In the thesis, we study the data collected from twelve-note music of Webern and Schoenberg, including opus 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and opus 31 of Webern and opus 25, 33a and opus 37 of Schoenberg. The data consists of the following two kinds. The data of the first kind consists of the four basic forms of the twelve-tone music. And the data of the second kind consists of the twelve-tone derived from the matrix of the twelve-note music. We will introduce the twelve-note music first and then study two main topics about twelve-note music in this thesis. In the first part, we consider the Markov properties of the first kind data. We compare the sample autocorrelation function and autocorrelation function of the fitted model to determine the fitness of the Markovian model. In the second part, we build the time series model for the second kind data. Sample autocorrelation function¡Bpartial autocorrelation function and extended autocorrelation function are used to determine the orders of the models. The best model is selected based on the AICC. Finally, we check the fitness of the models using sample autocorrelation function and partial autocorrelation function of the residuals.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are abundantly produced in cells that are under stress or injury by acting as a chaperone or promoting folding, unfolding, packing, degradation or denaturing of proteins or peptides. This study evaluated the role of HSP60, HSP70 or HSP90 in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), in experimental endotoxemia in the rat. Adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats maintained by i.v. infusion propofol (25 mg/kg/h) were used. During experimental endotoxemia induced by intravenous administration of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 30 mg/kg; serotype 0111:B4), the power density of the vasomotor component of systemic arterial pressure (SAP) spectrum underwent a decrease (Phase I), followed by an increase (Phase II; ¡§pro-life¡¨) and a secondary decrease (Phase III; ¡§pro-death¡¨). Western blot analysis revealed that HSP60 expression in the RVLM was significantly increased during Phase II and Phase III endotoxemia; and HSP70 expression was maximally increased during Phase II. HSP90 protein expression in the RVLM was not significantly changed during endotoxemia. We further studied the role of HSP60, HSP70 or HSP90 at the RVLM in experimental endotoxemia by pretreating animals with bilaterally microinjection of an anti-HSP serum (HSPAb, 1:20), normal mouse serum, antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (hsp AODN, 50 pmol), sense oligodeoxynucleotide (hsp SODN) or scrambled AODN (hsp SC). Pretreatment with HSP60Ab or hsp60 AODN resulted in significantly higher mortality, shorter survival time and shorter Phase II duration. In addition, the augmented power density of the vasomotor component of SAP signals during Phase II endotoxemia was significantly reduced. Even more detrimental effects were obtained on local application of HSP70Ab or hsp70 AODN into the RVLM. Pretreatment with HSP90Ab or hsp90 AODN was ineffective. We conclude that the expression of HSP60 and HSP70 in the RVLM may play a ¡§pro-life¡¨ role in fatal experimental endotoxemia; and HSP90 may not be involved.

This thesis investigates the recognition rate improvement strategies for a Mandarin speech recognition system. Both automatic tone recognition and consonant correction schemes are studied and applied to the Mandarin address inputting system and the Mandarin 2, 3, 4-word phrase recognition systems. For automatic tone recognition scheme, the acoustic properties of the four tones in the Mandarin training database are estimated statistically by 4 sets of parameters within 6 minutes. These automatically generated parameters can greatly increase the tone recognition accuracy, and at the same time reduce the amount of time spent in the manual tone parameter adjustment, that is about 8 hours in general. For consonant correction scheme, the sub-syllable models are developed to enhance the consonant recognition accuracy, and hence further improve the overall correct rate for the whole Mandarin phrases. Experimental results indicate that over 90% correct rate can be achieved for the Mandarin address inputting system with 180 thousand place names by applying the above two schemes. Furthermore, the recognition rates for the Mandarin 2, 3, 4-word phrase recognition systems with 116 thousand phrases in total can be improved from 77%, 94% and 97.5%, to 85%, 96% and 98% respectively.

