Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University

No description available.

A goal of Artificial Intelligence is to develop computational models of what would be considered intelligent behaviour in a human. One such task is that of musical performance. This research specifically focuses on aspects of performance related to the performance of musical duets. We present the research in the context of developing a cooperative performance system that would be capable of performing a piece of music expressively alongside a human musician. In particular, we concentrate on the relationship between musical structure and performance with the aim of creating a structural interpretation of a piece of music by analysing features of the score and performance. We provide a new implementation of Lerdahl and Jackendoff’s Grouping Structure analysis which makes use of feature-category weighting factors. The multiple structures that result from this analysis are represented using a new technique for representing hierarchical structures. The representation supports a refinement process which allows the structures to be disambiguated at a later stage. We also present a novel analysis technique, based on the principle of phrase-final lengthening, to identify structural features from performance data. These structural features are used to select from the multiple possible musical structures the structure that corresponds most closely to the analysed performance. The three main contributions of this research are:1- An implementation of Lerdahl and Jackendoff’s Grouping Structure which includes feature-category weighting factors; 2- A method of storing a set of ambiguous hierarchical structures which supports gradual improvements in specificity; An analysis technique which, when applied to a musical performance, succeeds 3- in providing information to aid the disambiguation of the final musical structure. The results indicate that the approach has promise and with the incorporation of further refinements could lead to a computer-based system that could aid both musical performers and those interested in the art of musical performance.

From August 2022 to May 2023, I participated in a student production of Cavalli’s La Calisto, and my part in the production was the role of Diana. This thesis investigates the specific challenges of the role, and in consequence how I resolved those challenges.  I started by interviewing four active or retired professional opera singers regarding their experience and their technique for studying a role. After this I conducted a literature search regarding Baroque opera, relevant research on practice and memorization, and already existing material mostly found in various blogs of professionals in the field of opera.  The main section of the thesis deals with the specific challenges I encountered when learning the role of Diana, and how I resolved those challenges. When relevant I have attempted to connect my solutions to the information gathered during the initial phase of the thesis work.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-199).

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model of aurally perceived performer-controlled musical factors that influence assessments of performance quality. Previous research studies on musical performance constructs, musical achievement, musical expression, and scale construction were examined to identify the factors that influence assessments of performance quality. A total of eight factors were identified: tone, intonation, rhythmic accuracy, articulation, tempo, dynamics, timbre, and interpretation. These factors were categorized as either technique or musical expression factors. Items representing these eight variables were chosen from previous research on scale development. Additional items, along with researcher created items, were also chosen to represent the variables of technique, musical expression and overall perceptions of performance quality. The 44 selected items were placed on the Aural Musical Performance Quality (AMPQ) measure and paired with a four-point Likert scale. The reliability for the AMPQ measure was reported at .977. A total of 58 volunteer adjudicators were recruited to evaluate four recordings that represented one of each instrumental category of interest: brass, woodwind, voice, and string. The resulting performance evaluations (N = 232) were analyzed using statistical regression and path analysis techniques. The results of the analysis provide empirical support for the existence of the model of aurally perceived performer-controlled musical factors. Technique demonstrated significant direct effects on overall perceptions of performance quality and musical expression. Musical expression also demonstrated a significant direct effect on overall perceptions of performance quality. The results of this study are consistent with hypothesized model of performer-controlled musical factors.

Musikalisk prestationsångest (MPA) är ett vanligt förekommande problem bland musiker och kan i vissa fall omöjliggöra en karriär som musiker. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att utvärdera en 5 sessioners behandling med Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) för MPA. Resultatet är lovande, 7 av 8 deltagare fullföljde behandlingen och flera deltagare fick förbättringar på såväl ACT-relaterade mått som på mått för MPA. Resultatet motiverar vidare forskning om ACT för MPA. / Musical performance anxiety (MPA) is a common problem among musicians and can in certain cases make impossible a career as a musician. The aim with the present study was to evaluate a 5 sessions' treatment with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for MPA. The result is promising, 7 of 8 participants pursued treatment and several participants got improvements on ACT-related measures as well as on measures for MPA. The result justifies further research on ACT for MPA.

