In this thesis I propose a framework for the real-time creation of a harmonic structural model of music. Unlike most uses of computing in musicology which are based on batch processing, the framework uses publish/subscribe messaging techniques found in business systems to create an interconnected set of collaborating applications within a network that process streamed events of the kind generated during a musical performance. These applications demonstrate the transformation of data in the form of MIDI commands into information and knowledge in the form of the music’s harmonic structure represented as a model using semantic web techniques.With such a framework, collaborative performances over the network become possible with a shared representation of the music being performed accessible to all performers both human and potentially software agents. The framework demonstratesnovel real-time implementations of pitch spelling, chord and key extraction algorithms interacting with semantic web and database technologies in a collaborative manner. It draws on relevant research in information science, musical cognition, semantic web and business messaging technologies to implement a framework and set of software components for the real-time analysis of musical events, the output of which is adescription of the music’s harmonic structure. Finally, it proposes a pattern based approach to querying the generated model which suggests a visual query and navigation paradigm

The current study examined the musical taste of musicology students as compared to a control student group. Participants (n=1003) completed an online survey regarding the frequency with which they listened to 22 musical styles. A factor analysis revealed six underlying dimensions of musical taste. A hierarchical cluster analysis then grouped all participants, regardless of their status, according to their similarity on these dimensions. The employed exploratory approach was expected to reveal potential differences between musicology students and controls. A three-cluster solution was obtained. Comparisons of the clusters in terms of musical taste revealed differences in the listening frequency and variety of appreciated music styles: The first cluster (51% musicology students / 27% controls) showed the greatest musical engagement across all dimensions although with a tendency towards »sophisticated« musical styles. The second cluster (36% musicology students / 46% controls) exhibited an interest in »conventional« music, while the third cluster (13% musicology students / 27% controls) showed a strong liking of rock music. The results provide some support for the notion of specific tendencies in the musical taste of musicology students and the contribution of familiarity and knowledge towards musical omnivorousness

Automated composition may be regarded as a search within the space defined by a datatype representing musical compositions. We develop a hierarchical representation of popular music compositions with the aim of increasing the probability of finding potential hits. Musical variations are calculated as difference vectors between patterns extracted from a given set of existing compositions. These form the basis of the mutation operator within an evolutionary algorithm search. Key words: automated composition, demotic, evolutionary algorithm, lead sheet, popular music, representation, search space

Digital music libraries and collections are growing quickly and are increasingly made available for research. We argue that the use of large data collections will enable a better understanding of music performance and music in general, which will benefit areas such as music search and recommendation, music archiving and indexing, music production and education. However, to achieve these goals it is necessary to develop new musicological research methods, to create and adapt the necessary technological infrastructure, and to find ways of working with legal limitations. Most of the necessary basic technologies exist, but they need to be brought together and applied to musicology. We aim to address these challenges in the Digital Music Lab project, and we feel that with suitable methods and technology Big Music Data can provide new opportunities to musicology

Academic research on New Zealand popular music has primarily been conducted from historical and cultural perspectives. While asking important questions, these sources have rarely engaged with the musical details of New Zealand popular music. This thesis is a musicological analysis of the 100 songs from the three Nature’s Best albums. The musical perspective complements the socio-cultural research on New Zealand popular music. The Nature’s Best project was instigated by Mike Chunn in 2001 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). All songwriting members of APRA and 100 celebrities and critics were invited to vote for their ten favourite New Zealand popular songs. Fourmyula’s 1969 hit ‘Nature’ gained the most votes. The three Nature’s Best CDs ranked the top 100 songs. The albums were a commercial success upon release in 2002 and 2003. This thesis analyses the 100 songs with regards to eight musical parameters: harmony, melodic construction, form, beat, length, tempo, introductory hooks and instrumental solos. The analytical methods were drawn from classical and popular musicology. Interviews with twelve songwriters were also conducted to gain alternative viewpoints on the analysis. The 100 songs provide a sample of New Zealand popular music from 1970 until 2000; thus, the analysis is useful for addressing questions of New Zealand musical style and traits. The results suggest New Zealand songwriters follow fundamental principles of Anglo-American songwriting, such as arched and balanced melodies, and forms based on repeated and contrasting sections. The harmonic language is similar to international artists of the same period; however, it appears 1970s and 1980s songwriters were more adventurous in this area compared with their 1990s counterparts. The instrumental solos were notable for an anti-virtuosic trait. It is argued this feature mirrors aspects of New Zealand identity

