comunidade. No decorrer da análise fica evidente o processo retroalimentar existente entre os objetos estudados, timbre, identidades, cultura, coral e sociedade, e suas representações, que promovem transformações nas vidas das meninas cantoras. Deste estudo emerge a importância da relação entre timbre e identidades culturais.

O trabalho consiste na análise do processo de construção do sentido, a significação, na linguagem musical do compositor Hermeto Paschoal, por meio da Teoria Semiótica de linha francesa fundada por A. J. Greimas. Estudar a música instrumental, através da abordagem semiótica greimasiana, coloca-nos diante de uma série de questões teóricas, relativas à possibilidade de um sentido definido no plano de expressão, bem como à própria definição de sentido que procuramos desenvolver. Segundo a orientação que tomamos, procuramos verificar as possibilidades e os limites da teoria semiótica quando aplicada às linguagens abstratas, no nosso caso, a linguagem musical. Além dos problemas teóricos, encontramo-nos diante do desafio de investigar a intrigante música de Hermeto Paschoal que, se por um lado é realmente complexa, por outro, a capacidade do compositor transformar em música qualquer dado sonoro e criar incessantemente sobre todos os parâmetros do som, como altura, duração, intensidade e timbre, faz de sua obra um objeto muito rico para o trabalho que pretendemos desenvolver. Mais que isso, Hermeto vale ser estudado pela sua importância na cultura brasileira e no cenário da música internacional, tanto quanto pelo grande valor estético de sua arte. Embora nossa proposta seja a de investigar os problemas relativos ao plano da expressão e estudar a Teoria Semiótica aplicada linguagem musical, orientamo-nos, mais simplesmente, pela curiosidade de compreender o que ?diz? a música de Hermeto Paschoal, e pela convicção de que as sonoridades da música instrumental fazem sentido / This study analyzed the construction process of meaning of the musical language of Hermeto Paschoal\'s instrumental music using the A.J. Greimas\' semiotics theory. The evaluation of instrumental music using Greima\'s semiotic approach raises many theorical questions regarding the possibility of a defined meaning on the plan of expression, as well as the definition of meaning by itself, which we tried to develop. According to direction that we followed, we tried to verify the possibilities and limits when the Semiotic Theory is applied to abstract languages, such as the musical language. Besides the theoric issues, we faced the challenge of investigating the intriguing Hermeto Paschoal\'s music, which may be considerably complex, but on the other hand is an extremely rich object to be evaluated considering the composer\'s ability to convert to music any sound, and to incessantly create music varying all parameters such as volume duration, intensity and timbre. Furthermore, the study of Hermeto Paschoal\'s music is valuable not only because of the esthetic quality, but also due to its remarkable importance for the Brazilian culture and the International musical scenario. Although our aim is to investigate the issues related to the expression field and to study the Semiotic Theory applied to the musical language, we more simply attempted to focus and comprehend the meaning of Hermeto Paschoal\'s music and confirm the evidence that the sounds created on the instrumental music have a meaning

This composition proposes and implements a way in which to incorporate the pipe organ into a contemporary instrumental setting. Considering the instrument's wide use in concert halls and its popularity with contemporary music, much of the timbre-based music has evaded incorporating it into its settings; for one reason or another, there are currently no timbre-based works composed for organ and chamber orchestra. By using the process of spectral analysis, this timbre-based composition demonstrates one possible way of doing so by investigating timbre similarities and differences between selected ranks of the organ and selected orchestral instruments and mapping them into pitch structures.

Les dispersions affectant les structures fabriquées en série génèrent d'importants écarts de comportement entre des objets nominalement identiques. D'un point de vue vibro-acoustique, cette variabilité a été observée, quantifiée et ses origines ont même pu être identifiées et localisées sur certaines structures simples. Mais les effets de cette variabilité sur la perception du son émis par l'objet sont encore peu connus. Ce travail porte sur l'évaluation des effets des dispersions de structure sur l'identité sonore. Le son est aujourd'hui, à l'instar de n'importe quel composant du produit, conçu pour répondre aux attentes du client. Il se peut ainsi que l'identité sonore, résultat de cette phase de design sonore, soit elle aussi sujette à d'importantes variabilités. Dans un premier temps, la stabilité de descripteurs perceptifs utilisés classiquement pour décrire la perception de bruit intérieur d'automobiles a été évaluée sur un panel de véhicules dont les dispersions n'ont pas été contrôlées. L'évolution de l'identité sonore a ainsi été observée sur une population de produits. Puis l'étude s'est concentrée sur un système simple dont plusieurs caractéristiques physiques peuvent être finement contrôlées. Nous avons montré que la démarche par plan d'expérience fractionnaire peut être utilisée pour mesurer la contribution des facteurs et de leurs éventuelles interactions à la perception du bruit de ce système. Cette démarche a ensuite été utilisée pour un second cas, pour lequel les sons étaient synthétisés. Différentes analyses perceptives ont été menées (mesure de la similarité des objets dispersés par rapport à l'objet de référence et catégorisation libre des sons de synthèse), dont les résultats concordants ont permis de mettre en évidence les facteurs les plus influents. Cependant, une dernière expérience a montré que, malgré les dispersions pouvant affecter ces facteurs, des différences d'identité sonore peuvent être perçues sur un panel d'objets identiques mais ne conduisent pas à des confusions avec des objets nominalement différents.

