Y3 | Orchestration Taxonomies and OrchARD
Orchestration Taxonomies and OrchARD
Y3 | Workgroup Summary
12 July 2021
14:00-15:30 EDT
Via Zoom
Workgroup Leaders:
S. McAdams (McGill University), K. Soden (McGill University)
Aims:
Update attendees on project progress on the Orchestration Analysis and Research Database (OrchARD), human score entry versus optical music recognition, beta testing of the orchestral perceptual grouping effects taxonomy in OrchView, the developing orchestration techniques, functional orchestration and aural sonology taxonomies, and the taxonomy workshop held in May 2021. It also aims to develop new projects and outputs from the research, including how the different orchestration-analysis taxonomies relate to more traditional approaches to music analysis.
Discussion Points:
1. Brief updates on projects
· Working on elaboration of perceptual grouping principles taxonomy and a new data model for OrchARD and its implementation as annotation tools in OrchView.
· New data model required re-mapping of data in old model, which is still ongoing and challenging
· Replacing Solr with Elasticsearch as query mechanism for speed and scalability
· User profiles with query saving procedure have been created with more work to enhance user interface ongoing
· Docker is a container framework that allows for a project to operate on development and production machines with different hardware and operating systems
· Continued work to improve seamlessness for data sharing purposes and on pipeline between new data models and sharing data
OMR score entry
· Work on comparing OMR and human score entry speed and accuracy with the goal to determine which is faster
· machine recognition + human correction is 60% of the time it takes humans alone
OrchView beta testing of perceptual grouping effects taxonomy
· Using OrchView to test 9 scores on perceptual grouping principles
· Past work concentrated on solving issues and refining the taxonomy
· Present work was to explore how to explain use of taxonomy as an analysis tool to analysts and detect bugs and propose improvements to OrchView
Orchestration techniques taxonomy
· Worked on preparing data model for orchestration techniques which will be helpful for OrchView and OrchARD
· Implemented all playing techniques so OrchView can understand what modes of playing from each instrument and instrument families
· Finished writing definitions for all techniques
· Worked on a new category of orchestration called timbral manipulation
· Finalized design for doublings and couplings with the hope to autonomize this
· Future aims include working on functional orchestration, integrating definitions into OrchView, creating documents and instructions for programmers, integrating into technique tools
· Goal to finish designing orchestration techniques by January 2022 followed immediately by alpha testing
· How can aural sonology show different techniques?
· Hosted workshops for musicians and general public, including one specifically for disabled persons, which were all very successful
· Goal is to create precise vocabulary to talk about phenomena in musical discourse and to analyze various works with the three levels of musical perception in mind
· Planning to implement tools in OrchView perhaps with a sonograph representation
· Timbre and orchestration workshop held last May included 12 scholars working on developing taxonomies, all centered on Alborada del gracioso by Ravel
· Working on clarifying taxonomic terms, how taxonomies work together, and notation
· Focused on questions such as “what is a taxonomy?” and “What does it do?” and on themes of doubling/coupling, meta-timbre, texture, manipulation, progressions, etc.
· Still deciding on what 21st Century composition to focus on at the Autumn meeting
2. Book on pluralistic analysis with different taxonomical approaches
· Proposal to develop a pluralistic analysis project that would include a small number of works from a wide variety of perspectives and show the amount of material that can be discovered from these approaches
· Book is to have a pedagogical focus and would situate timbre alongside pitch and rhythm
· Potential for a multi-volume project if there is enough material
3. Discussion of relative formalizability of different analysis taxonomies for integration into OrchARD
· Since not all approaches to orchestration analyses are able to be taxonomic, how they can be formalized in such a way to create a data model in OrchARD?
· Can aims, functions, and aural sonology be taxonomized?
· Techniques and Functions:
o Started working on techniques at same time as OrchView, therefore adapted thoughts to what would have been able to be implemented
o Functions are being integrated into techniques
o Nested elements (especially when in an .xml file) helps developers
o Need to reduce amount of orchestration techniques (currently at 75)
o Most recent work has been focused on timbral manipulation techniques
o Recognition that the boundaries between taxonomies are fluid
· Aural Sonology: already a series of taxonomies in itself (5 main categories), will be practical to program in OrchView but will need a visualization tool
o What are the qualia? Different symbols for different properties, could be useful for characterizing the results but it depends on context
o Challenge is in gathering data (is it time-based/ recording-based? How to filter all the markings? How would one transform the annotation itself into data for OrchARD?)
· Qualia of perceptual "entities" (instruments, combinations, textures, sequences, segments)
o Could perhaps be partially integrated into aural sonology, but other approaches such as those developed in the Timbre Semantics group are also at play
4. Discussion of how these timbre and orchestration taxonomies intersect/compliment/ overlap with traditional musical analysis taxonomies and systems of classification and how to integrate these and other analysis approaches into the classroom.
· How does everything we are developing in the realm of timbre and orchestration intersect with more traditional types of analyses and classification (e.g.., with notions of voice leading)
· Members are looking into the connection between techniques and Fabien Lévy’s idea of functions
· It has been suggested that the best classroom situation would be articles, especially ones with prose and really good examples from one or a few pieces showing how to use the taxonomy system so that students can read a nuanced take on this using these types of analyses; having audio queued up for reader would be especially useful
· The future challenge will be finding the appropriate taxonomies and orchestration analyses and/or knowing what tools to use in what situations
· How to visualize new phenomenon/ taxonomies in analyses? Is there potential in analyses taking place fully in prose (as in writing about what’s happening in time)? Focusing on Gestalt psychology could be useful in aural engagement
o Such an approach may only result in expression of a low-level understanding of what’s happening in the music
o Even if you have a visual tool, in analyses some prose is still needed most of the time
· Aural sonology approach doesn’t have to be based on scores, but how is it visualized?
· Links between formal analysis and timbre, partially through motivic analysis
· H. Tutschku’s piano and electronic piece could be played at the next live workshop as an example of a piece with unnotated electroacoustic components
Action Items:
1. Select pieces for book project on a plurality of approaches to orchestration analysis. Put out call over course of next semester (November 2021). Submit a book proposal by end of coming academic year (April/May 2022)
2. Techniques: Finish design of new taxonomy (including definitions); finalize work already done so tools can start to be put in OrchView; programming in OrchView; implementation of data model in OrchARD.
3. Aural Sonology: won’t start working on this until techniques are done; look for funding.
4. Expand grouping effects analyses, adding in CORE pieces and more diverse orchestral repertoire.
5. Developing pedagogical materials based on perceptual grouping taxonomy.
6. Alpha testing of techniques taxonomy.
7. Beta testing of techniques taxonomy