The Western Australia New Music Archive: 1970 - today: finding, accessing, remembering, performing. This project sees the creation of the Western Australian New Music Archive, a digital repository of and interface to Western Australian music composed from 1970 to the present day. A partnership between peak state and national bodies, the project will also involve the performance and recording of works from the archive.
Controlling interactive music performance: enhancing live performances by human musicians and algorithmic computer systems. This project will investigate techniques for the control of computer music systems during performances with a musician. It will identify and evaluate parameters and patterns for expressive variation of music algorithms, contribute new theories of music representation, and provide insights into human interactions with semi-autonomous technologies.
Understanding motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. This project examines motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. It applies major theoretical explanations from other domains where optimising motivation and practice quality has consistently been found to increase performance, persistence, learning, creativity, and wellbeing. The expected outcomes of the project address the competitiveness of Australian musicians, particularly in light of significantly lo ....Understanding motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. This project examines motivation and practice quality in elite music performance. It applies major theoretical explanations from other domains where optimising motivation and practice quality has consistently been found to increase performance, persistence, learning, creativity, and wellbeing. The expected outcomes of the project address the competitiveness of Australian musicians, particularly in light of significantly lower funding for music institutions compared to international counterparts. The research endeavours to inform understandings about the nature of motivation and practice more generally, by extending conceptions that have until now been formed largely through research in non-artistic domains of human accomplishment.Read moreRead less
Australian Youth Orchestra's Contribution to Musical Life through Educational/Performance Programs for Aspiring Musicians in Urban, Regional and Rural Australia. The history of AYO, which is Australia's centre for excellence for aspiring orchestral musicians and an arts company responsive to changing socio-artistic conditions, needs investigating re the bridge it provides to the professional music world, its socio-artistic importance, and to answer calls for accountability. Through research int ....Australian Youth Orchestra's Contribution to Musical Life through Educational/Performance Programs for Aspiring Musicians in Urban, Regional and Rural Australia. The history of AYO, which is Australia's centre for excellence for aspiring orchestral musicians and an arts company responsive to changing socio-artistic conditions, needs investigating re the bridge it provides to the professional music world, its socio-artistic importance, and to answer calls for accountability. Through research into its innovative training and performance programs and archives (1948 - the present) and comparisons of its role with state and overseas youth orchestras, this project will measure and interpret AYO's contributions to Australia's cultural life in urban, regional and rural areas, including its participants' accelerated musical development and enhanced career opportunities.Read moreRead less
Transformations from Renaissance to Baroque: The Cultural and Musical Significance of Giovanni Gabrieli. The Western European tradition forms a significant part of Australia's culture, and it is important that Australians are contributors to the extension of this tradition as well as being consumers. This project will discover new music and materials that will be of immense interest to many Australians, and it will make its discoveries known in an accessible way that meets the demand in Austral ....Transformations from Renaissance to Baroque: The Cultural and Musical Significance of Giovanni Gabrieli. The Western European tradition forms a significant part of Australia's culture, and it is important that Australians are contributors to the extension of this tradition as well as being consumers. This project will discover new music and materials that will be of immense interest to many Australians, and it will make its discoveries known in an accessible way that meets the demand in Australian society. My leadership in Renaissance music studies, especially Gabrieli, is contributing to Australia's involvement in the dynamic, international revival of early music, as well as facilitating telecasts, broadcasts, concerts and recordings.Read moreRead less
Developing techniques for evolutionary music. Traditional compositional conventions do not meet the needs of contemporary composers who are increasingly working in non-linear media, such as DVDs, the Internet, video games, and mobile phones. This research will create a new class of algorithmic music techniques inspired by evolutionary processes to meet these challenges. While exploring new musical techniques, this research will provide new insights into the applicability of theoretical principle ....Developing techniques for evolutionary music. Traditional compositional conventions do not meet the needs of contemporary composers who are increasingly working in non-linear media, such as DVDs, the Internet, video games, and mobile phones. This research will create a new class of algorithmic music techniques inspired by evolutionary processes to meet these challenges. While exploring new musical techniques, this research will provide new insights into the applicability of theoretical principles from biological evolution and artificial life to support human creativity.Read moreRead less
Islam and Ideologies of War, Gender and Class as Determinants of Musical Identity in Twentieth Century Aceh, Indonesia. In the colonial and postcolonial periods, the natural wealth and strategic location of Aceh province brought it fame, foreign contact and frequent war, yet its cultural expressions - which can help explain Acehnese behaviour and the current war situation - are poorly known. Aceh's musical identity is determined by intersections between the music's internal syntax and extramusic ....Islam and Ideologies of War, Gender and Class as Determinants of Musical Identity in Twentieth Century Aceh, Indonesia. In the colonial and postcolonial periods, the natural wealth and strategic location of Aceh province brought it fame, foreign contact and frequent war, yet its cultural expressions - which can help explain Acehnese behaviour and the current war situation - are poorly known. Aceh's musical identity is determined by intersections between the music's internal syntax and extramusical associations arising from ideologies and functions of religion, combat, gender and class; history of noble and religious leadership; and social change. New theories are presented that relate musical style to the ideologies and explain the performing arts' fusion of indigenous, Arabic and other foreign elements.Read moreRead less
Sustainable futures for music cultures: Toward an ecology of musical diversity. The project will contribute to a vibrant and diverse musical life in Australia, and by extension the sense of wellbeing of its population. Further, it has the potential to substantially contribute to Australia's reputation as an innovative, forward looking nation by taking the lead in the emerging sub-discipline of applied ethnomusicology. Finally, from the perspective of the National Research Priorities, the project ....Sustainable futures for music cultures: Toward an ecology of musical diversity. The project will contribute to a vibrant and diverse musical life in Australia, and by extension the sense of wellbeing of its population. Further, it has the potential to substantially contribute to Australia's reputation as an innovative, forward looking nation by taking the lead in the emerging sub-discipline of applied ethnomusicology. Finally, from the perspective of the National Research Priorities, the project will contribute to fostering understanding between cultures in Australia and the region by increasing insight into the working of other cultures, focusing on the Asia-Pacific.Read moreRead less
Smart Music: Combining music perception and algorithmic composition. Music is an important aspect of Australian culture and a key driver of the creative industries. A better understanding of music will provide the basis for enhanced computer music techniques that support creative musicians, result in more efficient music production, and lead to the creation of interesting new music. This project connects Australian and International researchers in a world-leading team to produce "smart" compute ....Smart Music: Combining music perception and algorithmic composition. Music is an important aspect of Australian culture and a key driver of the creative industries. A better understanding of music will provide the basis for enhanced computer music techniques that support creative musicians, result in more efficient music production, and lead to the creation of interesting new music. This project connects Australian and International researchers in a world-leading team to produce "smart" computer software that can make music using many of the same techniques as the human mind. Tools based on this research could be applied to assist with music education or be used by professional musicians to improve their music enterprises.Read moreRead less