Understanding the structure of musical compositions: Is visualization an effective approach?

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto De Prisco ◽  
Delfina Malandrino ◽  
Donato Pirozzi ◽  
Gianluca Zaccagnino ◽  
Rocco Zaccagnino
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Interactive System ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Visualization Technique ◽  
The People ◽  
Graphic Elements

Experienced musicians have the ability to understand the structural elements of music compositions. Such an ability is built over time through the study of music theory, the understanding of rules that guide the composition of music, and countless hours of practice. The learning process is hard, especially for classical music, where the rigidity of the music structures and styles requires great effort to understand, assimilate, and then master the learned notions. In particular, we focused our attention on a specific type of music compositions, namely, music in chorale style (four-voice music). Composing such type of music is often perceived as a difficult task because of the rules the composer has to adhere to. In this article, we propose a visualization technique that can help people lacking a strong knowledge of music theory. The technique exploits graphic elements to draw the attention on the possible errors in the composition. We then developed an interactive system, named VisualMelody, that employs the proposed visualization technique to facilitate the understanding of the structure of music compositions. The aim is to allow people to make four-voice music composition in a quick and effective way, that is, avoiding errors, as dictated by classical music theory rules. We have involved 40 people in testing VisualMelody in order to analyze its effectiveness, its usability, and the overall user satisfaction. We partitioned the people involved in the evaluation study into two groups evenly splitting the musical expertise. Then, we had one group use VisualMelody without the visualization facilities and the other using the tool enhanced with our visualization. On average, people in the group that used our visualization were 60% faster and produced music with less errors.

scholarly journals Music Theory and the White Racial Frame

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Ewell
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
The People ◽  
To Come ◽  
White Racial Frame

For over twenty years, music theory has tried to diversify with respect to race, yet the field today remains remarkably white, not only in terms of the people who practice music theory but also in the race of the composers and theorists whose work music theory privileges. In this paper, a critical-race examination of the field of music theory, I try to come to terms with why this is so. I posit that there exists a “white racial frame” in music theory that is structural and institutionalized, and that only through a deframing and reframing of this white racial frame will we begin to see positive racial changes in music theory.

St. Petersburg Conservatory and the Beginnings of Russian Musicology

2018 ◽  
pp. 223-248
Author(s):  
Olga Panteleeva
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Leading Role

This chapter looks at St. Petersburg Conservatory and Soviet musicology. The St. Petersburg Conservatory bears Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's name not only on account of the composer's contribution to the Russian classical music canon, but because he is perceived as a progenitor of the institutionalized study of music in Russia—both practical and theoretical. It is true that Rimsky-Korsakov played a leading role in shaping the first syllabi of music-theoretical courses at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. However, the lineage that connects these courses to the present-day curricula is by no means as direct as it is sometimes painted. The chapter then argues that under Rimsky-Korsakov, music theory was seen as the handmaiden to composition, which hindered the institutionalization of historical musicology.

“When I Was at School, I Played All Classical Music”

2018 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Vic Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Music Education ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Elementary Years

This chapter explores Armstrong’s education in music at Abijah Fisk School. He learned music theory using the tonic sol-fa system that was taught in all New Orleans public schools. He sang songs from the Eleanor Smith Manual of Music (book 1). The program of music education in New Orleans was entirely vocal: there were no instrumental lessons. The music in the elementary years was sung in unison without part singing.

scholarly journals The Impact of Patient Interactive Systems on the Management of Pain in an Inpatient Hospital Setting: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (04) ◽  
pp. 580-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raniah N. Aldekhyyel ◽  
Caitlin J. Bakker ◽  
Michael B. Pitt ◽  
Genevieve B. Melton
Keyword(s):  
Pain Management ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Interactive System ◽  
Inpatient Setting ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
The Impact

Background While some published literature exists on the use of interactive patient care systems, the effectiveness of these systems on the management of pain is unclear. To fill this gap in knowledge, we aimed to understand the impact and outcomes of pain management patient interactive systems in an inpatient setting. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted across seven databases, and results were independently screened by two researchers. To extract relevant data, critical appraisal forms were developed and each paper was examined by two experts. Information included patient interactive system category, patient population and number of participants/samples, experiment type, and specific outcome measures. Results Out of 58 full-text articles assessed for eligibility, 18 were eligible and included in the final qualitative synthesis. Overall, there were two main types of pain management interactive systems within the inpatient setting (standalone systems and integrated platform systems). While systems were diverse especially for integrated platforms, most reported systems were entertainment distraction systems. Reports examined a variety of outcome measures, including changes in patient-reported pain levels, patient engagement, user satisfaction, changes in clinical workflow, and changes in documentation. In the 13 systems measuring pain scores, 12 demonstrated a positive impact on pain level scores. Conclusion Pain management systems appear to be effective in lowering patient level scores, but research comparing the effectiveness and efficacy of one type of interactive system versus another in the management of pain is needed. While not conclusive, pain management systems integrated with other technology platforms show potentially promising effects with improving patient communication, education, and self-reporting.

