MUSIC GENERATION USING DEEP LEARNING

We examine how lengthy short-term memory neural networks (NNs) may be utilised to create music compositions and offer a method for doing so in this study. Bach's musical style was chosen to train the NN in order for it to make similar music works. The recommended method converts midi files to song files before encoding them as NN inputs. Before feeding the files into the NNs, they are augmented, which converts them into distinct keys, and then they are fed into the NN for training. The final phase is the creation of music. The primary purpose is to assign an arbitrary note to the NN, which it will gradually modify until it produces a good piece of music. Several tests have been conducted in order to identify the ideal parameter values for producing good music. Keywords: lstm, music generation, deep learning, machine learning, neural networks

Animal Protectionist or Animal Anti-protectionist? : Towards a Liberation of Animals from Human Oppression/ Patriarchy: A Textual Reading of Benjamin Zephaniah’s

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Benjamin Zephaniah’s famous poem “Talking Turkeys” can be labeled an animal protectionist or an animal anti-protectionist poem. Using natural and utilitarian theories of animal rights defenders, the paper argues that in the human animal relationship, the humans are the cause of the problem in the relationship not the animals and that they will benefit more if they make animals their friends. At the end of the study it has been found out that when one reads the poem Talking Turkeys’, one unique vocabulary labels Benjamin Zephaniah as an animal protectionist who shows his admiration for animals which prompts his anthropomorphism towards them as well as his pointing of accusing fingers at us humans/patriarchy for being the cause of the animal suffering and killing. The poet advocates friendship with animals to replace our killing and eating their flesh/meat. On the contrary he advocates we become vegans/vegetarians implicitly when he urges us to feed turkeys with green and beans. He reminds us that turkeys have rights, feel pain and have mums, associations which we should join and they should not be artificially manufactured and should also be allowed to enjoy Christmas like receiving gifts and listening to good music. Humans we are told spoiled Christmas.

THE MUSIC OF ERNST BLOCH

The aim of this study is to present information about the life, works and composition of composer and music educator Ernest Bloch. In this context, in this research designed as a qualitative study, the information obtained from the literature review in Turkish and English about the composer's life, style and works were compiled by making descriptive analysis. As a result of the research; Although Ernest Bloch was born in Switzerland, he is known as an American composer because he spent the most productive years of his artistic life in America, he consciously used Jewish cultural elements in his music and thought that a composer should not be independent of his own roots, that he was a good music educator besides his composing. It has been seen that he has articles on education, in addition to the influence of his national identity in music style, he uses descriptiveness as a harmonic language, he uses various styles such as tonal sets, serial and modal harmony, the use of harmony with percussion, and he uses independent forms as a form style, being aware of the traditional. It is thought that this study will be a source for other studies about Ernest Bloch, since no other source can be found in Turkish about the composer. Keywords: Ernest Bloch, American composer, Jewish composer, composing style, contemporary period

The music teacher in ‘on-the-spot’ musical interactions: A practitioner research study

This practitioner research, conducted by a secondary school music teacher, deals with two complementary questions: the conceptual question how one could define the ‘artistry’ of a music teacher in the context of his teaching practice, and the empirical question in how far the music teacher’s actions can determine the quality of the musical interactions with his students. The paper elaborately describes the institutional context for this (doctoral) practitioner research study, and integrates two premises, one regarding the negative image of the school subject music, and another about the vagueness and the ongoing discussions about the required competences of a ‘good’ music teacher. The first question is dealt with in a theoretical way, resulting in a working definition for a music teacher’s ‘artistry’: ‘a music teacher’s “artistry” lies within the extent to which he can apply his musical competences in “immediate” teaching situations’. The second question is studied empirically using a set of qualitative data sources, derived from the practitioner researcher’s teaching practice, that were analysed by means of a self-developed ‘three-dimensional matrix of the music teacher’s real-time teaching actions’. This results in a set of 10 categories in which the music teacher clearly demonstrates ‘unprepared non-routinisedroutinized musical actions’.

Why the Internet is Good for Music

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to challenge the common notion that the internet has had a detrimental impact on the music industry, and on musicians’ ability to generate a viable income while still producing good music. Note, that the following arguments do not automatically extend to the effect that the web has had on books, patents, films, journalism or any other medium. The reason for this is because these different disciplines have individual characteristics that make them respond differently to the same socio-economic pressures. However, on the same token, it does not necessarily follow that the conclusions reached here are inapplicable to other activities: perhaps what is true for music in the following pages is also true for e.g. photography. Furthermore, I am not advocating for a free-for-all internet where behemoths like Google, Amazon and Facebook get to do whatever they wish. Although I am intrigued by such matters, the constraints of both time and space allow me only the possibility to focus on the subject that I am most familiar and passionate about. Furthermore, because I am painting a broad picture which encompasses many intellectual disciplines, many of which I am not an expert in, this work is to be considered more on the consistency of the overall argument rather than the minutia of its individual parts.</p>

Why the Internet is Good for Music

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to challenge the common notion that the internet has had a detrimental impact on the music industry, and on musicians’ ability to generate a viable income while still producing good music. Note, that the following arguments do not automatically extend to the effect that the web has had on books, patents, films, journalism or any other medium. The reason for this is because these different disciplines have individual characteristics that make them respond differently to the same socio-economic pressures. However, on the same token, it does not necessarily follow that the conclusions reached here are inapplicable to other activities: perhaps what is true for music in the following pages is also true for e.g. photography. Furthermore, I am not advocating for a free-for-all internet where behemoths like Google, Amazon and Facebook get to do whatever they wish. Although I am intrigued by such matters, the constraints of both time and space allow me only the possibility to focus on the subject that I am most familiar and passionate about. Furthermore, because I am painting a broad picture which encompasses many intellectual disciplines, many of which I am not an expert in, this work is to be considered more on the consistency of the overall argument rather than the minutia of its individual parts.</p>

Celebration of childbirth through dance and the demystification of the male child in the Igbo Patriarchal Society: A decisive exposition

Celebration of childbirth, among the Igbo, is looked upon as an occasion of feasting and so every festal feature, especially good music is made available as a mark of thanksgiving to God. The birth of a new child is announced with a special kind of song called irri muo, and it is sung in celebration of the birth. Songs sung at childbirth are called umanwa, while in neighbouring communities, they are egwu omugho. Umanwa music is exclusively performed by women, and has survived until today in its original form through oral tradition. This paper, therefore, examines the celebration of childbirth through dance and the demystification of the male child in the Igbo Patriarchal Society. Among the findings, the paper acknowledges that there is always some excitement, merriment, joy and intoxication, mixed with some sparks of faith when the new entrant is added to a household. In addition, the paper recognizes that women are never fully recognized as mothers until the birth of a boy child. Disturbing as the preference is, this paper wonders and questions why women are being easily ridiculed, subjugated and divorced when and where the Y-chromosome, the sole determinant of the birth of the boy child is the exclusive preserve of the male gender. With this, the paper argues that since human personality, a prerogative and quality of every human being does not rest on gender, but on ability; the emphasis on the boy child is absolutely unnecessary because it does not add anything to ability. The paper further calls on the educated elite to enlighten their people to be aware that the dignity of the girl child is fundamentally, essentially and unquestionably equal to the dignity of the boy child. Finally, the paper concludes that, the male child has not in most cases fulfilled the long awaited expectations of being the second father in the house.