In 1988, through the book of¡mThe Time of Music¡nJonathan D. Kramer (1942 - 2004) provided various point of view to understand the description analysis of the¡§Time Experience¡¨of music : by way of using the methods of¡§waiting¡¨and¡§explain¡¨in both linear and nonlinear in the description analysis of¡§Time Experience¡¨, the situation of ¡§personal time experience¡¨can be emphasized; via¡§musical performance interface¡¨, the subconscious communication interface can be stirred; under the process of interaction experience the multiperspective image can be presented and the difference with the traditional analysis and description analysis in the time experience with listening experience situation can be compared. To analysis and integrates the methods of description analysis in¡§Time Experience¡¨from Kramer' s ¡mThe Time of Music¡n is the aim of this thesis. Through¡§personal time experience¡¨ in ¡§musical performance interface¡¨, there are three categories can be discussed such as : 1) a number of the descriptions about¡§musical performance interface¡¨; 2) the concepts of¡§personal time experience¡¨in music via different auras in terms of musical performance interfaces¡F3) the points are strongly related to the perspective of¡§personal time experience¡¨in music and being the matrix of Music.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:52:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3334576 bytes, checksum: 1f1516046f11c6008a012b55363f59af (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The studies of musical practices developed in urban contexts have been gaining in recent decades, more and more space in ethnomusicological research and point to ample opportunities for research and important contributions, in relation to knowledge of the various directories and their producers in many aspects. This work proposes a study on the musical performance of Quartinha Zabumbeiro, based on the concept of performance as event and process, where they are considered not only the musicians performing, but the general context, involving the audience, the environment and the results of interaction among participants. Considering the general objective to examine and understand the features of the musical performance of Quartinha, the work is the cornerstone theoretical and methodological foundations of ethnomusicology and has significant contributions of musicology, organology, anthropology and ethnography. As data collecting instruments were used in literature, participant observation, the semi-structured interview, in addition to audio recordings, video and photography; these instruments were designed in order to tailor them to the needs of the survey, and were fundamental to the results obtained in the work. Even considering the general aspects of performance in the Quartinha various sets that have participated, with emphasis on groups of forró, the text highlights its performance in the work of the musician Santanna. From the analysis, we observed that the musical performance of Closet characterized by observation of other musicians, especially Zabumbeiros, the development of collective practice, inventiveness, and the construction of a personal style that has been socially recognized along its trajectory. / Os estudos acerca das práticas musicais desenvolvidas em contextos urbanos vêm ganhando, nestas últimas décadas, cada vez mais espaço nos trabalhos etnomusicológicos e apontam para amplas possibilidades de pesquisas e importantes contribuições, no que diz respeito ao conhecimento dos diversos repertórios e seus produtores em múltiplos aspectos. Esse trabalho propõe um estudo sobre a performance musical do zabumbeiro Quartinha, tomando por base o conceito de performance como evento e processo, onde são considerados não só os músicos executantes, mas o contexto geral, envolvendo a audiência, o ambiente e os resultados da interação entre os participantes. Considerando o objetivo geral de apresentar e refletir acerca dos aspectos que caracterizam a performance musical de Quartinha, o trabalho tem como principal alicerce os fundamentos teórico-metodológicos da etnomusicologia e conta com importantes aportes da musicologia, organologia e antropologia. Como instrumentos de coleta de dados, foram utilizadas a pesquisa bibliográfica, a observação participante, a entrevista semiestruturada, além dos registros em áudio, vídeo e fotográficos; tais instrumentos foram pensados de maneira a adequá-los às necessidades da pesquisa, e foram fundamentais para os resultados obtido no trabalho. Mesmo contemplando aspectos gerais da performance de Quartinha nos diversos conjuntos que tem participado, com ênfase para os grupos de forró, o texto destaca a sua atuação no trabalho do músico Santanna. A partir das análises realizadas, foi possível verificar que a performance musical de Quartinha caracteriza-se pela observação de outros músicos, em especial de zabumbeiros, pela valorização da prática coletiva, pela inventividade, e pela construção de um estilo pessoal que tem sido reconhecido socialmente ao longo da sua trajetória.

