Electronic pickup systems for acoustic instruments are often used in popular and contemporary music performances because they allow amplification and modification of a clean and direct signal. Strain gauge sensors on saxophone and clarinet reeds have been shown to be a useful tool to gain insight into tongue articulation during performance but also capture the reed vibrations. In our previous design, we used a procedure with cyanacrylate adhesive to glue the strain gauge sensors to the flat side of the synthetic single reeds. The new design integrates the sensor inside a synthetic reed, respectively between layers of fibre polymer and wood. This allows an industrial production of sensor reeds. Sensor reeds open up new possibilities to pick up woodwind instruments and to analyse, to modify, and to amplify the signal. A signal-to-noise analysis of the signals from both designs showed that a sensor, glued to the outside of the reed, produced a cleaner signal.

RhythmikMB bietet u. a. für die Arbeit mit inklusiven Gruppen kreative, entwicklungsbegleitende Wege, in der alle Teilnehmenden gemeinsam mit- und voneinander lernen können. In den Lehrveranstaltungen des Schwerpunktes Rhythmik in der Inklusions- und Heilpädagogik erhalten Rhythmikstudierende hierzu vertiefende theoretische und methodisch-didaktische Grundlagen zu diesem speziellen Fachgebiet. Zudem bekommen sie ausreichend Möglichkeiten, Praxiserfahrungen mit heterogenen, diversen und inklusiven Gruppen in pädagogischen und therapeutischen Einrichtungen zu sammeln. Dieser Artikel gibt einen Einblick in die inklusiv-pädagogischen Grundlagen der RhythmikMB-Pädagogik und fokussiert speziell auf die Arbeit mit Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen in inklusiven Gruppen.

A method is presented for reconstructing piano hammer forces through appropriate filtering of the measured string velocity. The filter design is based on the analysis of the pulses generated by the hammer blow and propagating along the string. In the five lowest octaves, the hammer force is reconstructed by considering two waves only: the incoming wave from the hammer and its first reflection at the front end. For the higher notes, four- or eight-wave schemes must be considered. The theory is validated on simulated string velocities by comparing imposed and reconstructed forces. The simulations are based on a nonlinear damped stiff string model previously developed by Chabassier, Chaigne, and Joly [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 134(1), 648–665 (2013)]. The influence of absorption, dispersion, and amplitude of the string waves on the quality of the reconstruction is discussed. Finally, the method is applied to real piano strings. The measured string velocity is compared to the simulated velocity excited by the reconstructed force, showing a high degree of accuracy. A number of simulations are compared to simulated strings excited by a force derived from measurements of mass and acceleration of the hammer head. One application to an historic piano is also presented.

Nonverbal auditory and visual communication helps ensemble musicians predict each other’s intentions and coordinate their actions. When structural characteristics of the music make predicting co-performers’ intentions difficult (e.g., following long pauses or during ritardandi), reliance on incoming auditory and visual signals may change. This study tested whether attention to visual cues during piano–piano and piano–violin duet performance increases in such situations. Pianists performed the secondo part to three duets, synchronizing with recordings of violinists or pianists playing the primo parts. Secondos’ access to incoming audio and visual signals and to their own auditory feedback was manipulated. Synchronization was most successful when primo audio was available, deteriorating when primo audio was removed and only cues from primo visual signals were available. Visual cues were used effectively following long pauses in the music, however, even in the absence of primo audio. Synchronization was unaffected by the removal of secondos’ own auditory feedback. Differences were observed in how successfully piano–piano and piano–violin duos synchronized, but these effects of instrument pairing were not consistent across pieces. Pianists’ success at synchronizing with violinists and other pianists is likely moderated by piece characteristics and individual differences in the clarity of cueing gestures used.

Ensemble musicians exchange auditory and visual signals that can facilitate interpersonal synchronization. Musical expertise improves how precisely auditory and visual signals are perceptually integrated and increases sensitivity to asynchrony between them. Whether expertise improves sensitivity to audiovisual asynchrony in all instrumental contexts or only in those using sound-producing gestures that are within an observer’s own motor repertoire is unclear. This study tested the hypothesis that musicians are more sensitive to audiovisual asynchrony in performances featuring their own instrument than in performances featuring other instruments. Short clips were extracted from audio-video recordings of clarinet, piano, and violin performances and presented to highly-skilled clarinetists, pianists, and violinists. Clips either maintained the audiovisual synchrony present in the original recording or were modified so that the video led or lagged behind the audio. Participants indicated whether the audio and video channels in each clip were synchronized. The range of asynchronies most often endorsed as synchronized was assessed as a measure of participants’ sensitivities to audiovisual asynchrony. A positive relationship was observed between musical training and sensitivity, with data pooled across stimuli. While participants across expertise groups detected asynchronies most readily in piano stimuli and least readily in violin stimuli, pianists showed significantly better performance for piano stimuli than for either clarinet or violin. These findings suggest that, to an extent, the effects of expertise on audiovisual integration can be instrument-specific; however, the nature of the sound-producing gestures that are observed has a substantial effect on how readily asynchrony is detected as well.

This book is part of an interdisciplinary research on artistic development from a cultural institutions studies perspective. The main questions answered are what artistic development is perceived to be and if and how it is practiced by opera organizations with particular emphasis to Young Artist’s Programmes. The book also identifies associated issues, stresses the importance of artistic development and offers reasons to support initiatives aimed at young professional artists. Among the issues discussed are taste, creative process, performance and skills, singer’s careers and the changing job description and role of artists. The book’s contribution to scientific knowledge is a comprehensive discussion on artistic development from a holistic point of view, with insights from areas such as aesthetics, musicology, performance studies, cultural studies, human resource management, cultural economics and cultural policy and management.The main findings can have a practical use in various areas such as University curricula, training and development programmes, opera houses’ policy and in the artistic profession in general.