The only way to simplify and promote the effective use of an alerting system that must be comprehensive in its coverage of hazardous or non-normal conditions is to convey top level information that provides an indication of criticality and identity. In order to prevent the continued proliferation of aural alerting signals presented in the flight deck, a simple aural alert categorization scheme that provides flight deck function and urgency level information was proposed and evaluated in this study. Specifically, the present investigation examined the ability of a population having "normal" hearing to: 1) distinguish among four sets of aural alerting signals having distinctive rhythmic patterns and pitch contours, 2) perceive three urgency levels having distinctive tempos within each alerting set, and 3) associate each alerting set and its related urgency levels with one of the four major flight deck functions. Magnitude estimation ratings revealed that subjects perceived differences between low urgency level alerts and moderate urgency level alerts and between low urgency level alerts and high urgency level alerts. Pair comparison ratings of similarity revealed that subjects differentiated among the four within of the alerting sets relatively well after participating in a brief training session. alerting sets. A sound identification task revealed that subjects were able to associate functional categories with four aural alerting sets and were also able to simultaneously distinguish among and perceive three urgency levels within each of the alerting sets relatively well after participating in a brief training session. / Master of Science

Genius loci has been described as "the spirit of place". The main interest in considering an urban monastery program is to create a place that embodies the spirit and culture of Tibetan Buddhism in the context of urban Washington, D.C. Given Tibet's unique culture that has developed over centuries without much Western influence, and it recent history of Chinese rule, religious persecution and infiltration of its language, culture and environment, the challenge of this program is to represent the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism in a modern language of architecture. / Master of Architecture

Orientador: João Antônio Pereira / Resumo: O presente trabalho trata do estudo de uma fonte acústica com direcionamento sonoro controlado. A proposta envolve o desenvolvimento do projeto de um equipamento de teste para uso biomédico na aplicação e análises fonoaudiológicas, em que é proposto o dimensionamento de uma fonte acústica direcional, com adequada isolação e direcionamento do som emitido em relação ao posicionamento do ouvido do paciente, para ser usada dentro de um ambiente acusticamente isolado, dimensionado para permitir os testes, treinamentos e análise dos exames fonoaudiológicos relativos às percepções espaciais binaurais. / Abstract: The present work deals with the study of an acoustic source with controlled sound direction. The proposal involves the development of design a test equipment for biomedical use in the application and phonoaudiological analyzes, in which it is proposed dimensioning of a directional acoustic source, with adequate isolation and directness of the of the emitted sound in relation to the positioning of patient's ear, To be used within an acoustically isolated environment, sized to allow the testing, training and analysis of speech-language pathology examinations related to binaural spatial perceptions. / Mestre

An interpretative methodology for understanding meaning in cinema since the 1950s, auteur analysis is an approach to film studies in which an individual, usually the director, is studied as the author of her or his films. The principal argument of this thesis is that proponents of auteurism have privileged examination of the visual components in a film-maker’s body of work, neglecting the potentially significant role played by sound. The thesis seeks to address this problematic imbalance by interrogating the creative use of sound in the films written and directed by Rolf de Heer, asking the question, “Does his use of sound make Rolf de Heer an aural auteur?” In so far as the term ‘aural’ encompasses everything in the film that is heard by the audience, the analysis seeks to discover if de Heer has, as Peter Wollen suggests of the auteur and her or his directing of the visual components (1968, 1972 and 1998), unconsciously left a detectable aural signature on his films. The thesis delivers an innovative outcome by demonstrating that auteur analysis that goes beyond the mise-en-scène (i.e. visuals) is productive and worthwhile as an interpretive response to film. De Heer’s use of the aural point of view and binaural sound recording, his interest in providing a ‘voice’ for marginalised people, his self-penned song lyrics, his close and early collaboration with composer Graham Tardif and sound designer Jim Currie, his ‘hands-on’ approach to sound recording and sound editing and his predilection for making films about sound are all shown to be examples of de Heer’s aural auteurism. As well as the three published (or accepted for publication) interviews with de Heer, Tardif and Currie, the dissertation consists of seven papers refereed and published (or accepted for publication) in journals and international conference proceedings, a literature review and a unifying essay. The papers presented are close textual analyses of de Heer’s films which, when considered as a whole, support the thesis’ overall argument and serve as a comprehensive auteur analysis, the first such sustained study of his work, and the first with an emphasis on the aural.

