Abstract

On the use of intelligent computational methods for music performance analysis
Gerhard Widmer

The presentation gives a broad overview of some of our research on empirical, computer-based piano performance analysis, with a special focus on techniques and methods that computer science can contribute to the quantitative study of expressive performance. These comprise, among other things, (semi-)automatic measuring methods that extract aspects such as timing from audio recordings; algorithms for aligning different performances for purposes of comparison or annotation; animated visualisations of expressive parameters; algorithms that discover patterns in performance-related data; and computer programs that attempt to model and even predict certain (low-level) aspects of performance. I will show some examples of these methods in action, and will also briefly discuss the potential use of such technology in music-didactic contexts.