The article presents an analysis of the main versions of the emergence and evolution of minimalism, proposed by both domestic and foreign art history. In the domestic literature of the 80-90s, there was an opinion that the origin of musical minimalism was a reaction to the European avant-garde that preceded it. However, today this statement looks somewhat speculative and not entirely reliable, due to objective historical reasons. The lack of information about Western art in all its diversity that existed at that time made it necessary to fill in the informational gaps with theoretical constructions and assumptions, one of which turned into a sincere conviction of many researchers that each new avant-garde phenomenon arose as a reaction to the previous one. Given the lack of facts, such a view could be considered quite justified, but it did not make it possible to recognize the true nature of minimalism. The modern level of information accessibility makes it possible to overcome the prevailing stereotype regarding the genesis and evolution of minimalism. The role of the international creative association “Fluxus” was very important in its development, in the ranks of which both representatives of the European avant-garde and American experimenters freely exchanged ideas. Very different and sometimes underestimated sources merged in musical minimalism, among which are the heritage of the musical and non-musical avant-garde, abstractionist and visual minimal art, experimental audio technicism and actionism, and an appeal to non-European music. This fusion of ideas and artistic techniques eventually formed a new synthetic phenomenon; a special minimalist style of a number of American composers - T. Riley, S. Reich, F. Glass, J. Adams, as well as European composers, among which M. Nyman became the most prominent figure. It was Nyman who proposed to extend the term ‘minimalism’ to the art of music, starting with the creative searches of J. Cage and his followers. In recent decades, among domestic musicologists, in relation to minimalism, the prefix ‘post’ has been increasingly added, heralding the transition to the era of postminimalism. However, in the avant-garde currents, such a transition was never synchronous and occurred gradually, when the subject of artistic reflection consistently rejected and replaced the former modernist conceptualism, actualizing direct perception and emotional reactivity. However, in musical minimalism, including its Russian branch, the mentioned process has not yet reached its final stage.

Background in computing/performance analysis. Past analyses of performance has utilised solely audio [Lindstedt,2004] or MIDI recordings, but further research into the importance of bodily movements and physical gestures [Davidson,2005] has since exposed a wealth of untapped information. The use of multi-dimensional recordings has only recently become prominent [Camurri,2003], transcending the shortcomings of each individual data stream. Performance information can be used to emphasise higher-level compositional issues that may not be obvious through traditional analysis methods. Background in music theory. The finale of Chopin's B flat minor piano sonata Op.35 has long proved problematic for traditional musical analysts and recently for computer-assisted analysis [Lindstedt,2004]. In this composition, the search for immanent structural elements such as the initiation of new musical themes, arrival points and climax points is not immediately obvious from simply looking at the score. The quantitative methods and multi-modal view of this proposed performance analysis provides tools to view the music beyond the score and so enable an extended analysis of the piece. Aims. We aim to analyse a number of live professional piano performances of first Chopin's Prelude in A Major Op.28 No.7 and secondly the finale of the B Flat minor sonata Op.35, the former providing control results enabling accurate analysis of the latter. These performances are recorded through audio, MIDI and video, making use of data storage technologies developed at Glasgow University's Centre for Music Technology, to investigate issues in thematic/harmonic structure in an otherwise structurally ambiguous composition. Main Contribution Method: Each performance is recorded using microphones, an optical motion capture system and a Moog Piano bar. The bar rests on top of any 88-key piano and using infra-red beams, converts movements of keys into MIDI. Timing information is retrieved from MIDI using a note-matching algorithm [McGilvray,2008], dynamics from the spectrum of the audio and movements from image-processing software. The exact duration of notes are calculated from the combination of audio and MIDI. The information is stored as performance data in PML [McGilvray,2008] – an extension of MusicXML enabling the inclusion of performance information - and movement data in the GMS(Gesture,Motion,Signal) format [Luciani,2006]. These files are stored alongside the score in a PostgreSQL database [Pullinger,2007] within which queries are performed based on points of agreement and change within the performances. The results are then displayed over the score in a format readable to musical analysts. Implications This work will provide further insight into the correlation of performance parameters with structural form and enable more extensive musical analysis of structurally ambiguous pieces. The intricate measurements of each performance require expertise in such areas as signal processing, image processing and physical modelling, whilst storing and manipulating the gathered data requires extensive database and computer systems knowledge. Expertise in music theory and performance is crucial to the design of all aforementioned systems and analysis of the results, making inter-disciplinary collaborations essential to project

