scholarly journals The Design and Construction of an Expressive Mechatronic Chordophone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Yepez Placencia
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Robot Arm ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
Optical Pickup ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Iterative Design ◽  
Dynamic Variations ◽  
Stringed Instruments ◽  
Extraneous Noise

<p><b>Mechatronic chordophones are stringed instruments that integrate mechanical components and electronics to make music. These instruments offer precise control over multiple sound parameters and expressive techniques for enhanced musical expression.</b></p> <p>There have been multiple successful mechatronic chordophone designs,from robotic slide guitars to bass guitar robots. Among these designs are plucked string and pitch shifting mechatronic chordophones, which make music by exciting the string with a picking mechanism and selecting musical notes with a pitch shifter mechanism. This configuration enables these systems to enhance their musical performance through pitch-based expressive techniques and micro tonal pitches. </p> <p>However, even if these instruments can achieve speeds and precision beyond the capabilities of a human performer, their expressive capabilities are limited. It is difficult for mechatronic chordophones to perform dynamic variations and expressive techniques,and the presence of extraneous noise usually interferes with their musical performance. Furthermore, it is still challenging for users to control such instruments.</p> <p>We have built two mechatronic chordophones. The first is Protochord, a mechatronic monochord prototype. We used this system as a platform for iterative design to develop new expressive mechatronic chordophone subsystems. The second is Azure Talos,a multi-string mechatronic chordophone designed to outperform other existing systems and to afford a wide array of parameters for musical expression. </p> <p>Our research has led to the development of novel mechatronic chordophone subsystems such as: a revolving picking mechanism with superior dynamic variation capabilities compared to that of other existing designs; a fast and precise robot arm pitch shifting mechanism that affords pitch-based expressive techniques; and an optical pickup that rejects extraneous noise. We have demonstrated the technical capabilities of these designs through quantitative evaluation processes, in many cases providing the first set of quantitative tests in the literature of these types of sub-assemblies and systems. A key aim is to provide standards and benchmarks in evaluation criteria which may be used in the development of new mechatronic chordophones.</p> <p>Finally, we developed strategies to assess Azure Talos' musical capabilities through standard guitar techniques, repertoire examples,and creative musical explorations.</p>

scholarly journals The Design and Construction of an Expressive Mechatronic Chordophone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Yepez Placencia
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Robot Arm ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
Optical Pickup ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Iterative Design ◽  
Dynamic Variations ◽  
Stringed Instruments ◽  
Extraneous Noise

<p><b>Mechatronic chordophones are stringed instruments that integrate mechanical components and electronics to make music. These instruments offer precise control over multiple sound parameters and expressive techniques for enhanced musical expression.</b></p> <p>There have been multiple successful mechatronic chordophone designs,from robotic slide guitars to bass guitar robots. Among these designs are plucked string and pitch shifting mechatronic chordophones, which make music by exciting the string with a picking mechanism and selecting musical notes with a pitch shifter mechanism. This configuration enables these systems to enhance their musical performance through pitch-based expressive techniques and micro tonal pitches. </p> <p>However, even if these instruments can achieve speeds and precision beyond the capabilities of a human performer, their expressive capabilities are limited. It is difficult for mechatronic chordophones to perform dynamic variations and expressive techniques,and the presence of extraneous noise usually interferes with their musical performance. Furthermore, it is still challenging for users to control such instruments.</p> <p>We have built two mechatronic chordophones. The first is Protochord, a mechatronic monochord prototype. We used this system as a platform for iterative design to develop new expressive mechatronic chordophone subsystems. The second is Azure Talos,a multi-string mechatronic chordophone designed to outperform other existing systems and to afford a wide array of parameters for musical expression. </p> <p>Our research has led to the development of novel mechatronic chordophone subsystems such as: a revolving picking mechanism with superior dynamic variation capabilities compared to that of other existing designs; a fast and precise robot arm pitch shifting mechanism that affords pitch-based expressive techniques; and an optical pickup that rejects extraneous noise. We have demonstrated the technical capabilities of these designs through quantitative evaluation processes, in many cases providing the first set of quantitative tests in the literature of these types of sub-assemblies and systems. A key aim is to provide standards and benchmarks in evaluation criteria which may be used in the development of new mechatronic chordophones.</p> <p>Finally, we developed strategies to assess Azure Talos' musical capabilities through standard guitar techniques, repertoire examples,and creative musical explorations.</p>

Bi-Directional Optical-EtherCAT Communication for Motion Network Control of Humanoid Robot

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 1442006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Jin Kim ◽  
Kwang-Heon Kim ◽  
Yong-Seon Moon ◽  
Young-Chul Bae
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Electromagnetic Compatibility ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Network Control ◽  
Real Time Control ◽  
Communication Performance ◽  
Frame Size ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Automation Systems ◽  
Communication Method

Currently, most industrial automation systems and robotic systems require the high-speed transmission of data and highly precise control. We introduce a new communication protocol that is immune to the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) effect, and is able to reduce the space used in internal robots with limited space. In this paper, we present a novel optical-EtherCAT communication method to reduce EMC, to provide high-speed communication between each module, and to offer real-time control and flexible topology in the internal robot. Then, we verify the communication performance between the proposed optical-EtherCAT communication and previously established EtherCAT communication method. We use the transmission speed, frame size, usage rates of bandwidth, update speed, and cycle time of transmission as evaluation criteria.