Submitted by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2016-10-18T19:18:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Rosa.pdf: 2667392 bytes, checksum: e58a499f6a8bc2d975052e89e644f270 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2016-10-18T19:54:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Rosa.pdf: 2667392 bytes, checksum: e58a499f6a8bc2d975052e89e644f270 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Patricia Figuti Venturini (pfiguti@anhembi.br) on 2016-10-18T19:59:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Rosa.pdf: 2667392 bytes, checksum: e58a499f6a8bc2d975052e89e644f270 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-18T20:01:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Rosa.pdf: 2667392 bytes, checksum: e58a499f6a8bc2d975052e89e644f270 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-31 / This academic essay intends to investigate the variations and ranges created in the dialogue between musicians during a live performance, considering the relations between image and sound by means of musical narratives. All the research carried out in this essay is guided by the study of the design project proposal created in the dialogue process between the musician and sound artist Alva Noto in duet with the pianist and music composer Ryuichi Sakamoto during the live performance of the son “ax Mr. L”5. The project proposal is a dialogue building process between the musicians, and takes place during the pre-production, by means of the musical arrangement preparation and sound-visual sequencing, and during the live performance. To that end, the concept of dialogism by Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (1895-1975) and its ramifications, as produced in essays by Professor and Linguist Diana Barros6, will be presented. Semiotician Julia Kristeva7 introduces an insight on intertextuality, a structural concept of dialogism, also studied and presented in this essay. In the book Dialogismo, Polifonia, Intertextualidade (BARROS, 2011, p. 1), a contemporary definition of the dialogism concept associated with the investigation of dialogical relations between speeches within the musical universe is produced. The ook “B kht n o Cír ulo” (BRAIT, 2009, p. 9) presents a historical contextualization on Bakhtin’s studies. The entire musical analysis developed within this research is based on British musician Philip Tagg’s8 musical analysis studies, not only to analyze the musical composition of Ryuichi Sakamoto, but also to help enlighten the sound project structuring processes of Alva Noto. / Este trabalho pretende investigar as variações e extensões criadas no diálogo entre músicos durante uma performance ao vivo, considerando o processo de relações entre som e imagem por meio das narrativas musicais. Toda a pesquisa desenvolvida neste trabalho será norteada pelo estudo da proposta projetual de design criada no processo dialógico entre o músico e artista sonoro Alva Noto em dueto com o pianista e compositor Ryuichi Sakamoto durante a performance ao vivo mús "ax Mr. L". Compreende-se a proposta projetual como o processo de construção do diálogo entre os músicos, que acontece na pré-produção, com o preparo do arranjo musical e sequenciamento sonoro-visual e na execução ao vivo da performance. Para isso serão apresentados aqui o conceito de dialogismo de Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (1895-1975) e seus desdobramentos, estudados nos trabalhos desenvolvidos pela professora e linguista Diana Barros. A semioticista Julia Kristeva apresenta a compreensão de intertextualidade, conceito estruturante do dialogismo, e é também estudada e apresentada no trabalho. No texto Dialogismo, Polifonia, Intertextualidade (BARROS, 2011, p. 1), é apresentado um entendimento do conceito de dialogismos mais adaptado à contemporaneidade e à investigação das relações dialógicas dos discursos no universo musical. A contextualização histórica dos estudos de Bakhtin é apresentada no livro "Bakhtin e o Círculo" (BRAIT, 2009, p. 9). Todo trabalho de análise musical desenvolvido na presente pesquisa é baseado nos estudos de análise musical do musicólogo britânico Philip Tagg e serve não só para analisar a composição do músico Ryuichi Sakamoto, mas também como suporte para entender os processos de estruturação do projeto sonoro de Alva Noto.