juggling, MIR, ODBS, research
In Reflections on March 3, 2010 at 1:10 pm
March is highlighted by chance opportunities and my ability to capitalize on them, while managing my regular commitments. I love the challenge of seizing up a short-lived opportunity, and creating the foundation of future work. Doing this requires a certainly level of comfort with putting different hats on, which is what a good generalist is able to do effectively. My mind has gotten into a groove that’s very much like the sweet spot every car engine has when it reaches a certain speed: maximum speed with the highest level of efficiency. It does require regular maintenance, like getting enough sleep, taking breaks away from work, and trusting your own ability to work ‘smarter’, not just ‘harder’.
At my KMDI talk, I met the co-founder of a tech start-up that deals with music and computation. My area of expertise is a little ‘softer’ compared to the technical know-how they have. I am interested in the flow of information from the ‘front’ end (interface design, visual communication, visual flow, etc) and the structure of information and knowledge for the user (information architecture, knowledge classification, etc.). Ultimately, we deal with the same ‘stuff’, just different objectives that compliment each other. Knowing how small the community dealing with technological research specific to the music domain is, it was a pleasure to learn that they are based in the city.
In other news, the On-Demand Book Service (ODBS) got a huge injection of money to move some of the current projects forward. The catch? We need to spend all of it before March 31st. I admit, it’s a nice problem to have.
academic, KMDI, MIR, musicianship
In Design, music-esque, thesis on June 12, 2009 at 8:55 am
Our class is officially ending next week, where a ‘near final’ version of our artifact is to be handed in. Lysanne and I have managed to get a lot of the ground work done, and it’s a matter of actually creating the graphical elements of the poster now, and preparing them for review next Thursday.
This has become essentially a framework for a tool where both a general or amateur audience who is interested in music can explore vis-a-vis musicianship categories, and where more advance and self-aware musicians or students can share their knowledge, and learn from each other. We’re basing our model on Andy Arthur’s article entitled in part, “Transdisciplinary concepts and skills in artistic practice” (2006) and Michael Hannan’s article entitled, “Contemporary music student expectations of musicianship training” (2006). So here’s where we’re at.
idea, KMDI, MIR, musicianship
In Design, music-esque on May 26, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I found an incredibly apt article by Estelle Jorgensen in the British Journal of Music Education that addresses the issue of musicianship in music education, which provided a solid foundation from which to develop the DIY musicianship self-assessment tool idea. There are a few salient points that I think should be reflected in the way we model the concept of musicianship, and the design outcomes that should be established:
- There is no ‘right way’ to learn music. The process is one of trying out different things, and finding one that you have an affinity for.
- Overemphasis on the western tradition and the enlightement concept of scientific understanding of music in the form of analysis does not accurate or aptly capture broadly what music-making or music-appreciation consists of.
- The collaborative and communal nature of music (in its making, sharing, teaching, etc.) is an important factor to consider when grappling with how this tool may be used.
To be continued…
ethnomusicology, MIR, neil cohn
In thesis on May 12, 2009 at 11:27 am
After reading Neil Cohn’s essay entitled “Visual Lexicon” (he’s studying visual language via comics and speaking in Toronto this Thursday), I had basically no brain cells left to really reflect critically on his research, although I tend to have a soft spot for work that tries to bring cognition into the realm of the creative arts. In terms of my musical interests, Cohn brings up the point that music appears at first to have all the qualities of a Natural Language (instead of a lower case language) with the key exception that it does not convey concepts. The music advocate in me wants to object (what can’t music accomplish?!), but upon reflection, the only viable angle I really have is that while music does not convey concepts, we do have concepts about music in order for us to talk about it. So, what can I talk about?
academic, conference, MIR
In ICTs, music-esque on April 30, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Today I received a notice for a call for papers in a Workshop on Exploring Musical Information Spaces that is part of the European Conference on Digital Libraries. I got especially excited about their interest in musicological information, interfaces and user studies, as those three pretty much summarize the direction I would like to take in my graduate thesis. I am almost crazy enough to think maybe I could whip up a paper in a month and a half, but perhaps I am getting overly excited about a topic I am passionate about. I will certainly watch out for the papers that turn up in this workshop, and perhaps aim to submit something for next year’s conference.
As you have no doubt noticed in my de.li.ci.ous feed at the bottom of the page, I have been trying to compile a list of MIR related conferences that I should stay on top of. This one is, by far, the best one I have found in the last month. Whee.
Ok, I should stop, I’m getting giddy again.
