The Music Therapy Charity seeks 3 new Governors
CfP: A Symposium on AI & Digital Innovations for Chamber Music
Mon 10 Jun 17:00: An interactive production approach to emotion perception in music
Abstract
TBC
Biography
TBC
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09 (Meeting ID: 994 3344 0421; Passcode: 714277)
- Speaker: Annaliese Micallef Grimauld, Durham University
- Monday 10 June 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 28 May 12:00: Ensemble timing: a theoretical model and practical demo of a virtual ensemble training tool
Abstract
TBC
Biographies
TBC
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09 (Meeting ID: 994 3344 0421; Passcode: 714277)
- Speaker: Alan Wing and Min Li, University of Birmingham
- Tuesday 28 May 2024, 12:00-14:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 23 Apr 17:00: Absolute pitch training for adults: How effective is the “Melody Triggers” method?
Abstract
Despite over a century of research into absolute pitch (AP), musicians and scientists alike still cannot agree on what it is or how it develops. Some researchers hold that it is entirely innate, although there is little compelling evidence for this. Many studies suggest it can be fostered through early musical training. Deutsch (2013) proposes that AP learning is subject to a maturational constraint and may be subserved by the same brain mechanism as language acquisition. If this is the case, then it is of interest that adults are capable of learning to speak a second language to a native-like level (Ioup et al., 1994; Bongaerts et al., 2000), although this certainly presents a great challenge to them (Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, 2000). Bley-Vroman (1990) suggests that adults undergo a fundamentally different language acquisition process to children, which is broadly symptomatic of general adult learning. This may also be true of AP acquisition and could account for possessors who exhibit only partial AP, usually limited to particular timbres and ranges, and frequently aided by motor memory (Ross et al., 2005). It is unclear whether this is a different ability to ‘true AP,’ or merely represents less proficiency on certain dimensions of the same skill. Many studies point to a continuous range of AP performance in the population (Bermudez & Zatorre, 2009; Miyazaki et al., 2018). In light of this, I have proposed an “AP fundamental difference hypothesis.”
Two recent studies provide suggestive evidence that adults can learn AP (Van Hedger et al., 2019; Wong et al., 2020a). Furthermore, evidence that AP performance is susceptible to recent experience suggests its degree and quality are not rigidly determined in childhood for ‘native’ possessors. There is evidence that non-AP possessing adults demonstrate ‘implicit AP’ through their ability to accurately sing the opening pitches of well-known songs (Levitin, 1994). Considering this, I have tested the theory that adults can learn AP through training to associate pitch labels with ‘melody triggers’ (Aruffo, 2007). I have also explored whether : a) identifying pitches within a musical listening task presents a different (and greater) challenge to identifying isolated pitches; and b) this dimension of AP can be trained.
In this talk I will present and explore my findings.
Biography
Sam Leak is a London-based Jazz pianist described by JazzFM’s Helen Mayhew as ‘one of the brightest stars in the Jazz piano galaxy, a heavenly improviser, and a brilliant prospect for the future.’ His eponymous album ‘Aquarium’ was listed in MOJO Magazine as one of the ‘Top Ten International Releases of the Year, 2011.’ Jamie Cullum has described his cohort as ‘the heavyweights of the British Jazz scene’ and The New York City Jazz Record described his most recent album, ‘Adrift,’ as “magical …constantly evolving and engaging.”
