Fwd: PhD Scholarship - Music and AI modelling

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PhD Scholarship in the Field of Music and Artificial Intelligence

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY

Start date: 01 April 2014

Plymouth University's Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music
Research (ICCMR) invite applications for doctoral scholarship to
develop a cross-disciplinary project in collaboration with Plymouth
University's Marine Institute, University of St. Andrews' School of
Biology and the Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory (CEAL) at
the University of Queensland, Australia.

The scholarship covers full-time UK/EU tuition fees rates and a
bursary at current research-council rates for full-time study (£13,726
per year in 2013/2014) for 3 years.

This scholarship is part of an unprecedented project funded by The
Leverhulme Trust to study the cultural evolution of humpback whale
song using agent-based modelling and computer music technology. This
is an innovative cross-disciplinary project, aimed at new insights in
our understanding of marine mammal cultures.

On winter breeding grounds, male humpbacks produce hierarchically
structured songs with repeated complex themes. The song evolves
structurally over time. Males sing virtually identical songs on
breeding grounds thousands of kilometres apart, and the songs on these
different grounds evolve in a coordinated way. Currently, we have
little understanding of this. In this project we will utilize computer
modelling to study this phenomenon.

Eligibility:

The successful candidate is expected to hold a good undergraduate
degree (2.1 or above) in Computing or Music Technology with a strong
programming syllabus, or other relevant discipline. They will also
hold a Masters qualification in a relevant subject. Knowledge of
implementing machine learning, Artificial Life simulations and signal
processing techniques are also highly desirable. Non-native speakers
of English are required to have IELTS 6.5 or above.

Note: Those requiring a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK are not
eligible for this funding. The successful candidate will be required
to be resident in/near Plymouth for the duration of the scholarship.

Further information & how to apply:

For more information about research at ICCMR please refer to:
http://cmr.soc.plymouth.ac.uk/

More about this post:
http://cmr.soc.plymouth.ac.uk/PhD_Scholarship_Dec_2013.pdf

For an application form and full details on how to apply, please visit
the website below and follow the link 'how to apply' to the
application form:
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=32190

Applications should be sent direct to Susan Matheron by email:
susan.matheron@plymouth.ac.uk


Note:

a) Please ensure the application is clearly marked ICCMR PhD Scholarship.
b) DO NOT send the application to Central Admissions but to Susan
Matheron (email above)

The closing date for applications is 12 NOON on Friday 31st January 2014.

ULCC Christmas carols for choir and audience

Friday 13 December 2013, 19:00
St George's Bloomsbury, WC1A 2HR
www.ulchamberchoir.co.uk

AHRC PhD Studentship in Music Psychology (CUK Musical Impact) at RNCM

AHRC PhD Studentship in Music Psychology (CUK Musical Impact) at RNCM



An AHRC-funded PhD studentship in Music Psychology is available from 1
September 2014 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK,
under the supervision of Professor Jane Ginsborg. The deadline for
applications to be received is Friday 3 January 2014; interviews will
take place in the week beginning 13 January 2014. Applicants should be
qualified to master's level in psychology; they should also be able to
show evidence of interest in and experience of music-making.



The studentship forms part of the AHRC-funded project Musical Impact:
Enhancing the Health and Wellbeing of Musicians (2013-2017)
(http://www.rcm.ac.uk/cps/musicalimpact/ ). This project is led by
Conservatoires UK, the organisation that represents nine major UK
conservatoires, in collaboration with scientists from Cardiff
University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, professional musicians
and their employers via the Musicians' Union (MU) and the Association
of British Orchestras (ABO) and health practitioners and researchers
linked to the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM)
and the International Health Humanities Network (IHHN).



The successful applicant will be undertaking research associated with
Work Package 3, Health Promotion in Music Education and the
Profession, contributing to literature reviews, data collection,
analysis and the preparation of outputs. Data collected will form the
basis of the student's doctoral thesis, underpinned by his or her own
independent scholarship. The thesis must be completed and submitted by
31 August 2017.



Details at http://www.rncm.ac.uk/research/programme/ahrc-phd-studentship-music-psychology-cuk-musical-impact/

Fwd: Fully-funded PhD Scholarship at Queen Mary, University of London

Applications are invited for a fully-funded PhD scholarship in the
Music Cognition Lab at Queen Mary, University of London.

The deadline for applications is 31 Jan 2014, the scholarship will
start in Sep/Oct 2014.

For full details and to apply visit:

http://music-cognition.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/phd.html

Marcus

--
Lecturer in Sound and Music Processing
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 6207
Web: http://webprojects.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/marcusp
Lab: http://music-cognition.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/

Fwd: Short-term research post in Optical Music Recognition

A post of Research Associate is available for 8 months from as soon as
possible after 1 January at Lancaster University. The aim of this
AHRC-funded project, a collaboration with Kia Ng at Leeds University,
is to improve the accuracy of Optical Music Recognition (OMR,
conversion of digital images of music scores to symbolic information
about the music by computer) by making use of multiple images of the
same or different scores of the same piece of music, or perhaps of
scores and parts, such as are now available on IMSLP. The role of this
post is to work on software to combine the outputs of existing OMR
programs when applied to different scans of the same music, with the
intention of producing a combined output more accurate than any of the
single outputs.



