Workshops

 

Below you will find information on the workshops that are offered during SysMus22. Registration will open in August. Some workshops have limited capacity, so be sure to know which workshop you would like to attend and register in time. Note that…

• Workshops are offered simultaneously, so you can only choose one workshop per day.
• Workshops indicated with a P only have physical attendance, workshops indicated with a P/V allow for physical as well as virtual attendance.

 

Wednesday 7/09

Introduction to spatial audio and room acoustics (P)

Abstract: The workshop starts with a short overview of the speaker setup in the lab, followed by an introduction to higher-order ambisonics. The main part of the workshop is a hands-on session to explore and create a spatial audio piece on the 80-speaker setup, with a final downmix to binaural audio.  Finally, we conclude with a short demo about room acoustic simulation, combining both the speaker setup and binaural audio.

Requirements: Laptop with Ableton Suite 11 (trial, https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/) + envelop4live (https://github.com/EnvelopSound/EnvelopForLive) + headphones

Bio: Bart Moens is lab coordinator of IPEM’s research facilities in the Krook. After obtaining a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, his main focus was the development of the Art Science Interaction Lab to a multimodal facility featuring an 80-speaker spatial sound system, motion capture, XR/VR/AR, EEG and projection system.

Analog and digital sound synthesis (P)

Abstract: This workshop will introduce participants to digital sound synthesis using the Max MSP application and analog sound synthesis using the historical EMS Synthi 100. Participants will get an extensive introduction to working with the Max MSP software and learn various ways to deal with audio and control signals. They will learn several ways to process audio such as filters, ring modulation, FM synthesis, reverberation and play with these in both the digital and analog domains.

Requirements: Laptop with Max MSP (trial, https://cycling74.com/downloads), headphone if possible

Max participants: 12

Bio: Bavo Van Kerrebroeck is a researcher in the fields of embodied (musical) interaction, extended reality and human-computer interaction. He works with extended reality and audio spatialization technologies to enable and investigate the dynamical processes underlying coordination between musical players. He is currently finalizing his PhD at the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM).

Research in the wild (P/V)

Abstract:  This workshop will focus on conducting music research “in the wild” – in real-life music contexts, as opposed to in the lab.

The first part of the session will focus on pros and cons of conducting research in the wild. The workshop facilitator will draw upon their professional experience of conducting music psychology research and create space for workshop participants to share their opinions and discuss their experiences of conducting music research beyond the lab. The second part of the workshop will focus on practical aspects of researching in the wild. Participants will discuss and co-create a list of considerations and approaches to ensure good quality data when researching in environments allowing little control. This will be complemented by the facilitator’s list of considerations based on their research data (i.e. based on recent A/B testing of different approaches conducted by the facilitator and their colleagues). The final part of this workshop will focus on the ethics of conducting research in the wild, with a specific focus on what ethical considerations should be made when working in sensitive contexts (e.g. inclusive ensemble, youth centres etc.).

This session will cover a range of inter-disciplinary quantitative and qualitative research methods, including surveys (i.e. how to ensure high survey up-take), interviews and focus groups (i.e. how to recruit and create space where participants feel safe to contribute and open-up), observations (i.e. in what context can research observations be appropriate and what steps should the observer take in order to ensure the participants are comfortable with being observed), as well as ethnographic approaches (i.e. what is the value of being a researcher-participant), particularly focusing on video ethnographic approaches (i.e. how using a camera will change your life as a researcher in the wild).

Requirements: n/a

Bio: Dr Maruša Levstek is an inter-disciplinary mixed-methods researcher who has spent most of her research years “in the wild”. Maruša has recently completed a PhD exploring social change through marginalised young people’s participation with group music-making, as part of which she worked with five different music hubs and 13 different music projects “in the wild”, many of which involved vulnerable groups of young people and protective music facilitators. Maruša is now a post-doctorate researcher with StoryFutures (Royal Holloway, University of London) where she researches people’s experiences of immersive arts (e.g. virtual reality and augmented reality) and is currently preparing a user’s guide on research in the wild with her colleagues, as part of which they are conducting some practical research on different research approaches.

Thursday 8/09

Introduction to Motion Capture for performance (P)

Abstract: This workshop aims to introduce participants to the possibilities and challenges of motion capture. For this we will use the Qualisys tracking system which is installed in our ASIL Lab. After a small introduction, participants will receive a short movement workshop and create a dancing score. They will be divided in two groups; the first group will be wearing MoCap suits and will have their movement captured while the second will be dancing with the use of tracked props. They will then have the chance to perform their score, while being tracked by our 14 infra-red cameras. Practical details like skeleton creation, data clean-up and exporting for game engines will be demonstrated.