He is also a Senior Lecturer and Pathway Leader at Middlesex University, and a visiting lecturer at various institutions, including the University of Surrey and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His doctoral thesis (University of Cambridge) explores whether adults can learn absolute pitch.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Sam Leak, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 23 April 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 30 Apr 12:00: Quantifying musical note usage in major pentatonic ragas
Abstract
Indian classical music, including Hindustani music, is based on the concept of rāga. A rāga, while based on or derived from a scale, is not the same thing. It is an aesthetic and grammatical entity somewhat similar to Arabian maqām, Turkish makam and Persian maqām or māye. In Hindustānī music, two or more rāgas can have an identical scale, but can differ in the relative importance given to svara-s (“notes”). The popular rāgas Bhūpālī and Deskār both have the scale sa re ga pa dha, SRGPD (where sa is the tonic note and pa is the fifth), corresponding to the intervallic structure of a major pentatonic scale in Western music. Yet, they are separate rāgas with distinct personalities, owing partly to differences in alpatva (‘scarcity’) and bahutva (‘abundance’) of svara-s, i.e. the proportion of time occupied by a particular svara in a performance. Bhūpālī is dominated by the lower notes, with ga for its vādī (svara with the greatest bahutva), while Deskār is dominated by the higher notes, and its vādī is dha. However, the prescriptive grammar of music theory (lakṣaṇa, or śāstra) only tells us so much about the realities of actual performance (lakṣya). While some elements of rāga grammar are explicitly described in the śāstra, other equally important features are learned only from the lakṣya, by listening and imitation. Through computational analysis of recorded performances, this study describes and quantifies some of the latter features, which, to the best of my knowledge, have not been published despite their consistency across schools and styles. New quantitative measures that I have defined for this work are an important technical contribution.
Biography
Dr Achintya Prahlad is a Hindustani (northern Indian classical) vocalist and composer with knowledge of Carnatic (south Indian classical) music as well. He did a PhD in Biophysics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, after which he taught biology, music and languages to undergraduates at Ashoka University, India, while simultaneously doing research on music and publishing papers. Achintya then moved on to do an MA in Music at SOAS , University of London, and is currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Achintya Prahlad, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 30 April 2024, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 14 May 17:00: Musical groove: body-movement, pleasure and embodied cognition
Abstract
What is it about rhythm in music that makes people want to move? And why does moving to the beat feel so good? In this talk, I will review a selection of my research studies focusing on musical groove – defined in psychology as the pleasurable desire to move to a musical beat. Using online surveys, motion-capture and fMRI, I show how the rhythmic structure of syncopation affects pleasure and movement in an inverted U-shaped way, suggesting there’s a balance between complexity and predictability in groove. I finish with some reflections based on a cognitive-philosophical analysis of groove, casting syncopation as a route to physically enacting the beat, by using our bodies to fill in ‘gaps’ in the rhythmic surface. Groove thus becomes a palpable example of the embodied mind where boundaries between music, body and mind become blurred.
Biography
Maria A. G. Witek is Associate Professor at the Department of Music, University of Birmingham, UK. Before taking on this post, she worked at the Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark, where she remains an affiliated researcher. She holds a DPhil in Music from the University of Oxford, an MA in Music Psychology from the University of Sheffield and a BA in Musicology from the University of Oslo. Her research addresses the psychology, cognitive neuroscience and cognitive philosophy of musical rhythm, body-movement and affect, using methods such as brain imaging, motion-capture, physiological recording, participatory research methods, and phenomenological and music analysis. She is currently PI on the AHRC funded project ‘Embodied Timing and Disability in DJ Practice’ and co-I on the ‘Augmented Reality Music Ensemble’ project, funded by the EPSRC . She is also the meetings chair of RPPW – the Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Maria Witek, University of Birmingham
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 14 May 17:00: Musical groove: body-movement, pleasure and embodied cognition
Abstract
What is it about rhythm in music that makes people want to move? And why does moving to the beat feel so good? In this talk, I will review a selection of my research studies focusing on musical groove – defined in psychology as the pleasurable desire to move to a musical beat. Using online surveys, motion-capture and fMRI, I show how the rhythmic structure of syncopation affects pleasure and movement in an inverted U-shaped way, suggesting there’s a balance between complexity and predictability in groove. I finish with some reflections based on a cognitive-philosophical analysis of groove, casting syncopation as a route to physically enacting the beat, by using our bodies to fill in ‘gaps’ in the rhythmic surface. Groove thus becomes a palpable example of the embodied mind where boundaries between music, body and mind become blurred.