Roberto Gerhard was a twentieth-century Spanish composer known for his unique treatment of the twelve-tone system. A student of the Spanish nationalist composer, Felipe Pedrell in Barcelona and also a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg in both Vienna and in Berlin, Gerhard's musical trajectory led to a synthesis of these disparate compositional traditions. In this dissertation I will explore the development of Gerhard's compositional procedures. Here, his first string quartet, composed between 1950 and 1955, becomes a useful tool to illustrate how he made the transition from one musical style to another. Gerhard's first string quartet, composed between 1950 and 1955 exhibits various experimental formal procedures but is governed by a single twelve-tone row. The work is composed in the twelve-tone idiom, but nationalist elements decorate the musical surface. The first movement follows the classical model of sonata-allegro form, while mathematical proportions govern durations and formal elements in later movements. I will first investigate Gerhard's musical language and pitch material and then consider the challenges raised by implementing sonata form outside of a tonal idiom. I will then examine his unique mathematical approach to formal design in the third movement. In addition to the string quartet, I will explore Gerhard's treatment of form in such works as his Wind Quintet (1928) and Metamorphoses--Symphony no. 2 (1957-59). / text

This paper examines the acoustic characteristics that differentiate the four tones of Burmese: high, low, creaky and stopped. The majority of previous work on Burmese tone is impressionistic but recently has become experimental. There are conflicting analyses of how the tones are distinguished. In particular, there is disagreement about the f0 contour of the high and low tones, the consistency of creakiness in the creaky and stopped tones, the role of f0 in distinguishing the creaky and stopped tones, and the vowel quality of the stopped tone. Recordings were made of four native speakers of Burmese, aged 24-30, who read sentences containing a carrier word with one of the four tones and one of two vowels, /a/ and /i/. Seven variables were measured: f0 contour (onset, offset, peak f0, peak delay), duration, voice quality, and vowel quality. It was found that the high and low tones are differentiated from the creaky and stopped tones by onset f0, peak f0, relative peak delay, duration, and voice quality. The high and low tones are distinguished from one another by offset f0, peak f0, relative peak delay, and voice quality. The creaky and stopped tones appear to be differentiated from one another mainly by vowel quality. This paper adds necessary acoustic analysis to the literature on Burmese tone, with the finding that a variety of characteristics is used to distinguish each tone. The findings of this experiment also add to the current understanding of the interactions between tone and phonation, as well as phonation and vowel quality. / text

The purpose of this treatise is to discuss tone production on the piano, specifically focusing on the research of Otto Rudolph Ortmann, whose work marked a turning point in the history of piano pedagogy and set a new standard for piano-related scholarship. Writing in the early twentieth century, Ortmann, who was both an accomplished pianist and an avid scientist, was one of the first to consciously and meticulously combine the two fields. Today, Ortmann's books are mostly out of print and his research is little known by the average piano student or teacher. However, Ortmann's books greatly affected and influenced many of his contemporaries, and no matter how neglected today, they contain a wealth of information and practical advice highly relevant to any serious pianist. While his research spans a range of topics, including the science of piano acoustics, experiments and scientific explanations of piano technique, and even music education, his work focusing on piano tone production was perhaps the most controversial. In this treatise, Ortmann's concepts, experiments, and conclusions related to tone production will be discussed. Certain scientific elements related to tone production, such as the acoustics of sound, the mechanism of the piano, and the relevant aspects of basic physics, will serve as an introduction to this discussion. A historical overview of the pedagogical trends surrounding the subject will show how Ortmann's work has been sometimes overlooked and often misinterpreted. A thorough analysis of Ortmann's research will demonstrate its balanced approach and its indispensable relevance to the modern pianist and pedagogue. Finally, his work will be used as a vantage point to shed light on subsequent trends of piano pedagogy and to ask questions about the role of tone production in modern pianism. / text

