Expressive Microstructure in Music: A Preliminary Perceptual Assessment of Four Composers' "Pulses"

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno H. Repp
Keyword(s):  
Classical Music ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
The Other ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
General Music ◽  
Cyclic Patterns ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Perceptual Assessment ◽  
Essential Prerequisite

According to a provocative theory set forth by Manfred Clynes, there are composer-specific cyclic patterns of (unnotated) musical microstructure that, when discovered and realized by a performer, help to give the music its characteristic expressive quality. Clynes, relying mainly on his own judgment as an experienced musician, has derived such personal "pulses" for several famous composers by imposing time and amplitude perturbations on computer-controlled performances of classical music and modifying them until they converged on some optimal expression. To conduct a preliminary test of the general music lover's appreciation of such "pulsed" performances, two sets of piano pieces by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert, one in quadruple and the other in triple meter, were selected for this study. Each piece was synthesized with each composer's pulse and also without any pulse. These different versions were presented in random order to listeners of varying musical sophistication for preference judgments relative to the unpulsed version. There were reliable changes in listeners' pulse preferences across different composers' pieces, which affirms one essential prerequisite of Clynes' theory. Moreover, in several instances the "correct" pulse was preferred most, which suggests not only that these pulse patterns indeed capture composer- specific qualities, but also that listeners without extensive musical experience can appreciate them. In other cases, however, listeners' preferences were not as expected, and possible causes for these deviations are discussed.

Computer-Controlled Hrem Alignment Using Automated Diffractogram Analysis

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 532-533
Author(s):  
G.Y. Fan ◽  
O.L. Krivanek
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Full Information ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Skilled Operator ◽  
Automatic Alignment ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscope ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Recorded Image

Full alignment of a high resolution electron microscope (HREM) requires five parameters to be optimized: the illumination angle (beam tilt) x and y, defocus, and astigmatism magnitude and orientation. Because neither voltage nor current centering lead to the correct illumination angle, all the adjustments must be done on the basis of observing contrast changes in a recorded image. The full alignment can be carried out by a computer which is connected to a suitable image pick-up device and is able to control the microscope, sometimes with greater precision and speed than even a skilled operator can achieve. Two approaches to computer-controlled (automatic) alignment have been investigated. The first is based on measuring the dependence of the overall contrast in the image of a thin amorphous specimen on the relevant parameters, the other on measuring the image shift. Here we report on our progress in developing a new method, which makes use of the full information contained in a computed diffractogram.

Intonational differences between the reduplicative babbling of French- and English-learning infants

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Whalen ◽  
Andrea G. Levitt ◽  
Qi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
The Other ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Complex Contour ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
French And English ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
Perceptual Assessment ◽  
Language Environment

ABSTRACTThe two- and three-syllable reduplicative babbling of five French-learning and five English-learning infants (0;5 to 1; 1) was examined in two ways for intonational differences. The first measure was a categorization into one of five categories (RISING, FALLING, RISE-FALL, FALL-RISE, LEVEL) by expert listeners. The second was the fundamental frequency (F0) from the early, middle and late portion of each syllable. Both measures showed significant differences between the two language groups. 65% of the utterances from both groups were classified as either rising of falling. For the French children, these were divided equally into the rising and the falling categories, while 75% of those utterances for the English children were judged to have falling intonation. Proportions of the other three categories were not significantly different by language environment. In both languages, though, three-syllable utterances were more likely to have a complex contour than two-syllable ones. Analysis of the F0patterns confirmed the perceptual assessment. Several aspects of the target languages help explain these intonational differences in prelinguistic babbling.

Musical training improves memory for instrumental music, but not vocal music or words

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-159
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. P. Wilbiks ◽  
Sean Hutchins
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Vocal Music ◽  
Verbal Material ◽  
The Other ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Facilitative Effect ◽  
Musical Excerpts ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Brain

In previous research, there exists some debate about the effects of musical training on memory for verbal material. The current research examines this relationship, while also considering musical training effects on memory for musical excerpts. Twenty individuals with musical training were tested and their results were compared to 20 age-matched individuals with no musical experience. Musically trained individuals demonstrated a higher level of memory for classical musical excerpts, with no significant differences for popular musical excerpts or for words. These findings are in support of previous research showing that while music and words overlap in terms of their processing in the brain, there is not necessarily a facilitative effect between training in one domain and performance in the other.