For details and online applications, see
http://hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=A856.



The time-scale for recruitment is very short. The closing date for
applications is 18 December 2013.



I am happy to answer enquiries about this post.



Alan Marsden

--

Alan Marsden <A.Marsden@lancaster.ac.uk>

Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts

Lancaster University, UK

SIG seminar: The Different Hearing project and classroom composing in the Czech Republic

Music Education Special Interest Group
Research Seminar Announcement

The Different Hearing project and classroom composing in the Czech Republic

Gabriela Vsetickova, Department of Music Education, Palacky
University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Tuesday 28 January 2014

11.45-12.45pm

Room 541

Further details from Lucy Green, l.green2@ioe.ac.uk

All are welcome

A presentation of the key concepts, principles and objectives, the
creative means and forms of the Different Hearing project for
creativity in music education and an outline of its position in the
framework of the Czech system of music education.

The Different Hearing project is the first and still the only project
in the Czech Republic focused on making music accessible in the form
of children's elementary composing. It ensued from the endeavour to
transform music education into a subject within which creativity plays
as significant a role as reproduction, and creating music is as
crucial as performing it; and where everyone is afforded the
opportunity to develop his or her abilities and skills irrespective of
their previous musical and socio-cultural experience.

Established in 2001, the Different Hearing programme linked up to the
conceptions of the British-German Response and Austrian Klangnetze
projects. It was inspired by their methodology, emphasis on creativity
and utilisation of non-musical elements, as well as team work during
lessons. Each sound and each expression is deemed to be musical, each
item is considered a musical instrument, spontaneous interaction
between sounds is understood as improvisation, and temporal fixation
of sounds and their subsequent reproduction as musical composition.

Gabriela Vsetickova is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
Music Education, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. After
MA studies in music education and history she completed her PhD in
music education in 2011. Besides music history (Czech music and music
of the 20th century) her professional interest encompasses creative
activities for children, especially classroom composing. She has
participated in the organisation and development of the Different
Hearing project for creativity in music education since 2007.

call for papers for EAS 2014

A frendly reminder!

CALL FOR PAPERS: DEADLINE APPROACHING!
EAS2014 "Every learner counts"
May 21-24, 2014, Nicosia, Cyprus

Submissions are invited for the 22nd European Association for Music in
Schools Conference which will be hosted by the Cyprus Music Institute
and the Department of Music and Dance of the University of Nicosia.
Deadline is November, 30.

Please visit our
website<http://www.eas-music.org/activities/eas-conferences/2014-nicosia-cy/call-for-papers/>
for more information and to download the submission form.

For more information please contact me or send an email to
eas2014@eas-music.org<mailto:eas2014@eas-music.org>

Music SIG - Tuesday 26 November, 1-2pm, Room 826

 

 

Music Education Special Interest Group

 

Research Seminar Announcement

 

Imperatives and Challenges for Popular Music Education in Mainland China

 

Professor Wai-Chung Ho, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

 

Tuesday 26^th November 2013

 

1-2pm

 

Room 826

 

Further details from Lucy Green, l.green2@ioe.ac.uk

 

All are welcome

 

Since the 1990s mainland China's modernisation and globalisation, together with its transition to a market economy, have created new imperatives for, and challenges to the school curriculum. Many reforms have been initiated to improve the quality of basic education in China, including areas such as the school curriculum, material incentives, teachers' professional development, and students' personal interests. As a result, the 2011 reform of the Curriculum Standards for Primary Education and Junior Secondary Education mark the first time that the school curriculum has officially included popular songs. With particular reference to Beijing and Shanghai, this empirical study explores Chinese adolescents' popular music preferences in their daily lives, and to what extent and in what ways they prefer learning popular music, rather than more traditional music curricula, in schools. Data were drawn from questionnaires completed by 2,971 students in Beijing, 1,730 secondary students in Shanghai, interviews with 55 students in Beijing and 60 Shanghai students between 2011 and 2012. The findings can be interpreted as indicating that music and music education, whether in formal or informal settings, are complex cultural constructs that are reinvented through the intertwined interplay between different actors' preferred musical styles in their multileveled cultural world. This study examines the challenges that mainland China faces concerning the promotion of popular music in school music education, by moving beyond oppositions between culture and power, tradition and modernity, the global and the national, and the pedagogical issues resulting from the introduction of popular music in contemporary China's education.

 

 

Wai-Chung Ho completed her PhD in music education at the Institute of Education, University of London, in 1996. She is a professor in the Department of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests are the sociology of music, school music education, and the comparative study of East Asian music education. Her research has focused on inter-linked areas of development, education policy and reform in school education, as well as values in education across school curricula in Chinese countries, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Wai-Chung is a frequent contributor to leading international research journals in education, music education and cultural studies, and has been published in journals such as the British Journal of Music Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, International Journal of Music Education, and Music Education Research. Her book, School Music Education and Social Change in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (Brill, 2011) examines recent reforms and innovations in school music education within these changing Chinese societies, and compares, from a sociopolitical perspective, how music education in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei has adjusted to the forces of globalisation, localization and Sinofication. In addition, Wai-Chung has examined pedagogical issues concerning the introduction of popular music in contemporary education, as well as the unique challenges facing mainland China's promotion of popular music in school music education.

