# HG changeset patch # User Henrik Ekeus # Date 1328547993 0 # Node ID c0ff6068bd599e85ff43184f88bbef1d6650e5bc # Parent e0cbf34f2487a266e7b981a2506f3baeebaba059 Further work section updated. diff -r e0cbf34f2487 -r c0ff6068bd59 experimentProcedure/experimentProcedure.txt --- a/experimentProcedure/experimentProcedure.txt Mon Feb 06 14:40:42 2012 +0000 +++ b/experimentProcedure/experimentProcedure.txt Mon Feb 06 17:06:33 2012 +0000 @@ -27,9 +27,6 @@ - - - ] [Give participant headphones] diff -r e0cbf34f2487 -r c0ff6068bd59 nime2012/mtriange.pdf Binary file nime2012/mtriange.pdf has changed diff -r e0cbf34f2487 -r c0ff6068bd59 nime2012/mtriange.tex --- a/nime2012/mtriange.tex Mon Feb 06 14:40:42 2012 +0000 +++ b/nime2012/mtriange.tex Mon Feb 06 17:06:33 2012 +0000 @@ -16,13 +16,12 @@ %TODO % -%more background on IDyOM. Include refs %formal descriptions of redundancy, entropy rate, predictive information rate %discussion on its use as a composition assistant.. %comments on the aesthetics of the output (why it all sounds like minimalism) %better triangle diagram (fix shading) % -% +%experiment section % \title{The Melody Triangle - Pattern and Predictability in Music} \numberofauthors{4} @@ -69,11 +68,11 @@ Music involves patterns in time. When listening to music we continually build and re-evaluate expectations of what is to come next. Composers commonly, consciously or not, play with this expectation by setting up expectations which may, or may not be fulfilled. This manipulation of expectation and surprise in the listener has been articulated by music theorist Meyer\cite{Meyer:1967} and Narmour\cite{Narmour:1977}. Core to this is the idea that music is not a static object presented as a whole, as a Lerdahl and Jackendo analysis\cite{Lerdahl:1983} would imply, but as a phenomenon that `unfolds' and is experienced \emph{in time}. -The information dynamic approach\cite{Abdallah:2009p4089} considers several different kinds of predictability in musical patterns, how human listeners might perceive these, and how they shape or affect the listening experience. Central to this is the idea that listeners maintain a dynamically evolving statistical model that enables them to make predictions about how a piece of music will continue. They do this using both the immediate context of the piece, and on previous musical experience, and as the music unfolds they continually revise their model. +The information dynamic approach\cite{Abdallah:2009p4089} considers several different kinds of predictability in musical patterns, how human listeners might perceive these, and how they shape or affect the listening experience. Central to this is the idea that listeners maintain a dynamically evolving statistical model that enables them to make predictions about how a piece of music will continue. They do this using both the immediate context of the piece as well as using previous musical experience. As the music unfolds listeners continually revise their model; in other words, they revise their own, subjective probabilistic belief state. \section{The Melody Triangle} %%%How we created the transition matrixes and created the triangle. -The Melody Triangle is based on first order Markov chains, represented as transition matrixes, that generate streams of symbols. By mapping the symbols to individual notes, melodies are generated. Further by layering these streams of notes can result in intricate musical textures. The choice of notes or scale is not a part of the Melody Triangle's core functionality, in fact the symbols could be mapped to anything, even non sonic outputs. +The Melody Triangle is based on first order Markov chains that generate streams of symbols. By mapping the symbols to individual notes, melodies are generated. Further by layering these streams of notes can result in intricate musical textures. The choice of notes or scale is not a part of the Melody Triangle's core functionality, in fact the symbols could be mapped to anything, even non sonic outputs. Any sequence of symbols can be analysed and information theoretic measures taken from it. The novelty of the Melody Triangle lies in that we go `backwards' - given desired values for these measures, as determined from the user interface, we return a stream of symbols that match those measures. The information measures used are redundancy, entropy rate and predictive information rate. @@ -114,7 +113,7 @@ \end{figure} \subsection{Making the triangle} -We generate hundreds of transition matrixes, representing first-order Markov chains, by a random sampling method. These are then plotted in a 3d statistical space of redundancy, entropy rate and predictive information rate. In figure \ref{InfoDynEngine} we see a representation of how these matrixes are distributed; each one of these points corresponds to a transition matrix. +We generate thousands of transition matrixes, representing first-order Markov chains, by a random sampling method. These are then plotted in a 3d statistical space of