Comparing user satisfaction of older and newer on-campus accommodation buildings in Australia

Facilities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyu Xu ◽  
Riza Yosia Sunindijo ◽  
Eveline Mussi
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Adaptive Thermal Comfort ◽  
Acoustic Comfort ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to assess the level of occupants’ satisfaction, comparing older and newer on-campus accommodation buildings in Sydney, Australia, aiming to identify their comfort factors deficiencies in terms of design and construction solutions/strategies (e.g. spatial arrangements, materials, thermal comfort). Design/methodology/approach A post occupancy evaluation survey was used to assess the occupant satisfaction with three on-campus accommodation buildings in The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. One of the selected buildings is an older building opened for occupation in 1996, and the other two are more recent on campus accommodations buildings. The survey included 11 post occupancy evaluation elements identified through literature review which were categorised into three dimensions: technical, functional and behavioural. Findings The results show that the satisfaction levels with thermal and acoustic comfort were below standards for both older and newer buildings. In addition, the older building used in this study was rated low in terms of: indoor air quality, lighting, maintenance and management, vertical transportation facility, room layout and furniture quality, building layout and aesthetics and level of privacy. Such factors related to both functional and behavioural dimensions were of greater satisfaction in newer buildings. Practical implications Findings suggest the high priority of strategies that address and improve the thermal and acoustic comfort of older and newer on-campus accommodation buildings if the intention is to enhance students’ satisfaction, especially considering the impact that these facilities have on students’ performance. Thermal performance in different seasons and adaptive thermal comfort activities should be considered in the design of new on-campus accommodation buildings and the retrofit of existing old buildings. Originality/value On-campus accommodation is an important facility that supports student learning outcomes and helps students adapt in a new learning environment. A post occupancy evaluation study to assess the adequacy of this facility is still lacking because previous studies have generally focussed on class rooms and work spaces in the education sector. This research compares the user satisfaction of older and newer on-campus accommodation buildings in Australia, to highlight deficiencies and areas for improvement in the design of existing and future buildings.

The legal macroscope: Experimenting with visual legal analytics

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Lettieri ◽  
Antonio Altamura ◽  
Delfina Malandrino
Keyword(s):  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Visual Analytics ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Different Sources

This work presents Knowlex, a web application designed for visualization, exploration, and analysis of legal documents coming from different sources. Understanding the legal framework relating to a given issue often requires the analysis of complex legal corpora. When a legal professional or a citizen tries to understand how a given phenomenon is disciplined, his attention cannot be limited to a single source of law but has to be directed on the bigger picture resulting from all the legal sources related to the theme under investigation. Knowlex exploits data visualization to support this activity by means of interactive maps making sense out of heterogeneous documents (norms, case law, legal literature, etc.). Starting from a legislative measure (what we define as Root) given as input by the user, the application implements two visual analytics functionalities aiming to offer new insights on the legal corpus under investigation. The first one is an interactive node graph depicting relations and properties of the documents. The second one is a zoomable treemap showing the topics, the evolution, and the dimension of the legal literature settled over the years around the norm of interest. The article gives an overview of the research so far conducted presenting the results of a preliminary evaluation study aiming at evaluating the effectiveness of visualization in supporting legal activities as well as the effectiveness of Knowlex, the usability of the proposed system, and the overall user satisfaction when interacting with its applications.

scholarly journals Can I have more of these please?

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽  
Schubert Foo ◽  
Natalie Pang
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
User Evaluation ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
System A ◽  
Staff Group ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Novices And Experts

Purpose During the literature review phase, the task of finding similar research papers can be a difficult proposition for researchers due to the procedural complexity of the task. Current systems and approaches help in finding similar papers for a given paper, even though researchers tend to additionally search using a set of papers. This paper aims to focus on conceptualizing and developing recommendation techniques for key literature review and manuscript preparatory tasks that are interconnected. In this paper, the user evaluation results of the task where seed basket-based discovery of papers is performed are presented. Design/methodology/approach A user evaluation study was conducted on a corpus of papers extracted from the ACM Digital Library. Participants in the study included 121 researchers who had experience in authoring research papers. Participants, split into students and staff groups, had to select one of the provided 43 topics and run the tasks offered by the developed assistive system. A questionnaire was provided at the end of each task for evaluating the task performance. Findings The results show that the student group evaluated the task more favourably than the staff group, even though the difference was statistically significant for only 5 of the 16 measures. The measures topical relevance, interdisciplinarity, familiarity and usefulness were found to be significant predictors for user satisfaction in this task. A majority of the participants, who explicitly stated the need for assistance in finding similar papers, were satisfied with the recommended papers in the study. Originality/value The current research helps in bridging the gap between novices and experts in terms of literature review skills. The hybrid recommendation technique evaluated in this study highlights the effectiveness of combining the results of different approaches in finding similar papers.

scholarly journals Evaluasi pelaksanaan program pelatihan wajib latih dan gladi lapang bagi masyarakat kawasan rawan bencana merapi