Biography
Maria A. G. Witek is Associate Professor at the Department of Music, University of Birmingham, UK. Before taking on this post, she worked at the Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark, where she remains an affiliated researcher. She holds a DPhil in Music from the University of Oxford, an MA in Music Psychology from the University of Sheffield and a BA in Musicology from the University of Oslo. Her research addresses the psychology, cognitive neuroscience and cognitive philosophy of musical rhythm, body-movement and affect, using methods such as brain imaging, motion-capture, physiological recording, participatory research methods, and phenomenological and music analysis. She is currently PI on the AHRC funded project ‘Embodied Timing and Disability in DJ Practice’ and co-I on the ‘Augmented Reality Music Ensemble’ project, funded by the EPSRC . She is also the meetings chair of RPPW – the Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Maria Witek, University of Birmingham
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: Peter Harrison.
Tue 14 May 17:00: Musical groove: body-movement, pleasure and embodied cognition
Abstract
What is it about rhythm in music that makes people want to move? And why does moving to the beat feel so good? In this talk, I will review a selection of my research studies focusing on musical groove – defined in psychology as the pleasurable desire to move to a musical beat. Using online surveys, motion-capture and fMRI, I show how the rhythmic structure of syncopation affects pleasure and movement in an inverted U-shaped way, suggesting there’s a balance between complexity and predictability in groove. I finish with some reflections based on a cognitive-philosophical analysis of groove, casting syncopation as a route to physically enacting the beat, by using our bodies to fill in ‘gaps’ in the rhythmic surface. Groove thus becomes a palpable example of the embodied mind where boundaries between music, body and mind become blurred.
Biography
Maria A. G. Witek is Associate Professor at the Department of Music, University of Birmingham, UK. Before taking on this post, she worked at the Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark, where she remains an affiliated researcher. She holds a DPhil in Music from the University of Oxford, an MA in Music Psychology from the University of Sheffield and a BA in Musicology from the University of Oslo. Her research addresses the psychology, cognitive neuroscience and cognitive philosophy of musical rhythm, body-movement and affect, using methods such as brain imaging, motion-capture, physiological recording, participatory research methods, and phenomenological and music analysis. She is currently PI on the AHRC funded project ‘Embodied Timing and Disability in DJ Practice’ and co-I on the ‘Augmented Reality Music Ensemble’ project, funded by the EPSRC . She is also the meetings chair of RPPW – the Rhythm Perception and Production Workshop.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Maria Witek, University of Birmingham
- Tuesday 14 May 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: pmch2.
Tue 30 Apr 12:00: Quantifying musical note usage in major pentatonic ragas
Abstract
Indian classical music, including Hindustani music, is based on the concept of rāga. A rāga, while based on or derived from a scale, is not the same thing. It is an aesthetic and grammatical entity somewhat similar to Arabian maqām, Turkish makam and Persian maqām or māye. In Hindustānī music, two or more rāgas can have an identical scale, but can differ in the relative importance given to svara-s (“notes”). The popular rāgas Bhūpālī and Deskār both have the scale sa re ga pa dha, SRGPD (where sa is the tonic note and pa is the fifth), corresponding to the intervallic structure of a major pentatonic scale in Western music. Yet, they are separate rāgas with distinct personalities, owing partly to differences in alpatva (‘scarcity’) and bahutva (‘abundance’) of svara-s, i.e. the proportion of time occupied by a particular svara in a performance. Bhūpālī is dominated by the lower notes, with ga for its vādī (svara with the greatest bahutva), while Deskār is dominated by the higher notes, and its vādī is dha. However, the prescriptive grammar of music theory (lakṣaṇa, or śāstra) only tells us so much about the realities of actual performance (lakṣya). While some elements of rāga grammar are explicitly described in the śāstra, other equally important features are learned only from the lakṣya, by listening and imitation. Through computational analysis of recorded performances, this study describes and quantifies some of the latter features, which, to the best of my knowledge, have not been published despite their consistency across schools and styles. New quantitative measures that I have defined for this work are an important technical contribution.