South Kyungsang Korean is spoken in the southeastern part of Korea. The critical problems in analyzing this language are the substantial inconsistency among authors concerning tonal descriptions, and the typologically unusual tone alternation patterns, which have consequently led to vague tonal contrasts and conflicting data. Given that the majority of earlier studies on this language have been based on transcription data, there is limited physical evidence concerning these issues. This research therefore presents the phonetic realization of tonal contrasts, based on F0 production and perception experiments. It was found that there are three distinct tone classes in monosyllabic roots, and they are different in F0 height, syllable duration, and the timing of F0 peak and fall both in unsuffixed words and in suffixed words. It has been suggested, based on this acoustic evidence, that South Kyungsang Korean has three different tone contrasts in monosyllabic roots, e.g., M, H, and R, and that the different tone alternation patterns of these three tone classes in suffixed words might be the reflection of the phonetic implementation of each tone class. This work provides not only new basic facts of South Kyungsang Korean tonology, but also another way of understanding tone targets and tone alternation patterns. While clarifying the complications in a particular language, the findings in this work also contribute to debated topics of modern intonational research, concerning such as phonological and linguistic units in the F0 continuum, the temporal alignment of F0 features with segmental strings, and perception of tonal contrasts.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the evolutionary and revolutionary aspects of using computers to word- and tone-paint in choral-electroacoustic (CEA) works. An extended account is made of word- and tone-painting's history in selected works from the Renaissance through the Twentieth Century to establish their use as a choral music tradition, followed by an examination of three recent CEA works: Scott Wyatt's A Time of Being, Scott Miller's Dies Sanctificatus, and Reginald Bain's When I Consider the Heavens. In all instances, word- and tone-painting are identified and assigned meaning utilizing Irving Godt's "Systematic Classification of Semantic Text Influences." A chapter outlining the challenges of programming CEA works is included, along with suggestions for how conductors can meet those challenges. In addition to Godt's "Classification," a brief history of the development of computers as a musical resource and information regarding Reginald Bain's work appear in the appendices.Among the results of this study are: a confirmation of word- and tone-painting as a vital, continuing tradition in choral music; a clarification of the distinctions and overlap between word-painting, tone-painting, and rhetoric; an affirmation of Irving Godt's classification system's usefulness; and an identification of the computer's capabilities that make the machine's use evolutionary and revolutionary. The computer's most revolutionary capability is its virtually limitless ability to create, shape, and manipulate sound. As the examination of the three CEA works in this study illustrates, the computer's revolutionary potential has only begun to be utilized, and the possibilities of creating compositionally mature CEA works only begun to be realized.

It has recently become more common to combine methodologies from the fields of ethnomusicology and psychoacoustics to address fundamental questions concerning music perception. Ethnomusicology emphasizes cultural context when examining the different ways musical sounds are organized. Psychoacoustics explores the relationships between perceptual processes and physical properties of sound. The methodologies of both disciplines are crucial in developing a cross-cultural cognitive theory of music. A perception experiment was performed on two groups of Western musicians: one with training in Javanese gamelan music (the Gamelan group), and one without training in Javanese gamelan (the Western group). This study examined whether changes in timbre perception occurred in adults who were trained in another culture's music compared to naive listeners. The two groups' perceptions were also compared between an isolated tone and a melodic context to determine where the effects of training were most salient. A mathematical technique known as Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) showed that all subjects based their ratings on two factors during both contexts. In the isolated tone context, the two subject groups did not differ in their timbre perception. In the melodic context, the subject groups diverged in a statistically significant manner. Multiple regression analysis showed that in the isolated tone context, attack centroid (a measure of the spectral energy distribution during the initial 50 milliseconds of the tone) was emphasized almost equally by both groups, along with an unknown psychological factor. In the melodic context, the Gamelan group focused their attention almost completely on the attack centroid while the Western group focused their attention roughly the same between the attack centroid and the middle portion of the amplitude envelope. These results indicate that timbre perception in the music of another culture is modified when a listener has received training in that music, even as an adult. A musical context is needed for these modifications to become apparent, however, otherwise training has no effect on processing timbre. It would appear that attention is directed to acoustical properties that provide meaning to a musical context by those listeners who are familiar with that context. Conversely, listeners who are naive of another culture's musical contexts do not focus their attention on those specific acoustical properties.

Tone pairs constructed with the frequencies of the overtones moving in opposition to the missing fundamental frequencies they imply, produce expertise differences in the tracking of pitch direction. One interpretation of this result is that it arises as a function of rudimentary differences in the perceptual systems of musicians and non-musicians. Several experiments suggest instead a more embodied source of expertise to be found in vocal mediation such that the effect of musical experience in these tasks is the result of the most salient action of musicians: making sound. / x, 87 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm