Winter 2006

Date Speaker and Abstract
13.1.2006 Speaker: Godfried Toussaint
Affiliation: McGill University
Title: Computational Methods for the Analysis and Generation of Musical Rhythm Timelines
Abstract: Musical rhythm timelines are considered from the symbolic input point of view. Several methods used to represent rhythms, as well as measure rhythmic similarity are reviewed. New measures of rhythm similarity are proposed, and algorithms for their efficient computation are discussed. Analysing the histograms of inter-onset duration intervals in rhythms yields interesting mathematical and computational problems, and suggests methods for the automatic generation of new rhythms that have specific properties. Viewing rhythms as sequences (or strings) of symbols, suggests using tools from bioinformatics to perform phylogenetic analyses of families of rhythms. Such tools allow us to "reconstruct" "ancestral" rhythms, which may be used in automatic music composition systems, or to test theories of the evolution of musical rhythms. These applications will be illustrated with examples from African, Latin-American, and Flamenco music.
20.1.2006 To be determined.
27.1.2006 Jean-Daniel Boissonnat, INRIA Sophia-Antipolis.
3.2.2006 Speaker: Marc Raboy
Affilitation: McGill University
Tentative Title: Issues from the World Summit on the Information Society
10.2.2006 To be determined.
17.2.2006 To be determined.
Study Break
3.3.2006 To be determined.
10.3.2006 To be determined.
17.3.2006 To be determined.
24.3.2006 To be determined.
31.3.2006 To be determined.
7.4.2006 To be determined.

Speakers of Previous Semesters
McGill | SOCS Last modified: 11/10/05, Jörg Kienzle