This practice-as-research project investigates how a piece of site-responsive Installation Art, titled Triple Point Dunnage (exhibited in Royal William Yard, June 2009), can be used to generate knowledge about memory work through experience of site. Working in dialogue with the ideas of Daniel C. Dennett, Lucy Lippard and Gaston Bachelard, I attempted to create a permeable and fluctuating creative setting for the memory work of participants. An approach that used site as a stimulant within a process which also incorporated theoretical themes. During the period of design and construction, I interacted with and recorded interviews with people who had a personal connection with the site or with an interest in how memory works. The final installation presented layers of spoken fragmented content in a dialectic relationship within the installation’s spatial construction. The responses of the installation’s visitors and participants were collated through a response book and interviews. These were analysed in order to discover to what extent, if at all, the properties I had developed and designed into the work had shaped the engagements of the participants. The multi-valented properties of the work generated an array of responses that suggested that the viewers had fashioned their experience by blending the fragmented stories of others with their own personal histories. This engagement resembles Dennett’s concept of “self-narrator” and resonates with Bachelard’s concept of the fusion of physical and psychological space and Lippard’s understanding of place. By exploring memory through site Triple Point Dunnage generated a sense of place that was a fusion of the participants’ responses to the external physical environment and their associative memories stimulated by the affective fragmented properties of the work.

This study seeks to develop and evaluate a program of selfinstructional drill materials for improving the ability of students to detect pitch errors in choral singing. The specific purposes of the study are as follows: (1) To develop and validate a visualaural test for pitch-error detection; (2) to develop a visual-aural, self-instructional program for improving the ability of students to detect pitch errors; and (3) To determine whether the program of self-instructional drill materials modifies the ability to detect pitch errors. In the first phase of this three-phase study, a body of testing materials was assembled, pilot-tested, edited, and judged reliable for use. In Phase II a body of self-instructional, programmed drill materials was assembled, pilot-tested, corrected, and judged ready for evaluation. In Phase III the procedures were as follows: (1) the subjects for whom the program was intended were administered a pretest of their pitch-error detection ability; (2) one group (A) participated in the programmed drill materials developed, while the other group (B) used no programmed materials; (3) both groups were administered a midtest to determine whether there was any change; (4) the latter group (B) participated in the programed drill materials developed, while the first group (A) no longer used the programmed materials; (5) students in both groups were administered a posttest to deterine the effectiveness of the programmed drill materials in developing the ability to detect pitch errors while reading the vocal score.