A clinically-focused music appreciation training program (MATP) was developed for use by recipients of cochlear implants (CI) and wearers of hearing aids (HA). It aimed to enhance listeners’ music appreciation abilities, with a specific focus on timbre and musical style. The MATP was pilot-tested on 17 adult postlingually deafened CI recipients (8 female, 9 male, mean age = 60.2 years) and 13 adult HA users (7 female, 4 male, mean age = 63.9 years), with each device group divided into a control and a training group. The training groups were asked to use the MATP for 30 minutes per day four times a week for 10 weeks. The control groups were asked to continue with their normal listening habits for the same time period. Both the training and control groups were assessed on tests of instrument, ensemble and style identification as well as pleasantness ratings of musical excerpts, before and after the 10-week period. Participants in the training groups also completed a program evaluation questionnaire at the end of the training period. The results showed that the training program significantly improved the quality ratings of CI recipients for ensemble stimuli (p = .034). There were, however, no significant improvements for CI users on the timbre discrimination tasks or quality ratings for single instruments, nor were there any significant improvements for the HA users on any of the discrimination tasks or in their quality ratings. The findings suggest that CI recipients’ quality appraisal can be improved through training, independent of perceptual accuracy. On evaluating the program, the majority of CI and HA trainees reported that the MATP was enjoyable and beneficial in terms of music appreciation. Future directions for continued development of the MATP and testing of its efficacy are discussed.

The structured arrangement of sounds in musical pieces, results in the unique creation of complex acoustic mixtures. The analysis of these mixtures, with the objective of estimating the individual sounds which constitute them, is known as musical instrument sound source separation, and has applications in audio coding, audio restoration, music production, music information retrieval and music education. This thesis principally addresses the issues related to the separation of harmonic musical instrument sound sources in single-channel mixtures. The contributions presented in this work include novel separation methods which exploit the characteristic structure and inherent correlations of pitched sound sources; as well as an exploration of the musical timbre space, for the development of an objective distortion metric to evaluate the perceptual quality of separated sources. The separation methods presented in this work address the concordant nature of musical mixtures using a model-based paradigm. Model parameters are estimated for each source, beginning with a novel, computationally efficient algorithm for the refinement of frequency estimates of the detected harmonics. Harmonic tracks are formed, and overlapping components are resolved by exploiting spectro-temporal intra-instrument dependencies, integrating the spectral and temporal approaches which are currently employed in a mutually exclusive manner in existing systems. Subsequent to the harmonic magnitude extraction using this method, a unique, closed-loop approach to source synthesis is presented, separating sources by iteratively minimizing the aggregate error of the sources, constraining the minimization to a set of estimated parameters. The proposed methods are evaluated independently, and then are placed within the context of a source separation system, which is evaluated using objective and subjective measures. The evaluation of music source separation systems is presently limited by the simplicity of objective measures, and the extensive effort required to conduct subjective evaluations. To contribute to the development of perceptually relevant evaluations, three psychoacoustic experiments are also presented, exploring the perceptual sensitivity of timbre for the development of an objective distortion metric for timbre. The experiments investigate spectral envelope sensitivity, spectral envelope morphing and noise sensitivity.

The structured arrangement of sounds in musical pieces, results in the unique creation of complex acoustic mixtures. The analysis of these mixtures, with the objective of estimating the individual sounds which constitute them, is known as musical instrument sound source separation, and has applications in audio coding, audio restoration, music production, music information retrieval and music education. This thesis principally addresses the issues related to the separation of harmonic musical instrument sound sources in single-channel mixtures. The contributions presented in this work include novel separation methods which exploit the characteristic structure and inherent correlations of pitched sound sources; as well as an exploration of the musical timbre space, for the development of an objective distortion metric to evaluate the perceptual quality of separated sources. The separation methods presented in this work address the concordant nature of musical mixtures using a model-based paradigm. Model parameters are estimated for each source, beginning with a novel, computationally efficient algorithm for the refinement of frequency estimates of the detected harmonics. Harmonic tracks are formed, and overlapping components are resolved by exploiting spectro-temporal intra-instrument dependencies, integrating the spectral and temporal approaches which are currently employed in a mutually exclusive manner in existing systems. Subsequent to the harmonic magnitude extraction using this method, a unique, closed-loop approach to source synthesis is presented, separating sources by iteratively minimizing the aggregate error of the sources, constraining the minimization to a set of estimated parameters. The proposed methods are evaluated independently, and then are placed within the context of a source separation system, which is evaluated using objective and subjective measures. The evaluation of music source separation systems is presently limited by the simplicity of objective measures, and the extensive effort required to conduct subjective evaluations. To contribute to the development of perceptually relevant evaluations, three psychoacoustic experiments are also presented, exploring the perceptual sensitivity of timbre for the development of an objective distortion metric for timbre. The experiments investigate spectral envelope sensitivity, spectral envelope morphing and noise sensitivity.