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From: monro_g@maths.su.oz.au
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Fruitful research areas - summary
Message-ID: <1990May25.090038.20344@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Date: 25 May 90 09:00:38 GMT
Reply-To: monro_g@maths.su.oz.au ()
Organization: Mathematics, University of Sydney
Lines: 94

I asked a little while ago for references to good research in the area of 
comp.music, and also for fruitful topics for graduate students.

All the replies to the net were collected neatly in Music-Research Digest
Vol. 5 #46, so I won't repeat them here.  Stephen Page also sent me a copy 
of his reply.  Additionally, Dean.Rubine@CS.CMU.EDU sent me a long and
helpful reply, much of which is reproduced below.  There was no response 
from one or two people who have told us at length about bad research and 
fruitless research areas.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

From Dean Rubine:

>I've worked in the following subfields, all of which, IMHO, have some good
>research going on (I'm basically a technical person):
>
>	A. Analysis/Synthesis of instrument tones
>	B. Digital Signal Processing
>	C. New Instrument Interfaces
>	D. Real Time MIDI performance interfaces
>	D. Languages for Computer Music/Real Time Control
>
>As for references, I'll give a few, but there are lots more.
>
>	CMJ=Computer Music Journal
>	ICMC=Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference
>	JAES=Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
>
>Analysis/Synthesis of instrument tones:
>	Moorer, CMJ 1(1)
>	Chowning, JAES 21(#?) July/Aug 73
>	J. Smith & X. Serra, ICMC 87
>	Karplus & Strong  CMJ??
>	X. Rodet (CHANT program, and FOF) CMJ ?(?)
>	M. Serra JAES 38(3)
>
>Digital Signal Processing
>	Moorer CMJ 1(1)
>	Moorer "About this Reverberation Business", Foundations of Computer
>		Music, Roads  & Strawn, Eds
>	J. Smith ICMC 85 "...Waveguides..."
>
>New Instrument Interfaces
>	All of CMJ 14(1), for example
>
>Real Time MIDI performance interfaces
>	Dannenberg, "...computer accompaniment..."  ICMC87, ICMC85(??)
>	(maybe "Bloch and Dannenberg", don't have it handy)
>	X. Chabot ??
>
>Languages for Computer Music/Real Time Control
>	Mathews (The Music "N" languages) (No reference handy)
>	Dannenberg et al, "Arctic...", CMJ 10(4)
>	Dannenberg "Canon", CMJ???, "Fugue" ICMC89
>

[Some fruitful topics for graduate students]

>In the technical fields, computer music grad students come in two flavors,
>either electrical engineers, or computer scientists.  EEs like to build low
>level hardware and/or do software signal-processing or synthesis.  CS types
>like to do interactive MIDI stuff, algorithmic composition, and languages and
>operating systems.  As for specific topics, pick a nice big open problem, and
>go after the pieces.  As an example, real-time human/computer improvisation
>involves 
>
>	1. Tracking of human instrumental input
>		use a MIDI device or monophonic pitch detector
>		RESEARCH AREA: polyphonic pitch tracking to MIDI
>	2. Extraction of beat information from input
>		RESEARCH AREA: A computer "foot tapper" which given, e.g.
>			MIDI input, determines where the downbeats are
>	3. Real-time harmonic analyis
>		RESEARCH AREA: Given MIDI input (and maybe some style
>		assumptions), produce chord charts as output
>	4. Real-time composition
>		RESEARCH AREA: Given a "lead sheet" produce an accompaniment
>		in real-time
>
>    Other big problems which can be similarly broken up are computerized aids
>to transcription (e.g. input: recording; output: sheet music), score editing
>(sub-issues of music representation, user interfaces, ...) and, with all the
>fast hardware that's appearing, doing some of the new synthesis algorithms
>(e.g. physical models) in real-time with real-time human gestural control is
>also becoming feasible.  I could easily go on, but you can get just as many
>ideas by reading the tables of contents to recent (or not-so-recent) CMJs and
>ICMC proceedings.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Gordon Monro
  University of Sydney.    Internet: monro_g@maths.su.oz.au