 

Best wishes

Trijntje on behalf of Lucy Green.

Administrator

Institute of Education

Tel 020 7612 6346

 

 

Youth Music pioneers new working partnerships

 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

11^TH OCTOBER, 2013

 

YOUTH MUSIC PROMOTES PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SCHOOLS

AND OTHER MUSIC EDUCATION PROVIDERS

 

Pioneering new 'Exchanging Notes' music projects support young people at risk

 

 

The National Foundation for Youth Music launched a pioneering new initiative today to fund partnerships between schools and other specialist music education providers. Grants of up to £120,000 will be made available for music projects delivered by these new partnerships.

 

The 'Exchanging Notes' initiative will also include an action research project to evaluate the educational, musical and other outcomes of these new models of partnerships. Over a four year period, they will be followed to examine how the distinctive educational approaches used in school and in out-of-school settings may be combined. The study will then explore the benefits of the combined approach for young people at risk of low attainment, disengagement or educational exclusion.

 

The decision to launch the action research project follows publication of Youth Music's 'Communities of Music Education' pilot study which highlighted some of the key differences in music education experienced outside and inside the classroom. The study noted that the teaching style used in the out-of-school music projects that were observed, placed an equal focus on personal and social outcomes as well as musical outcomes. The findings also indicated that partnership-working between different settings was a positive and valuable process with practitioners recognising strengths in different methods of delivery.

 

Youth Music believes that the "Exchanging Notes' module will be an opportunity to explore the benefits of this combined approach for music projects taking place both in and outside of school. It will further encourage the exchange of ideas, practice and understanding of effective music teaching techniques between practitioners working in these different settings.

 

Matt Griffith says:  "There are many great examples of high-quality effective music education practice across in-school and out-of-school settings. No rigorous study over such a long period has ever been done of the benefits of combining these different approaches for young people at risk of low attainment or exclusion, so we hope that this research will stimulate fresh thinking and improve our collective understanding of high-quality music education. Ultimately, we want to give young people the widest possible variety of ways to work with music."

 

GRANTS OF UP TO £120,000

 

Youth Music is now seeking applications for grant awards of up to £120,000 from partnerships between schools (or a number of schools working together) and external music organisations. Projects are expected to commence delivery in September 2014 and run for four academic terms until July 2018, with grant awards of up to £30,000 available per year, totalling £120,000 over the four year period. The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 10^th February, 2014. 

 

Ten projects will be selected and the delivery of the music education activity will be subject to a large-scale independent evaluation. Each project will take part in a longitudinal action research study over a four year period to evaluate the overall impact of the combined approach in relation to the target group of young people facing challenging circumstances in their lives.

 

Further details about the 'Exchanging Notes' module can be found at http://network.youthmusic.org.uk/exchangingnotes .  Enquiries can be addressed to grants@youthmusic.org.uk

 

 

ENDS

 

 

1.About Youth Music

 

Music-making is life-changing. Every year, Youth Music provides more than 90,000 young people with the opportunity to make music, helping them to overcome the challenges they face in their lives. Our music projects support young people to develop their creative and social skills, make positive contributions to their community and life happy, successful lives.

 

Our on-going research allows us to identify the ways to engage young people and drive fresh-thinking in music education. We also provide a growing online community for thousands of music education professionals. We know that many young people still need our help.

Youth Music supports projects working across all music genres.

2. The study 'Communities of Music Education: A pilot study' was commissioned by Youth Music and published jointly in 2012 by Youth Music and the Institute of Music Education. The report of the study can be found at http://www.youthmusic.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/communities-of-music-education.html

3.  Youth Music's online network provides a forum for thousands of music professionals and music educators to share ideas, innovations and advice on best practice www.youthmusic.org.uk/network .

4. For further information please contact:

 

 

 

 

 

Fwd: The British Library - Open day for Music PhD students

The British Library is running a Doctoral Open Day to introduce new
PhD students in Music to the Library. This will take place on Friday
November 29th.

Students will learn about our music collections, find out how to
access them, and meet our expert staff and other researchers in their
field. This event is aimed at new PhD students, including Masters
students who are planning to continue their research at doctoral
level.

The music collections at the British Library are unparalleled in their
scope and diversity. Several million items of printed music and sound
recordings across all genres sit alongside original manuscripts from
Purcell to Panufnik, Monteverdi to Maxwell Davies, providing a wealth
of material to aid and inspire researchers and performers.

You can find out more, and book a place here: http://bit.ly/19h36CO

It costs £5 to attend, which includes lunch and refreshments. A
limited number of £20 travel bursaries are available to students
travelling from outside the Greater London area.

Please pass this information on to your colleagues and students.

Sonia Jones
Higher Education Team
The British Library