Discovering genes for singing ability in Australian families. Music abilities are core to what makes us human, with singing ubiquitous in all cultures. Anecdotal evidence suggests that singing ability runs in families, supporting its genetic basis, however no research has systematically traced it across generations. Using an innovative web-based singing program and the latest molecular genetic techniques, this project aims to discover singing ability genes through the first Australian study of l ....Discovering genes for singing ability in Australian families. Music abilities are core to what makes us human, with singing ubiquitous in all cultures. Anecdotal evidence suggests that singing ability runs in families, supporting its genetic basis, however no research has systematically traced it across generations. Using an innovative web-based singing program and the latest molecular genetic techniques, this project aims to discover singing ability genes through the first Australian study of large families with many talented singers. This will generate new knowledge on the origins of human musicality and help Australia develop a sustainable source of cultural capital. It will build interdisciplinary research capacity and inform bespoke music learning programs that account for individual differences.Read moreRead less
Music can speak for you: making music with a deep net partner. This project aims to develop and evaluate a novel computational partner to aid composers and non-musicians to make personal music. One computational component learns to output musical structures that another component moulds towards user-desired features while encouraging innovation and exploration. Listeners’ evaluation of the musical outputs in terms of affect will be analysed, potentially allowing us to extend current music genera ....Music can speak for you: making music with a deep net partner. This project aims to develop and evaluate a novel computational partner to aid composers and non-musicians to make personal music. One computational component learns to output musical structures that another component moulds towards user-desired features while encouraging innovation and exploration. Listeners’ evaluation of the musical outputs in terms of affect will be analysed, potentially allowing us to extend current music generation software considerably. The expected outcomes will be a tool for musicians, but also for untrained people, young and older, allowing such untrained people to make personalized music. The tool can thus provide benefits to the creative arts, and to the educational and wellbeing support sectors.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100353
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,000.00
Summary
Universal mechanisms for the communication of musical emotion. This project aims to understand the universal perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying musical communication. Music is a language of the emotions with a remarkable capacity to communicate across personal and cultural boundaries. This project will develop and refine a computational toolbox of perceptual models in light of behavioural experiments using musical and non-musical sonic stimuli. These models will also be used to devel ....Universal mechanisms for the communication of musical emotion. This project aims to understand the universal perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying musical communication. Music is a language of the emotions with a remarkable capacity to communicate across personal and cultural boundaries. This project will develop and refine a computational toolbox of perceptual models in light of behavioural experiments using musical and non-musical sonic stimuli. These models will also be used to develop software to compose perceptually grounded music. The intended outcomes are increased knowledge of perception, composition and computational modelling of music, which will stimulate investigations into music's societal benefits and therapeutic applications.Read moreRead less
From sound to hearing: the integration of behavioural, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging research with computational models. McLachlan and Wilson have recently published a ground-breaking new model of the auditory system with important implications for treating deafness and understanding neurological disorders. In this research the predictions of the model will be experimentally validated using advanced neuroimaging techniques.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100961
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$456,000.00
Summary
The Musical Escape: Investigating Music and Imagination. Imagination plays a pivotal role in creativity as well as self-regulation. Yet, despite its important role throughout cognition, imagination is still ill-understood as it is notoriously difficult to systematically induce and measure. This project aims to deepen our understanding of imagination by using an innovative approach that combines quantitative, qualitative, and neuroscientific methodologies. It leverages the facts that music can re ....The Musical Escape: Investigating Music and Imagination. Imagination plays a pivotal role in creativity as well as self-regulation. Yet, despite its important role throughout cognition, imagination is still ill-understood as it is notoriously difficult to systematically induce and measure. This project aims to deepen our understanding of imagination by using an innovative approach that combines quantitative, qualitative, and neuroscientific methodologies. It leverages the facts that music can reliably induce imagination and that imagined orientation in time and space can be measured. Expected outcomes include free algorithmic tools capable of generating music that induce user-specified imagination to the benefit of informing the foundations of creativity and the phenomenology of imagination.Read moreRead less
The genetic basis of singing ability. This project aims to explore the heritability of music ability, focusing on singing and the contribution of genetic and environmental influences. Research suggests that deliberate practice (more than 10,000 hours) produces skilled musicianship, with minimal investigation of genetic influences. Mapping the human genome has opened up a new scientific frontier, and this project’s findings are expected to lead to the discovery of genes for singing. This will hel ....The genetic basis of singing ability. This project aims to explore the heritability of music ability, focusing on singing and the contribution of genetic and environmental influences. Research suggests that deliberate practice (more than 10,000 hours) produces skilled musicianship, with minimal investigation of genetic influences. Mapping the human genome has opened up a new scientific frontier, and this project’s findings are expected to lead to the discovery of genes for singing. This will help design and deliver music education programmes that take individual differences into account, differentiating between heritable aspects of musicianship and those more influenced by training.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101064
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,536.00
Summary
How musical rhythms entrain the human brain. This project is designed to investigate the brain mechanisms that allow humans to feel the beat in musical rhythms. Although such activity facilitates pro-social and therapeutic effects, the underlying brain mechanisms remain unknown. The project intends to examine the interface between musical rhythms, behaviour and brain activity to increase knowledge on a fundamental process of brain function: the dynamic coupling between perception and body moveme ....How musical rhythms entrain the human brain. This project is designed to investigate the brain mechanisms that allow humans to feel the beat in musical rhythms. Although such activity facilitates pro-social and therapeutic effects, the underlying brain mechanisms remain unknown. The project intends to examine the interface between musical rhythms, behaviour and brain activity to increase knowledge on a fundamental process of brain function: the dynamic coupling between perception and body movement. The project aims to provide insight into how psychological, environmental and neural mechanisms affect entrainment to rhythmic events and inform practices for education and clinical rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
The cognitive power of music. Why does music have life-changing effects on some people, and commonly produces powerful experiences in most of us? This project will unpack the common notion of the power of music from a cognitive perspective and will explain the mechanisms behind our attraction to music through empirical examination of human behaviours.
Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate wi ....Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate with others remain poorly understood. This project aims to investigate these mechanisms by examining relationships between behaviour, social factors, and brain structure and function in naturalistic and laboratory settings. This will inform the assessment and treatment of clinical conditions that affect movement timing and social interaction.Read moreRead less