Adopting an External Focus of Attention Enhances Musical Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adina Mornell ◽  
Gabriele Wulf
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Internal Focus ◽  
Focus Condition ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Control

Two experiments are reported in which skilled musicians playing different instruments performed a piece of their choice under various attentional focus conditions. In the external focus condition, they were asked to focus on playing for the audience and the expressive sound of the music. In the internal focus condition, they were asked to focus on the precision of their finger movements (or lip movements for singers) and correct notes. In the control condition, they were asked to play the way they normally did. Expert raters evaluated the musicians’ performances for both musical expression and technical precision. In Experiment 1, external focus instructions enhanced musical expression relative to both internal focus and control conditions. There was no effect on technical precision. In Experiment 2, raters were given more detailed evaluation criteria. An external focus again led to superior musical expression compared with internal focus and control conditions. In addition, technical precision was higher within the external relative to the internal focus condition. The findings show that the advantages of focusing on the intended movement effect (i.e., externally) generalize to experienced musicians. Music teachers could offer their students specific recommendations for focus of attention during training and in concert situations to optimize learning and performance.

Scattered Musics

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
Musical Performances

This book brings together eleven chapters on the musics of migrant and diaspora populations around the globe. Their authors are engaged with and sensitive to the nuances of struggles over identities and representations through musical expression, and they give account of some of the ways in which musicians, fans, promoters, and others use music and other media (including social media) to negotiate, transcend, or create solidarities with different normativities and nationalisms. How have diasporas transformed the musical expressions of their home countries as well as those in the host communities? How do musical performances provide a space for play in seeking to understand one’s identity? How do some communities recreate home away from home in musical performances, and how do some use music to critique and refine their senses of home? What are some of the ways in which musical performance can help reconstruct and redefine collective memory and a collective sense of place? With chapters by ethnomusicologists, sociologists, historians artists, and others, Scattered Musics is an interdisciplinary plunge into these questions.

scholarly journals Neural Plasticity in a French Horn Player with Bilateral Amelia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Scholz ◽  
Marcus Heldmann ◽  
Bahram Mohammadi ◽  
Thomas F. Münte ◽  
Eckart Altenmüller
Keyword(s):  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Rare Case ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
French Horn ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Upper Limbs ◽  
Facial Muscle ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Control Subjects

Precise control of movement and timing play a key role in musical performance. This motor skill requires coordination across multiple joints, muscles, and limbs, which is acquired through extensive musical training from childhood on. Thus, making music can be a strong driver for neuroplasticity. We here present the rare case of a professional french horn player with a congenital bilateral amelia of the upper limbs. We were able to show a unique cerebral and cerebellar somatotopic representation of his toe and feet, that do not follow the characteristic patterns of contralateral cortical and ipsilateral cerebellar layout. Although being a professional horn player who trained his embouchure muscles, including tongue, pharyngeal, and facial muscle usage excessively, there were no obvious signs for an expanded somatosensory representation in this part of the classic homunculus. Compared to the literature and in contrast to control subjects, the musicians’ foot movement-related activations occurred in cerebellar areas that are typically more related to hand than to foot activation.

Vocal heritage of A.S. Dargomyzhsky in the aspect of the composer’s musical performance and pedagogical practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-140
Author(s):  
Nadezhda A. Ezhova
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Role ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
Musical Culture ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Musical Works ◽  
Actual Content ◽  
The Relationship

The necessity of studying the stylistic features of A.S. Dargomyzhsky’s vocal creativity is substantiated to understand the relationship between music and words in works for voice and pi-ano, as the actual content of the process of developing competencies necessary for the pedagogical and concertmaster activities of graduates of a music and pedagogical university. The necessity of using the pedagogical component in the study of the concertmaster activity of composers, authors of chamber vocal and opera works has been proved. The main performing techniques of A.S. Dargomyzhsky, developing the principles of representatives of the Russian vocal school, are analyzed. We show the general and distinctive features in the methods of vocal teachers of other national schools: Italian, French, German. An understanding of the role of the creative union of singers and accompanists in the embodiment of the artistic content of musical works is formed. A.S. Dargomyzhsky’s innovative interpretation of traditional vocal genres led to the subordination of the means of musical expression to the main goal – to reveal the meaningful storyline of songs and romances. A parallel is drawn with the formation of performing and pedagogical principles in modern musical culture. The conclusion is made about the dominant role of artistic content in the performing interpretation of musical compositions, as the priority of the activities of musicians-teachers and performers of our time.

A Novel Reconstitution Method for Inducing the Formation of Regular 2-Dimensional Arrays of Membrane Proteins and Lipids

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 152-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Engel ◽  
A. Holzenburg ◽  
K. Stauffer ◽  
J. Rosenbusch ◽  
U. Aebi
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Electron Crystallography ◽  
Peltier Element ◽  
Protein Ratio ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
3 Dimensional

Reconstitution of solubilized and purified membrane proteins in the presence of phospholipids into vesicles allows their functions to be studied by simple bulk measurements (e.g. diffusion of differently sized solutes) or by conductance measurements after transformation into planar membranes. On the other hand, reconstitution into regular protein-lipid arrays, usually forming at a specific lipid-to-protein ratio, provides the basis for determining the 3-dimensional structure of membrane proteins employing the tools of electron crystallography.To refine reconstitution conditions for reproducibly inducing formation of large and highly ordered protein-lipid membranes that are suitable for both electron crystallography and patch clamping experiments aimed at their functional characterization, we built a flow-dialysis device that allows precise control of temperature and flow-rate (Fig. 1). The flow rate is generated by a peristaltic pump and can be adjusted from 1 to 500 ml/h. The dialysis buffer is brought to a preselected temperature during its travel through a meandering path before it enters the dialysis reservoir. A Z-80 based computer controls a Peltier element allowing the temperature profile to be programmed as function of time.

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