Der Beitrag basiert auf Erfahrungen im Höranalyse-Unterricht unter dem speziellen Aspekt ›Klangfarbe und Instrumentation‹ im Rahmen des Studiengangs Komposition für Film und Medien. Die Klangmischung, modern gesprochen der ›Sound‹ spielt in der Filmmusik eine große Rolle. Das musiktheoretische Interesse ist daher unverändert groß, die Wurzeln dieses Phänomens aufzuspüren und zu erforschen. Wann, wo und wie vollzieht sich der Prozess der ›Emanzipation der Klangfarbe‹, also die Loslösung des Klangs von der kompositorischen Substanz, beginnt die Umkehrung von ›Erscheinung‹ und ›Wesen‹ eines Kunstwerks? Ausgehend von einem Abschnitt über Lohengrin aus Adornos Versuch über Wagner wird zunächst der Versuch einer theoretischen Begründung unternommen, so dann die methodische Umsetzung in der Unterrichtspraxis mit anderen Beispielen aus Wagners späten Opern demonstriert. Im (kürzeren) zweiten Teil meiner Ausführungen soll gezeigt werden, dass Debussy (besonders in seiner einzigen Oper) noch einen Schritt weiter gegangen ist: Klangfarbe wird zum Symbol, zum (bildhaften) Topos. Hier nimmt die Filmmusik ihren Ausgangspunkt, und diese Tendenz hält bis heute an. Beispiele aus aktuellen Filmmusiken sollen dazu die (nicht nur) stimmungsvolle Untermalung liefern. / This article describes experiences in a course on aural-analysis of timbre and instrumentation in the context of the major Composition for Film and Media. After all, the sound experience as a whole plays a central role in film music. Thus the music-theoretical interest in researching the roots of this phenomenon is potentially unlimited. When, where, and how is the process of “emancipation of timbre” implemented—that is, disengagement of sound from the compositional substance? And when, where, and how does an artwork transition from “emerging” to “being”? Based on a section on Lohengrin from Adorno’s Versuch über Wagner, an attempt is made to form a theoretical foundation, followed by a demonstration of the methodological implementation in pedagogical practice using other examples from Wagner’s later operas. The brief second part of this article illustrates that Debussy (particularly in his only opera) went a step further still: timbre becomes a symbol, a metaphorical topos. This is the starting point for film music—a tendency that continues until the present day. Examples from recent film music then provide (not only) the atmospheric accompaniment.

The purpose of this study was to determine how pitch and rhythm aspects of melodic memory are affected by aural distractions when melodic stimuli are presented both visually and aurally, as compared to aurally only. The rationale for this research is centered on the need for improved melodic memory skills of students taking melodic dictation, and the possibility that temporary visual imagery storage of target melodies might enhance those skills. The participants in this study were undergraduate and graduate music majors (n=41) at a large northeastern university. All participants had successfully completed the first two semesters of college-level music theory, and none had perfect pitch. Participants progressed through two self-contained experimental tests at the computer. Identical target melodies were presented: 1) aurally only on one test; and 2) aurally, with visual presentation of the matching notation, on the other test. After the target melody, a distraction melody sounded, during which time participants were to maintain the original target melody in memory. Participants then chose which of two aural options matched the original target, with a third choice of "neither." The incorrect answer choice in each item contained either a pitch or rhythm discrepancy. The 2x2 factorial design of this experiment was based on independent variables of test presentation format and answer discrepancy type. The dependent variable was experimental test scores. Each participant took both parts of both tests, yielding 164 total observations. Additional data were collected for exploratory analysis: the order in which each participant took the tests, the major instrument of each participant, and the educational status of each participant (undergraduate or graduate). Results of a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on either test format or answer discrepancy type, and no interaction between the factors. The exploratory analyses revealed no significant differences in test scores, based on test order, major instrument, or student status. Results suggest that visual reinforcement of melodies does not affect aural memory for those melodies, in terms of either pitch or rhythm. Suggestions for further research include an aural-visual melodic memory test paired with a learning modalities survey, a longitudinal study of visual imagery applied to aural skills study, and a detailed survey of strategies used by successful and unsuccessful dictation students. / Music Education / Accompanied by two .wmv files: 1) Audio-OnlyTest.wmv. 2) Audio-VisualTest.wmv.