Requirements: n/a

Max participants: 12

Bio: Adriana La Selva is a theatre-maker, a performer, a networker, and a researcher. She is currently a fellow FWO researcher with the project Practicing Odin Teatret’s Archives at S:PAM (Studies in Performance and Media- Ghent University) – in association with IPEM (Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music). She is a member of the international theatre group The Bridge of Winds, and co-founder of Cross Pollination, an international network of performers and researchers.

Ioulia Marouda is a multidisciplinary designer with a focus on digital and interactive media. She has a background in architecture, interaction design and scenography. She is currently a PhD candidate between art science and computer science at IPEM (Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music) in Ghent University, working on a research project on translating embodied knowledge of an analogue theatre archive in XR.

Interactive settings for interacting brains: Dual-EEG approaches in music research (P)

Abstract: ‘Hyperscanning’ is an umbrella term referring to simultaneous recording of brain activity involving multiple participants. The approach has recently seen a rise in popularity (and arguably hype) across research domains related to human interactions and joint action. Since embodied music cognition pertains to these domains, in 2019 IPEM decided to implement a dual-EEG setup in its facilities with three goals in mind: 1) grasping neural dynamics at the millisecond-scale, 2) recording two interacting subjects at a time and 3) allowing a certain degree of mobility during experimental musical tasks.

During the first half of the program, we will show how to set up a dual-EEG recording in the context of a joint rhythmic task. The activity will be hands-on, but we will skip the more tedious parts of preparing participants to jump into the core of the program, namely situating the technical setup in a discussion on music research. The second part of the workshop will consist of an interactive discussion where we think critically together about hyperscanning, its neurophysiological meaning, its meaning for music research and, perhaps most importantly, recognize its limitations.

I will prepare some points of discussion, touch upon analysis methods that I have adopted or developed in my own research, but everything will be accessible to the non-specialized attendees and will evolve in a round table. Everybody will get the chance to ask questions, share ideas about potential future research and possibly their own experience with EEG or other neuroimaging techniques.

The workshop will be closed with a Q&A session held by a representative of ANT Neuro, namely the manufacturer of the showcased EEG system and one of the sponsors of Sysmus ’22.

Requirements: n/a

Max participants: 12

Bio: Mattia Rosso joined the enterprise of bringing neuroscience into the research program of IPEM Institute for Systematic Musicology after obtaining his Master’s degree in Body and Mind Science at University of Turin (IT). His work is focused on human rhythmic behavior, and develops along two lines of research. On the one hand, he investigates the behavioral and neural dynamics underlying interpersonal coordination. On the other hand, he develops methods for quantifying the stability of neural entrainment during synchronization with environmental rhythms. The methodology of his research consists of a combination of behavioral and electroencefalography (EEG) analyses from interactive experimental scenarios, with a core focus on multimodal signal processing and design of novel experimental paradigms.

SpotiPy: getting started with APIs for music research (P/V)

Abstract: For better or worse, the internet has become entangled in so much of our lives. The abundance of data online has provided a way for researchers to explore all manner of topics and human behaviours, from studying shopping habits to analysing public discourse on Twitter. Application program interfaces (APIs) are software intermediaries provided by some websites that allow access to certain data related to their content. Access is typically gained by writing small computer programs in a language such as Python to send ‘requests’ to those websites to retrieve specific information. While this does require a degree of technical know-how and coding skills, acquiring those skills is becoming increasingly accessible, and they can be a valuable asset in a researcher’s toolkit for both qualitative and quantitative research.

In this workshop, we will look at how to access the Spotify API and use it as a tool for music research, both theoretically and practically with the opportunity for some hands-on coding. The workshop is intended to be accessible to all, with the possibility for various levels of engagement depending on technical skill. A basic knowledge of programming is useful, but not essential. Attendees will gain:

1. A background to APIs and how they can be used in research.
2. An understanding of the technical requirements and how to get started writing your own code to gather data, using the SpotiPy Python library to access the Spotify Data Catalogue as a starting point.
3. Some basic code to take away and try for yourself!

Further information and resources will be shared with confirmed attendees nearer the event.

Requirements: n/a

Bio: Rory Kirk is a third year PhD student at the University of Sheffield, with a background in music and a Masters in Psychology of Music. His work looks at how music can be used to help with sleep, with a specific view to developing an application that uses biofeedback to track sleep onset and inform an adaptive musical stimulus to help a user wind down and fall asleep. In this quest, he utilises a variety of computational and programming techniques, including music information retrieval, machine learning procedures, and web data acquisition methods such as using APIs.