This article introduces musical engineering as a framework that bridges acoustical physics, cognitive neuroscience, and decolonial musicology. Using critical realism as its lens, the study examines how sound’s physical properties, frequency, resonance, and timbre interact with human perception and culturally situated practices of music-making. The research addresses the fragmentation of knowledge across science and culture, which has limited a holistic understanding of music as both a phenomenon and a practice. A mixed qualitative design was employed, combining acoustical modeling of indigenous instruments (Dundun, Oja) and Western instruments (violin, bagpipes), interpretive analysis of neuroscientific data on auditory perception, and ethnographic case studies. Fieldwork was conducted in Lagos State, Nsukka (Nigeria), Maryland (USA), and Scotland (UK), involving 54 musicians, instrument makers, and educators from both African and Western classical traditions. Findings show that sound principles are culturally mediated rather than neutral. Musical engineering emerges as an epistemic bridge, offering pathways for inclusive learning, curriculum reform, and future research in areas such as AI-driven sound studies and global acoustical databases.

From the perspective of linguistic musicology, this paper discusses the musical features of Yulinling: Farewell in Autumn, a representative work of Yong Liu, a famous lyricist of the Song Dynasty. Through a systematic analysis of the core elements of the poem, such as rhyme, timbre, key, and rhythm, it reveals the intrinsic connection between poetry and music and proposes a new way of thinking about the modern interpretation of ancient poetic songs. This paper not only enriches the understanding of Yong Liu’s works but also provides new theoretical support for modern music education of classical poetry. In addition, this paper explores the practical application value of poetic musicality analysis in cultural inheritance and modern adaptation of classical poems, providing new insights into the contemporary inheritance of cultural heritage.

This paper explores its unique musical culture style through field research on the musical form of Southwest Lu's advocacy music. First, this article. The activities of advocacy music in folk etiquette, festival celebrations and other occasions are analyzed, and its diversified performance forms and repertoire selection are revealed. Secondly, this text, the improvisation and flexibility of advocating music in the process of playing are discussed, highlighting its unique charm in music expression. Finally, through an in-depth analysis of the musical culture style of advocating music, it is emphasized that it is Ethnic musicology, The important value in.

An overview of some uses of the Humdrum Toolkit in shaping and empirically testing aspects of a theory of musical memetics is given. First, the psychological processes that affect pattern perception are discussed. Second, Two case studies using contrasting but related methodologies are investigated to determine to what extent certain patterns are propagated in the music of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and how Humdrum might be used to detect them. Finally, the prospects for computer-aided memetic analysis using Humdrum are assessed.</p

Jeremy Begbie speaks of music as ‘theologically loaded’: as conveying a sense of intrinsic theological significance. This thesis explores the possibility that music is theologically loaded in an epistemological sense: that music is dependent on knowledge of God. Modern epistemologies, in which knowledge is constructed by the individual human mind, pose a challenge to such a conclusion, since even if divine knowledge is possible it would appear irrelevant for our understanding of objects, such as music, that can be known directly through experience. Because Immanuel Kant presents a particularly stringent theory of human-mind-dependent knowledge, we can use his aesthetic theory as an analytical tool both to assess the epistemological content of our aesthetic judgements as they relate to musical beauty, and to consider whether theological knowledge can be relevant to these judgements. Applying Kant’s aesthetic theory to musical beauty, we find that from within, music seems sublime — defying our ability to understand its form or predict its structure — while from without it remains clearly intelligible. This unique construction makes our judgements of musical beauty particularly dependent on what Kant calls a ‘common sense’: a principle that, although outside our cognition, nevertheless plays a constitutive role in our aesthetic judgements by ensuring their universal validity. The dependence of our aesthetic judgements on this common sense allows for the possibility that musical beauty is dependent on knowledge of God — even when considered within a human-mind-dependent epistemology — and thus enables us to give an account of music’s theological significance that is consistent with modern theories of knowledge. Considered within a Christian perspective, this common sense forms the basis for a grammatical understanding of beauty, in which beauty represents the distance between our awareness of divine providence and our limited knowledge of God’s purposes

