ModusXXI: An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training
Contents
1. Ss amp ao 2 85 0 2 81 4 i 80 8 2 80 0 20 Qa o 75 0 2 7s 70 0 r r r r r r Ql Q2 Q3 Q4 Qs Q6 Q7 08 Q9 Questions Figure 6 MOS evaluation results E Vol 10 No 1 February 2012 ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 teaching with musical intervals from a very fundamental point of view In the MOS software evaluation ModusXXI has an acceptance score over 80 The application also fulfills common software engineering quality criteria operability maintainability transferability etc as recommended by authors like Forouzan 6 and Shneiderman 7 Nevertheless there are some aspects that could still be improved or extended Some of them are as follows e Implementation of a score storage function e Implementation of a musical score like data input interface e Applet implementation for deployment trough an Internet applet server e Implementation of some melody transformation processes inversion retrograde transposition etc This could be helpful for the study of other ear training techniques like in Friedmann s method 8 e Generation based on twelve tone or other series as in 20th century serial music e Generation of simple polyphonic sequences ModusXXI v 1 0 generates only one voice single part melodies References 1 Edlund L Modus Novus Stockholm AB Nordiska Musikf rlaget Edition2. technique composers like Schoenberg Berg and Webern and more traditional non tonal composers like Stravinsky Bartok or Hindemith Modus Novus does not deal with microtonal and avant garde music and just attends the music created on the equal temperament scale that divides an octave in twelve equal semitones and attempts to avoid all possible tonal relationships What is the significance of this method if it attends a relative small music style The significance of Modus Novus methodology lies in our opinion on the fact that it assumes musical intervals as capable of generating a musical vocabulary by themselves and not just as a simple difference or distance between two tones Edlund writes in this context The student s command visual and aural of the theory of intervals in the absolute sense of the word however is here merely a pre requisite for the study of what would like to call the aural study of musical patterns Thus one of Edlund s main theses is that great accuracy in singing individual intervals is not always a guaranty of accuracy in reading atonal melodies the most important thing is to practice combinations of intervals that will break the bonds of the major minor interpretation of each individual interval 1 2 Modus Novus organization Edlund offers a simple description about how his book is organized The melodic figures have been grouped together according to the intervals they co
3. ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave F Ordu a Escuela Nacional de M sica Universidad Nacional Aut noma de M xico ST Xicot ncatl 126 Col Del Carmen Coyoacan 1 ae L C P 04100 M xico D F M xico alfonsomeave gmail com INSTRUMENTATION AND Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnol gico APPLIED SCIENCES Universidad Nacional Aut noma de M xico Circuito Exterior S N Ciudad Universitaria A P 70 186 Delegaci n Coyoac n C P 04510 M xico D F M xico ABSTRACT This paper describes the development evaluation and use of the computer program ModusXXI a music generator that can create a practically unlimited number of atonal melodic dictations or melodic material for sight reading based on the Modus Novus methodology Edlund 1963 Lars Edlund s Modus Novus organizes the aural study of atonal melody structure on the combinations of intervals that will break the bonds with any tonal context a characteristic of some music composed since the first half of the 20th century Each chapter has certain melodic material that has been grouped together according to the musical intervals that they contain in groups of increasing degree of difficulty Although there are other atonal ear training methods Friedmann 1990 Modus Novus is the only one known to us that concentrates specifically on the study of the melodic interval structure of
4. Wilhelm Hansen 1963 pp 13 16 2 Arnold K et al Java Programming language 4th Edition USA Prentice Hall 2005 3 Sorensen A Introducing jMusic in Proceedings of The Australasian Computer Music Conference Brisbane ACMA 2000 pp 68 76 4 Meave A Creaci n de una aplicaci n de c mputo generadora de melod as atonales siguiendo la metodolog a Modus Novus de Lars Edlund Music Technology Master Thesis M xico UNAM 2007 5 International Communication Union Website http www itu int rec T REC P 800 1 200607 l en last visited 2011 11 2 6 Forouzan B Foundations of Computer Science California Thompson Learning Inc 2003 pp 202 205 7 Shneiderman B Designing the user interfaces New York Pearson Education 2007 pp 159 196 8 Friedmann M Ear Training for the Twentieth Century Music USA Yale University Press 1990 Journal of Applied Research and Technology ay