Oxidation of combined ingestion of glucose and fructose during exercise

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 1277-1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy L. P. G. Jentjens ◽  
Luke Moseley ◽  
Rosemary H. Waring ◽  
Leslie K. Harding ◽  
Asker E. Jeukendrup
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Carbohydrate Oxidation ◽  
Maximum Power ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cycling Exercise ◽  
Oxidation Rates ◽  
Maximum Power Output ◽  
Exercise Period

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether combined ingestion of a large amount of fructose and glucose during cycling exercise would lead to exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates >1 g/min. Eight trained cyclists (maximal O2consumption: 62 ± 3 ml·kg-1·min-1) performed four exercise trials in random order. Each trial consisted of 120 min of cycling at 50% maximum power output (63 ± 2% maximal O2consumption), while subjects received a solution providing either 1.2 g/min of glucose (Med-Glu), 1.8 g/min of glucose (High-Glu), 0.6 g/min of fructose + 1.2 g/min of glucose (Fruc+Glu), or water. The ingested fructose was labeled with [U-13C]fructose, and the ingested glucose was labeled with [U-14C]glucose. Peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates were ∼55% higher ( P < 0.001) in Fruc+Glu (1.26 ± 0.07 g/min) compared with Med-Glu and High-Glu (0.80 ± 0.04 and 0.83 ± 0.05 g/min, respectively). Furthermore, the average exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates over the 60- to 120-min exercise period were higher ( P < 0.001) in Fruc+Glu compared with Med-Glu and High-Glu (1.16 ± 0.06, 0.75 ± 0.04, and 0.75 ± 0.04 g/min, respectively). There was a trend toward a lower endogenous carbohydrate oxidation in Fruc+Glu compared with the other two carbohydrate trials, but this failed to reach statistical significance ( P = 0.075). The present results demonstrate that, when fructose and glucose are ingested simultaneously at high rates during cycling exercise, exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates can reach peak values of ∼1.3 g/min.

Memory Slip: Stage Fright and Performing Musicians

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 679-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Jaffee Nagel
Keyword(s):  
Classical Music ◽  
Performance Anxiety ◽  
The Other ◽  
Stage Fright ◽  
Physical Injury ◽  
Developmental Issues

This paper discusses stage fright as seen primarily in classical music performers. A confluence of narcissistic sensitivities, developmental issues, shame dynamics, physical injury and pain, and terrors pertaining to both psychic and bodily disintegration can fuel anxiety reactions in many people but hold particular relevance for the performing musician. Two classical music performers who struggled with stage fright are discussed: one was in treatment with the author; the other is the author herself, reflecting on her own performance anxiety as revealed through her analysis and her countertransference to her patient.

Fission and Fusion: From improvisation to formalism in law and music

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Manderson
Keyword(s):  
Classical Music ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
The Relationship

Law and classical music are both performative disciplines. Both became concerned with practices of textual interpretation, and with questions of the authority of those texts and the legitimacy of those interpretations. But exactly how did that happen, and with what social consequences? The relationship between law and music across the centuries shows striking parallels and echoes. If we study them carefully each can illuminate the other, binding them together so that we can see them as two aspects of the same process and the same histories. The insights we gain from the novelty of their conjunction help us to understand these social changes better and differently. This conjunction will also help us see how much our disciplinary blinkers prevent us from observing the far-reaching social forces which these cultural practices at each moment both echo and animate.

Learning Music Composers’ Styles: To Block or to Interleave?

