This thesis is concerned with an examination of the reliability of R-DAT recording media in regard to professional and archival applications. Four brands of R-DAT tapes were subjected to mechanical stress, environmental stress, and a combination of both the mechanical and environmental stresses. Data generated from these tests were analyzed objectively, subjectively evaluated, and subsequently compared. Findings showed that in the majority of cases, the subjective evaluation results corroborate the objective measurements. The study concludes that only one brand of tape exhibited no deterioration of data, while the other three brands failed at various points throughout the testing.

This thesis presents high-level strategies for controlling existing audio morphing algorithms. Prominent methods for spectrally representing audio data in the context of audio morphing are surveyed, and techniques involving manipulating and interpolating additive models are explored. Additionally, a combination of past audio-morphing approaches (sinusoidal morphing techniques as well as techniques taken from an MFCC approach) are employed in order to facilitate any type of sonic input. The system presented herein is meant to accommodate a wide range of inputs, and will adjust the impact of a high-level feature depending on the type and quality of the input.* / *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation).

This thesis explores how the study of culture can benefit from Western technology by reviewing anthropological theoretical and methodological processes and issues concerning reciprocity between the ethnographers and research subjects. In this case I am exploring the process of digitizing and dissemination of 400 hours of Kiowa song recordings. New digitizing equipment has made audio preservation and access relatively easy and affordable. These issues are most critical to groups like the Kiowa whose songs I have already started digitizing. In this thesis I closely examine existing collaborative theory and methodology in order to demonstrate the balance that can and should be maintained when using technology to preserve traditional music. In general, applying audio technology to an anthropological problem can enhance or inhibit the ethnographic process. My thesis focuses on how audio technology can contribute to this process without inhibiting, complicating, or distorting the way ethnomusicologists, folklorists, and anthropologists practice go about recording sound. / Department of Anthropology

The objective of this research is to improve the analysis of musical sounds in comparison to traditional additive analysis, i.e. Fourier Analysis. Namely, the focus of this study is to improve the tracking of time-evolving partials. Traditional analysis methods assume constant amplitudes and frequencies over each successive frame in which a signal is analyzed. Tracking the time-evolution of these partials, however, can require the implementation of complex probabilistic techniques. This thesis presents an alternative method in which the Ambiguity Function, a distribution in both time and frequency, is used to create a clearer, more accurate representation that requires fewer complex methods to track partials. Through the use of a more accurate spectral representation and the inclusion of a chirp rate parameter, partials may be more readily followed based upon spectral parameters alone. This new method that is presented will build upon the traditional methods by first employing Fourier analysis to identify partials, and then utilizing the Analytic Signal and Ambiguity Function to improve individual spectral parameter estimations and partial tracking. The overall intent of this work is that through this method, one may create an improved spectral model that is more useful to musical analysis.

This thesis investigates the extent to which networking technology can be used to provide remote workstation access to a pool of shared music studio resources. A pilot system is described in which MIDI messages, studio control data, and audio signals flow between the workstations and a studio server. A booking and timing facility avoids contention and allows for accurate reports of studio usage. The operation of the system has been evaluated in terms of its ability to satislY three fundamental goals, namely the remote, shared and centralized access to studio resources. Three essential network configurations have been identified, incorporating a mix of star and bus topologies, and their relative potential for satisfYing the fundamental goals has been highlighted.

In this digital age many listeners of music now purchase albums from online digital music stores instead of buying a physical album from the record store. This has created a concern with many regarding the future of the album as a physical medium. This study investigates the impact of the possible death of the album on certain listening habits, the activity of record collecting, the creation of large-scale musical works, music consumerism, and its implications for the creative process on music as art and sound-recording quality. Three realisations have led to the problem statement. Firstly, the album might not have a future in the digital age. Secondly, downloadable songs might not be able to recreate an album experience. The third realisation is that the possible death of the album could create new, exciting challenges to artists as they strive to create art. This study is exploratory in nature - and no hypothesis was generated. The research necessitates qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual approaches. Furthermore, the investigation has led to the collection of mostly new data, constituting a “primary data design” through the implementation of qualitative listening experiments and a focus group, using full-time NMMU students between 18 and 25 years of age. It is herein argued that digital distribution might possibly have an effect on the perception of the album format and might possibly still be a relevant listening experience, valued by young people. Singles and albums are collectable; and good albums are considered artistic and comparable to the large-scale musical works of the past. If the concept of an album does not die out, then high fidelity formats should be able to re-invent the album experience. Listening experiences other than the album experience do exist, and they could generate new ways for artists to create musical art.

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