Biography
Dr Achintya Prahlad is a Hindustani (northern Indian classical) vocalist and composer with knowledge of Carnatic (south Indian classical) music as well. He did a PhD in Biophysics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, after which he taught biology, music and languages to undergraduates at Ashoka University, India, while simultaneously doing research on music and publishing papers. Achintya then moved on to do an MA in Music at SOAS , University of London, and is currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Achintya Prahlad, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 30 April 2024, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: pmch2.
Tue 23 Apr 17:00: Absolute pitch training for adults: How effective is the “Melody Triggers” method?
Abstract
Despite over a century of research into absolute pitch (AP), musicians and scientists alike still cannot agree on what it is or how it develops. Some researchers hold that it is entirely innate, although there is little compelling evidence for this. Many studies suggest it can be fostered through early musical training. Deutsch (2013) proposes that AP learning is subject to a maturational constraint and may be subserved by the same brain mechanism as language acquisition. If this is the case, then it is of interest that adults are capable of learning to speak a second language to a native-like level (Ioup et al., 1994; Bongaerts et al., 2000), although this certainly presents a great challenge to them (Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, 2000). Bley-Vroman (1990) suggests that adults undergo a fundamentally different language acquisition process to children, which is broadly symptomatic of general adult learning. This may also be true of AP acquisition and could account for possessors who exhibit only partial AP, usually limited to particular timbres and ranges, and frequently aided by motor memory (Ross et al., 2005). It is unclear whether this is a different ability to ‘true AP,’ or merely represents less proficiency on certain dimensions of the same skill. Many studies point to a continuous range of AP performance in the population (Bermudez & Zatorre, 2009; Miyazaki et al., 2018). In light of this, I have proposed an “AP fundamental difference hypothesis.”
Two recent studies provide suggestive evidence that adults can learn AP (Van Hedger et al., 2019; Wong et al., 2020a). Furthermore, evidence that AP performance is susceptible to recent experience suggests its degree and quality are not rigidly determined in childhood for ‘native’ possessors. There is evidence that non-AP possessing adults demonstrate ‘implicit AP’ through their ability to accurately sing the opening pitches of well-known songs (Levitin, 1994). Considering this, I have tested the theory that adults can learn AP through training to associate pitch labels with ‘melody triggers’ (Aruffo, 2007). I have also explored whether : a) identifying pitches within a musical listening task presents a different (and greater) challenge to identifying isolated pitches; and b) this dimension of AP can be trained.
In this talk I will present and explore my findings.
Biography
Sam Leak is a London-based Jazz pianist described by JazzFM’s Helen Mayhew as ‘one of the brightest stars in the Jazz piano galaxy, a heavenly improviser, and a brilliant prospect for the future.’ His eponymous album ‘Aquarium’ was listed in MOJO Magazine as one of the ‘Top Ten International Releases of the Year, 2011.’ Jamie Cullum has described his cohort as ‘the heavyweights of the British Jazz scene’ and The New York City Jazz Record described his most recent album, ‘Adrift,’ as “magical …constantly evolving and engaging.”
He is also a Senior Lecturer and Pathway Leader at Middlesex University, and a visiting lecturer at various institutions, including the University of Surrey and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His doctoral thesis (University of Cambridge) explores whether adults can learn absolute pitch.
Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/99433440421?pwd=ZWxCQXFZclRtbjNXa0s2K1Q2REVPZz09
- Speaker: Sam Leak, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 23 April 2024, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: CMS computer room, Faculty of Music (11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP).
- Series: CMS seminar series in the Faculty of Music; organiser: pmch2.