Thesis (MMus (Music)) -- Stellenbosch University, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of the present study is twofold: I. In the first instance, it is aimed at promoting a better acquaintance with and a deeper understanding of the generally less well-known solmisation systems that have emerged within the oriental music sphere. In this regard a general definition of solmisation is provided, followed by a historic overview of indigenous solmisation systems that have been developed in China, Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia and the Arab world, thereby also confirming the status of solmisation as a truly global phenomenon. II. The second objective of the study was to investigate the current use of solmisation, and the Tonic Sol-fa system in particular, in aural training at South African universities. In order to achieve this, an inquiry was conducted by means of a survey which consisted of (a) a survey questionnaire that was sent to designers/instructors/coordinators of aural training modules at relevant South African universities and (b) additional correspondence that was subsequently undertaken with some of these respondents. This was done with the aim of obtaining information regarding the following: (1) the extent to which solmisation is still being employed in this context; (2) which solmisation systems or alternative approaches to solmisation are being used; (3) what the respondents’ personal motivations are for employing or not employing solmisation; (4) what instruction material is being utilised in either regard; and (5) what the respondents’ personal views are regarding the use of solmisation in aural training. The outcome of the survey confirmed that solmisation, and the Tonic Sol-fa system in particular, is still actively being used in aural training at South African universities, while at the same time providing some insight into the general application thereof in this context. On the whole, the survey also affirmed the continued relevance of solmisation, and the Tonic Sol-fa system in particular, both in the broader South African context and specifically within the context of aural training at South African universities, showing that solmisation continues to be regarded as a valuable aid in the instruction of aural training by the majority of the designers/instructors/coordinators of aural training modules that participated in the survey. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die onderhawige studie is tweeledig van aard: I. In die eerste plek is dit gemik op die bevordering van beter vertroudheid met en ’n grondiger begrip van die oor die algemeen minder bekende solmisasiestelsels wat binne die konteks van oosterse musiek na vore getree het. In hierdie verband word daar ’n algemene omskrywing van solmisasie voorsien, gevolg deur ’n historiese oorsig oor inheemse solmisasiestelsels wat ontwikkel is in China, Korea, Japan, Indië, Indonesië en die Arabiese wêreld, en word die status van solmisasie as ’n wesenlik wêreldwye verskynsel dan ook daardeur bevestig. II. Die tweede doelwit van die studie was om ondersoek in te stel na die huidige gebruik van solmisasie, en die Tonic Sol-fa stelsel in besonder, in gehooropleiding aan Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite. Om dit te bewerkstellig, is ’n ondersoek uitgevoer deur middel van ’n opname wat bestaan het uit (a) ’n opnamevraelys wat gestuur is aan opstellers/dosente/koördineerders van gehoorlopleidingsmodules aan relevante Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite en (b) bykomende korrespondensie wat daaropvolgend onderneem is met van hierdie respondente. Dit is gedoen met die doel om inligting te bekom rakende die volgende: (1) die mate waarin solmisasie nog binne hierdie konteks gebruik word; (2) watter solmisasiestelsels of alternatiewe benaderings vir solmisasie gebruik word; (3) wat die respondente se persoonlike motiverings is vir die gebruik van solmisasie al dan nie; (4) watter onderrigmateriaal daar in beide gevalle gebruik word; en (5) wat die respondente se persoonlike sieninge is ten opsigte van die gebruik van solmisasie in gehooropleiding. Die uitslag van die opname het bevestig dat solmisasie, en die Tonic Sol-fa stelsel in besonder, steeds aktief gebruik word in gehooropleiding aan Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite, en het terselfdertyd insig gebied in die algemene aanwending daarvan binne hierdie konteks. In sy geheel het die uitslag van die opname dan ook die voortgesette relevansie van solmisasie, en die Tonic Sol-fa stelsel in besonder, in die breër Suid-Afrikaanse konteks sowel as spesifiek binne die konteks van gehooropleiding aan Suid-Afrikaanse universiteite bevestig, en het dit aangetoon dat solmisasie steeds as ’n waardevolle hulpmiddel in die onderrig van gehooropleiding beskou word deur die meeste van die opstellers/dosente/koördineerders van gehoorlopleidingsmodules wat aan die opname deelgeneem het.

I am exploring the way music alters or enhances the perception of our environment. This creative project allows me to explore and visualize several issues that intrigue me: music (sound), emotion, and visual imagery (film). My goal in developing this topic is to allow others to have an experience related to sound and image, where image is altered and enhanced by the use of music.