redundancy, entropy rate and predictive information rate. In figure \ref{InfoDynEngine} we see a representation of how these matrixes are distributed; each one of these points corresponds to a transition matrix. @@ -190,20 +189,19 @@ Additionally there are a number of keyboard controls. These include controls for changing the overall tempo, for enabling and disabling individual voices, changing registers, going to off-beats and changing the speed of individual voices. The system gives some feedback by way of colour changes to indicate when a token has locked on to a new melody, and contains a buffer zone for allowing tokens to be pushed right to the edges of the triangle without falling out. +In this mode, the Melody Triangle can be used as a kind of composition assistant. Unlike other composition tools, . There is little + [TODO: discussion on its use as a composition assistant.. some comments on the aesthetics of the output (why it all sounds like minimalism.) why intreresting] \section{Musical Preference and Information Dynamics Study} -We carried out a preliminary study that sought to determine any correlation between aesthetic preference and the information theoretical measures of the Melody Triangle. In this study participants were asked to use the screen based interface of the Melody Triangle. It was simplified so that all they could do was move tokens around. The axes of the triangle would be randomly rearranged for each participant. +We carried out a preliminary study that sought to determine any correlation between aesthetic preference and the information theoretical measures of the Melody Triangle. In this study participants were asked to use the screen based interface of the Melody Triangle. It was simplified so that all they could do was move tokens around. To help discount visual biases, the axes of the triangle would be randomly rearranged for each participant. The study was divided in to two parts, the first investigated musical preference with respect to single melodies at different tempos. In the second part of the study, a background melody is playing and the participants are asked to find a second melody that 'works well' with the background melody. For each participant this was done four times, each with a different background melody from four different areas of the Melody Triangle. After the study the participants were surveyed with the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index\cite{Mullensiefen:2011ts} to elicit their prior musical experience. -[TODO!!] - -At the end of the study the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire to elicit their prior musical experience. \subsection{Results} X participants took part in the study (mean median age). (Prior musical experience? ) @@ -212,6 +210,13 @@ \section{Further Work} +In using first-order Markov chains the patterns generated don't have any long term structure or form. The Melody Triangle only works in the musical `present'; its melodies don't `go anywhere' in the long term, and as such is better suited to creating textures and patterns as oppose to composing over-arching musical structures. + +We are currently investigating how higher-order Markov models can be mapped to information theoretic measures and if the Melody Triangle could be adapted to those models. This would generate a higher level patterns and provide more long-term structures. + + As it stands, the streams of symbols generated are only mapped to note values. However they could just as well be applied to any other musical property, such as intervals, chords, dynamics, timbres, structures and key changes. The possibilities for the Melody Triangle to be compositional guide in these other domains remains to be investigated. + +The Melody Triangle in its current form however forms an ideal tool for investigations into musical preference and their relationship to the information dynamics models, and as such more detailed studies under wider experimental conditions and with more participants can be carried out. \section{acknowledgments} This work is supported by EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre EP/G03723X/1 (HE), GR/S82213/01 and EP/E045235/1(SA), an EPSRC Leadership Fellowship, EP/G007144/1 (MDP) and EPSRC IDyOM2 EP/H013059/1. Thanks to Louie McCallum and Davie Smith from QMUL for Kinect programming support. diff -r e0cbf34f2487 -r c0ff6068bd59 nime2012/nime.bib --- a/nime2012/nime.bib Mon Feb 06 14:40:42 2012 +0000 +++ b/nime2012/nime.bib Mon Feb 06 17:06:33 2012 +0000 @@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ series = {the need for alternatives in music analysis} } -@article{Mullensiefen:2011ts, +@book{Mullensiefen:2011ts, author = {M{\"u}llensiefen, D and Gingras, B and Stewart, L and Musil, J}, title = {{Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI): Technical Report and Documentation v0. 9}}, -year = {2011} +publisher = {Goldsmiths, University of London}, +year = {2011}, +address = {London} } @book{Lerdahl:1983,