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Shi Hui Wong ◽  
Amanda Chern Min Low ◽  
Sean H. K. Kang ◽  
Stephen Wee Hun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Aural Skills ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Teaching Music ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Musical Styles

The ability to recognize and distinguish among varying musical styles is essential to developing aural skills and musicianship. Yet, this task can be difficult for music learners, particularly nonexperts. To address this challenge and guide music education practice, this study drew on cognitive psychological principles to investigate the effect of interleaved presentation of music pieces by various classical music composers on learning to identify these composers’ styles. Participants with 4 or fewer years of musical experience were presented with music pieces from six composers in an interleaved manner (alternating between listening to different composers’ works) and music pieces from another six composers in a blocked fashion (listening to works by one composer at a time before moving on to the next). A later test in which participants had to classify novel pieces by the same 12 composers revealed the superiority of interleaved over blocked presentation, although most participants misjudged blocking to be more effective than interleaving. This finding provides evidence for the utility of interleaving in teaching music composers’ styles and extends the literature on the interleaving effect in category induction to the auditory domain. Practical implications and future directions for the use of interleaving in music education are discussed.

scholarly journals Photoelectric Observations of AD Leo: 1989-1994

1995 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 87-88
Author(s):  
R. Konstantinova-Antova ◽  
A.P. Antov
Keyword(s):  
Single Channel ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Astronomical Observatory ◽  
Program Package ◽  
Flare Star ◽  
The Other ◽  
Integration Time ◽  
Differential Photometry ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Photoelectric Observations

An investigation of the activity of the flare star AD Leo was made using U-band patrol observations. 60 cm computer-controlled telescopes with identical single channel photon-counting photometers at the National Astronomical Observatory at Rozhen and at the Belogradchik Observatory were used. The integration time was 1 sec. Differential photometry was carried out, the AD Leo measurements were made relative to BD+20°2475. The data was reduced with the program package APR (Kirov et al. 1991).Two simultaneous observing runs were made. The results of the first have already been published (Antov etal. 1991). The other was part of the observational campaign in May, 1991 with the ROSAT satellite. In Bulgaria, the observations were carried out at Rozhen in the U-band and at Belogradchik in the B-band. Four flares were detected by both.

Developing Ontologies for Engineering Information Retrieval

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanjun Li ◽  
Victor Raskin ◽  
Karthik Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
The Other ◽  
Product Lifecycle ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Complex Queries ◽  
Engineering Documents ◽  
Engineering Information ◽  
Standard Information

When engineering content is created and applied during the product lifecycle, it is often stored and forgotten. Since search remains text-based, engineers do not have the means to harness and reuse past designs and experiences. On the other hand, current information retrieval approaches based on statistical methods and keyword matching are not directly applicable to the engineering domain. We propose a new computational framework that includes an ontological basis and algorithms to retrieve unstructured engineering documents while handling complex queries. The results from the preliminary test demonstrate that our method outperforms the traditional keyword-based search with respect to the standard information retrieval measurement.

Nutritional status affects branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase activity during exercise in humans

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. E233-E238 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Jackman ◽  
M. J. Gibala ◽  
E. Hultman ◽  
T. E. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Oxygen Uptake ◽  
Muscle Glycogen ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Submaximal Exercise ◽  
The Other ◽  
Branched Chain Amino Acid ◽  
Low Carbohydrate ◽  
Branched Chain ◽  
Exercise In Humans

We examined the effect of glycogen availability and branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation on branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase (BCOAD) activity during exercise. Six subjects cycled at approximately 75% of their maximal oxygen uptake to exhaustion on three occasions under different preexercise conditions: 1) low muscle glycogen (LOW), 2) low muscle glycogen plus BCAA supplementation (LOW+BCAA), and 3) high muscle glycogen (CON). The LOW trial was performed first, followed by the other two conditions in random order, and biopsies for all trials were obtained at rest, after 15 min of exercise (15 min), and at the point of exhaustion during the LOW trial (49 min). BCOAD activity was not different among the three conditions at rest; however, at 15 min BCOAD activity was higher (P < or = 0.05) for the LOW (31 +/- 5%) and LOW+BCAA (43 +/- 11%) conditions compared with CON (12 +/- 1%). BCOAD activity at 49 min was not different from respective values at 15 min for any condition. These data indicate that BCOAD is rapidly activated during submaximal exercise under conditions associated with low carbohydrate availability. However, there was no relationship between BCOAD activity and glycogen concentration or net glycogenolysis, which suggests that factors other than glycogen availability are important for BCOAD regulation during exercise in humans.

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