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Puri Bhakti Renatama ◽  
Yoyon Suryono
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Plan Implementation ◽  
Merapi Volcano ◽  
Social Ability ◽  
The People ◽  
Field Practice ◽  
Prone Area ◽  
The Village ◽  
Source Of Information

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perencanaan, pelaksanaan, dan hasil program pelatihan wajib latih dan gladi lapang bagi masyarakat kawasan rawan bencana Merapi di desa Argomulyo Cangkringan Sleman. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian evaluasi dengan menggunakan model penelitian CIPP. Pengumpulan data menggunakan metode wawancara, dokumentasi, dan observasi. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan perencanaan program pelatihan wajib dan gladi lapang merupakan hasil identifikasi BPBD Sleman dan kebutuhan masyarakat kawasan rawan bencana Merapi,  pelaksanaan program pelatihan wajib latih dan gladi lapang ini berjalan dengan baik dan melibatkan narasumber yang memiliki kompetensi di bidangnya serta motivasi dan antusias peserta yang cukup tinggi, dan hasil pelaksanaan program pelatihan wajib latih dan gladi lapang ditunjukkan dengan perubahan sikap peserta yang meliputi kemampuan konseptual, teknis, dan sosial. Dampak dari program ini menunjukkan dampak positif yaitu peserta dapat melakukan tindakan pengurangan risiko secara mandiri dan berkelompok, memanfaatkan pengetahuan yang dimiliki untuk menerapkan rencana kesiapsiagaan di lingkungan tempat tinggalnya.Kata kunci: evaluasi program pelatihan, wajib latih, masyarakat kawasan rawan bencana Merapi An Evaluation of the Obliged Training and Field Practice Program for the Community Around Disaster Prone Areas of MerapiAbstractThis study aims to investigate plan, implementation, and result of the obliged training and field practice program for the people in the village of Argomulyo Cangkringan Sleman. This was an evaluation study employing the CIPP. The data were collected through observations, interviews, and documentation. The results are as follows planning program obliged training and field practice program is the identification of BPBD Sleman and the needs of the community disaster prone area Merapi, the implementation of the programs obliged training and field practice program goes well involving the source of information that has competence as well as motivation and enthusiasm of the participants which is quite high, and the result of a training program obliged training and field practice program is indicated by a change in attitude of the participants that includes the conceptual, technical and and social ability. The training programs obliged training and field practice program have an impact that is positive participants can perform the act of risk reduction independently and in groups, utilizing the knowledge possessed to apply the plan of preparedness in the neighborhood of her residence.Keywords: evaluation of training program, obliged training, disaster prone areas of merapi volcano society

scholarly journals NATA SANKIRTANA AND MANIPURI SOCIETY

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-480
Author(s):  
M.Thoiba Singh
Keyword(s):  
Classical Music ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Rhythmic Pattern ◽  
Dead Body ◽  
The People ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
Society Today

The Nata Sankirtana style of singing which was introduced during the reign of Rajarshi Bhagyachandra (1763-1798 A.D.). The great masters and scholars of that period composed and sang the padavali strictly after the Bhagavata tradition and other major Vaishnavite text and based the composition also on the traditional Ragas and Raginis of classical music tradition. Modern research has discovered a lot of regional overtones in the architecture of the particular Ragas and Raginis. The Manipuris call the Nata Sankirtana singing their own and it is clearly a form of collective prayer, a Mahayajna as they call it, lasting for about 5 hours at a stretch with a lot of rituals, movements and rhythmic pattern, strictly after the vaishnavite faith. Nata Sankirtana is a composite version of music, dance and tala; a Sangeet in the true sense of the term. It is also Drishya Kavya, a poem made visible. Nata Sankirtan is a very important aspect in the lives of the people in Manipur. It is because when our end is near, people listen to Hari-naam to relieve us from all the wrong doings that we have done before, so that we die peacefully. After death the family members would take the dead body for the last rites. In the shraddha ceremony, the Nat Sankirtana will start with raga. Before the invocation of the god and prayers start, Pinda- dan cannot be offered. After offering the Pindadan, the owner of the ceremony will have a bath and wear washed clothes. He will then come and offer his respects towards the end of the Sankirtan when Raga Bijay is being performed. The Shraddha ceremony comes to an end with the guardian of the Mandap sending the departed soul to beikuntha dham.  In case of any death in a house, Naam Sankirtana plays an important role. In the ten days of mourning or Dashahan, the ritual will start with Naam Sankirtana and other rituals like reading Shrimad Bhagavat Gita will follow. The particular person who mourns, known as the Gira thangba, will only offer Pindadan after the Sankirtana starts. Even in asti sanchai or the ritual of picking up the remains from the grave, Sankirtana is performed along with Parikrama around the Hari mandir. In this manner,for Meitei Vaishnavites living in the society today, Nat Sankirtana Mahayajna was become an indispensable event in the lives of the people since time immemorial. In short, Nata Sankirtana is the only highest karma for the Meitei society. This paper attempts to understand the important role of Nata Sankirtana in Manipuri society.

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