This paper explores the contemporary crisis in musicology through the lens of the ideas and critical positions of Dragutin Gostuški, a prominent figure in the development of music theory in Yugoslavia. It examines how “new musicology,” which has integrated social and cultural aspects into the study of music, has led to the tabooization of value judgments in assessing musical works. The paper argues that while “new musicology” was groundbreaking in its inclusion of broader socio-cultural contexts, it has also contributed to a stagnation in theoretical development. Key questions related to authorship, meaning, and value have been sidelined, and the discipline has been increasingly relying on interdisciplinary borrowing, which weakens its methodological foundation. Gostuški, who was critical of the overuse of semiotic methods in music analysis, offers a unique perspective on the limitations of applying linguistic models to music. He argued that music, unlike language, cannot be fully neutral towards musicology and that semiotic methods often overlook the artistic and creative essence of music. The paper also critiques the contemporary tendency in musicology to distance itself from evaluative judgments, which has resulted in a growing divide between musicology and music criticism. Historically, musicologists often played a dual role, engaging both in academic analysis and in aesthetic critique. However, in “new musicology,” the role of a music critic has been relegated to a secondary, almost purely analytical position, where aesthetic judgment is often neglected. This shift not only narrows the scope of musicology but also distances the discipline from the practice of performance, where aesthetic and evaluative considerations are paramount. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary nature of “new musicology,” while beneficial in broadening the scope of analysis, has led to a situation in which musicology increasingly borrows methods from other disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology, without developing its own unique analytical tools. As a result, musicology has become a “weaker partner” in interdisciplinary research, relying on external methods to study its primary object – music – without contributing its own methodological advancements. The paper concludes that the solution to the current crisis in musicology lies in reintroducing mechanisms of evaluation into the field. While recognizing the importance of socio-cultural analysis, the paper argues that aesthetic value should not be discarded. Musicology must reclaim its role in making critical aesthetic judgments, engaging not only with the cultural and social contexts of music but also with the intrinsic qualities of musical works. By doing so, the discipline can regain its methodological and theoretical strength, fostering a more balanced and comprehensive approach to the study of music. In this sense, Dragutin Gostuški’s approach, particularly his critique of semiotics and his emphasis on the materiality of music, offers a potential framework for navigating out of the current crisis. By returning to close reading – and listening – as the foundation for understanding music, musicology can bridge the gap between theoretical analysis and the artistic value of music, ensuring that both aspects are considered in the study of this complex art form.

Musicology in Slovenia is gradually evolving from a historiographical discipline into a system of intersecting research in the fields of reception history, institutional history, structural and genre analysis, acoustics, critical reflection, semiological analysis, hermeneutical reflection and epistemology. The discontinuities and inhomogeneities we perceive today can even be understood as one of the modes of contemporary musicology.

The relevance of the chosen problem is determined by the lack in the scientific sources of any approach to graphic signs as a system of units of musical text, which reflects its content, and wider – serves as indicator of the individual style properties of the author of the musical work. The purpose of the article is to reveal with specific reference of certain conditions in which the communication of the composer and the performer is carried out by means of understanding the functional and semantic content of graphic signs. The choice of research methods are determined by the existing approaches to reading of the graphic signs and their role in the interpretation process. In this regard we involve the materials of the works of D. Blagoy, A. Sokol, S. Feinberg, M. Venable. Analytical observations concerning disclosure of the functional and semantic meaning of the studied phenomena became the results of the research. The conclusions propose classification of graphic signs in accordance with the purpose of their use by composer. Two groups of graphic signs are identified: slurs and dynamic signs («<» and «>»), which contain information about the structural and procedural principles of the musical text organization. The interaction of graphic signs with pitch and rhythmic ones has been discovered. In the contextual field of J. Brahms’ piano pieces, graphic signs are intended to warn interpreters against approach to the musical text from the point of view of the usual representations, limited to such considerations as the natural attraction to the reference tones or a strong proportion of tact. The logic of the musical process within a single theme or a phrase may be subject to other laws in Brahms’ musical texts, which are conditioned by the movement of the interior meaning. Thanks to graphic signs, the rhythmic structure of the theme reveals certain measure of freedom due to alternating strong and weak beats, and in the texture – certain temporary independence of voices in relation to each other. Thus, graphic signs in J. Brahms’ piano pieces are not additional, but decisive factors in many ways for understanding of the composer’s thought, which allows us to see in them some special form of manifestation of the author’s stylistic properties.

Abstract Where postcolonial studies often retain a focus on the imperial metropole, decolonial analysis takes as an imperative the re-location of the critical nexus into former colonies. Yet with this shift there emerges a recalcitrant question about the need for decolonial analysis in the centre: if decolonization is something that happens in the periphery, why, for instance, should we engage with it in the United Kingdom? While this question might have been less pressing in music studies in the 1990s when systematic approaches to decolonial analysis first started gaining traction, I argue that the amnesiac appeals to the Anglosphere which have accompanied the Brexit vote implore us to consider the possibilities of decolonial analysis in musicology anew. I suggest that decolonial analysis can be reconfigured through the notion of the coloniality/modernity bind to turn the decolonial gaze upon the musical subject in the metropole.