Recent Projects
The research topics discussed in the MaML lab are numerous and eclectic, but generally revolve around music cognition and learning. Some of the specific areas of focus include:
Theoretical Work
Neuroscience in Music Research: Critical Challenges and Contributions
Andrew Goldman (IU)
Doing work on music and neuroscience involves experimentation, but also theoretical context and reflection. This article considers how neuroscience can contribute to music research in principle, and addresses some of the philosophical challenges inherent in the work. The work has been presented at the 2022 Society for Music Perception and Cognition conference in Portland, Oregon, the 2022 Society for Music Theory conference in New Orleans, LA, and will be presented at the International Conference for Music Perception and Cognition in Tokyo, Japan. It is currently under review with the journal Music Perception.
Returning to the Continuum: On the Value of Typological Distinctions in the Analysis of Improvisation
Andrew Goldman (IU)
Some of Dr. Goldman’s neuroscientific work is on improvisation. This theoretical piece, published in Music Theory Online in 2022, addresses some theoretical questions about the study of improvisation, including some discussion of relevant—but perhaps understudied—neuroscientific aspects.
A PRISMA Review of practice Research in Music Contexts
Ee Ran How (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Leonard Tan (IU, now Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), and Peter Miksza (IU)
Dr. Miksza’s primary research interest lies in the investigation of social- and cognitive-psychological dimensions of musical skill acquisition (e.g., practicing and self-regulation, expertise, motivation, musical expression, musical memory). This review article published in Musicae Scientiae employed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method to systematically review the extant research literature pertaining to music practice (reaching as far back as 1928). Our goal with this work was to inform approaches to music teaching and learning and provide direction for researchers who wish to move the field forward.
Pedagogical Work
Teaching Kids to Practice
Peter Miksza (IU) and Stepahanie Prichard (University of Maryland)
We created a book for music teachers that leverages the social- and cognitive-psychological literature pertaining to self-regulated learning to inform methods for teaching students how to become self-sufficient practicers. A good deal of the methods described in this book are drawn from our own research on how beginning, intermediate, and advanced instrumental musicians develop into sophisticated learners. The materials in this book also draw heavily from research that has been conducted about developing musicians’ motivational dispositions. The book is currently in the final stages of production and will be available for teachers soon.
Empirical Work
The Effect of Aural and Visual Presentation Formats on the Perception of Affective Dimensions of Expressive Musical Performance
Peter Miksza (IU), Robert Potter (IU–The Media School), and Daphne Tan (University of Toronto)
Along with colleagues from within IU and abroad, Dr. Miksza conducted an experiment to determine whether and how viewing performers’ facial expressions would influence an audience’s perceptions of the emotional intentions of their spoken and sung performances. The study was accepted for presentation at the International Conference for Music Perception and Cognition in Tokyo, Japan and is now under review at the journal Music Perception.
How does increasing contextual interference in a musical practice session affect acquisition and retention?
Thomas Mathias (IU) & Andrew Goldman (IU)
Tom Mathias, a graduate student at JSOM, worked with Andrew Goldman to develop a study investigating the effectiveness of different practice strategies. Much research has been done in athletics on a similar topic. Working with Dr. Goldman, Tom adapted the research paradigm to investigate musicians. The work led to Tom being awarded funding from the Presser Foundation to continue his research abroad. The joint paper will be presented at ICMPC in Tokyo, Japan, the International Symposium on Performance Science in Warsaw, Poland, and is currently under revision (revise-and-resubmit) for the Journal for Research in Music Education.
A Descriptive Study of Intra-Individual Change in Advanced Violinists’ Music Practice
Peter Miksza (IU) and Brenda Brenner (IU)
This is a collaboration between music education faculty that aimed to examine how collegiate violinists’ learning approaches changed as they gained mastery over a performance étude. We incorporated a novel musical analysis technique by adapting score-following technology developed by Christopher Raphael in the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. The study was accepted for presentation at the National Association for Music Education Conference in National Harbor, Maryland and is has been published in the journal Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.
Modeling and Perception of Melodic Contour Families
Kristen Wallentinsen (Rutgers University), Andrew Goldman (IU), and Jonathan De Souza (Western University).
Together with domestic and international collaborators, we investigated listeners’ ability to abstract melodic contours from a set of examples. That is, can listeners without musical experience quickly learn how different melodies are related with regard their contour? (This is often the case when listening to a new piece of music, and hearing a melody or theme come back in different ways.) The work is currently under review with the journal Music Perception, and will be presented at ICMPC in Tokyo, Japan. We have tentative plans to conduct a follow-up study using EEG.
What Constitutes Event Boundaries in Music? Answers from Advanced Musicians.
Tianqi Peng (IU), Jie Ren (Longy School of Music), Xiao Shi (unaffiliated), Andrew Goldman (IU)
Together with colleagues from the Longy School of Music, including Tianqi Peng, an undergraduate student who recently transferred to IU, we investigate where and how advanced musicians place event boundaries when listening to music. This pilot study will be used as the basis for an EEG study, in which we will analyze brain signals to try to determine how listeners segment music into events. The work was accepted for publication at ICMPC in Tokyo, Japan.
Musical Interval Perception in Violinists
Anna Gruzas (IU, now Stanford) and Andrew Goldman (IU)
This is a collaboration between undergraduate student Anna Gruzas, and Andrew Goldman. We designed a study comparing how pianists and violinists perceive musical intervals. In particular, we investigate the embodied influence of fingerboard geometry on interval perception. The study was accepted for presentation at the International Conference for Music Perception and Cognition in Tokyo, Japan.
Dynamic Attending in Percussionists versus Wind Players
Peter Miksza (IU) and Andrew Goldman (IU)
Percussionists have been shown to have advantages in their timing perception. We investigated whether this advantage could in part be explained with Dynamic Attending Theory. We tested timing perception in percussionists and wind players and found that percussionists more strongly entrain to a stimulus. The work has been submitted for publication. The work has previously been presented at the Society for Music Perception and Cognition in Portland, Oregon.
Putting the Eye in AI: On the Relation between Human and Computational Analyses
Andrew Goldman (IU) & Adam Gilbert (USC)
Together with historical musicologist Adam Gilbert, Dr. Goldman conducted a corpus study investigating interval relationships in the music of Josquin Des Prez. This work was presented (virtually) at the Medieval and Renaissance International Music Conference in Uppsala, Sweden in 2022.