5. _ Dotted crotchet Dotted quaver 11 Avoid syncopation between bars Subdivision No subdivision 12 13 Create melody 14 Play Stop View score 15 16 17 al Figure 4 Main window of ModusXXI Journal of Applied Research and Technology E ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 Register The melodic register selection includes the following parameters Register The melodic register selection includes the following parameters A Initial note 4 Here the user selects the first initial note of the melody This selector includes all the possible notes of the MIDI protocol C5 MIDI note 60 is selected by default A Melody with register limit Melody without register limit 5 The first option activated by default allows the selection of the lowest note 6 and the highest note 7 The second option deactivates both settings Thus the register spans all possible notes of the MIDI protocol Intervals 8 These refer to the musical intervals that are to be included for melodic generation The user can choose one of three options A Manual selection of intervals Activated by default This option allows the user to select intervals manually in the checkboxes located under this selector with independent selection of upward intervals 9 and downward intervals 10 A Modus Novus interval selection This option
6. an _ tool 7 In order to improve your musical ear ModusXXI can be _ 8 As a group didactic tool ModusXXI can be _ 9 As a private individual tool for atonal ear training and Modus Novus practice ModusXXI is _ The results are shown in Figure 6 and are as follows the best rated aspect was question 7 93 6 acceptance most of the students consider that ModusXXI can improve their musical ear The lowest rated aspect was question 8 80 8 for a large group of students the application seems inadequate for use in a group Ease of use of the user interface question 2 and the benefits of using ModusXXI for atonal ear training question 6 were also well rated 92 3 y 90 4 respectively Question 5 had an 81 4 acceptance and questions 1 3 4 9 were on the range between 89 1 and 88 5 It is important to notice that all questions had an acceptance score over 80 which corresponds to an excellent MOS qualification 4 Conclusions ModusXXI v 1 0 fulfills its design goals it can generate a practically unlimited number of atonal melodies based on the Modus Novus methodology that can be used for music dictation or for sight reading during an ear training course of 20th century music Melodies can also be used for atonal composition or during an elementary ear training course i e for working learning ModusXXI Evaluation Results 95 0 93 6 92 3 90 4 9 90 0 575 a35 21 88 5
7. atonal music At present several systems are available or have been proposed that generate music with computers Nevertheless none of these organizes the melodic structure upon specific atonal intervallic content ModusXXI is a computer application with an easy to use graphic user interface that runs on systems that support the Java Virtual Machine www java com It generates melodies following the Modus Novus methodology based on random selection of notes and rhythmic values ModusXXI was tested with a group of music students obtaining a Mean Opinion Score acceptance of over 80 Keywords Music Education Software RESUMEN El presente art culo describe el desarrollo evaluaci n y uso de la aplicaci n de c mputo ModusXXI un generador mel dico capaz de crear un n mero pr cticamente ilimitado de melod as atonales que sirvan como dictados o material de lectura en un curso de adiestramiento auditivo ModusXX se basa en la metodolog a Modus Novus Edlund 1963 del compositor y pedagogo sueco Lars Edlund Este m todo propone un estudio auditivo de las estructuras atonales utilizando combinaciones de intervalos que impiden una interpretaci n tonal una caracter stica de m sica compuesta a partir de la primera mitad del siglo XX Cada cap tulo contiene melod as que han sido agrupadas de acuerdo a sus intervalos y al grado de dificultad Si bien existen otros m todos de adiestramiento auditivo Friedmann 1990 Modus Novus es el nico
8. ets exceeds total duration 6 crotchets Quaver 0 5 Crotchet 1 Half note 2 Quaver 0 5 Figure 3 Rhythmic sequence generation EN Vol 10 No 1 February 2012 ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 Assume now that the user defines a total duration of six crotchets or equivalent for example three bars in 2 4 time signature also that rhythmic values of minim crotchet and quaver are selected ModusXXI will then create an array of three elements containing these rhythmic values Again the Java Math random method is used to generate a new array with randomly selected indices taken from this three element array generating as many rhythmic values as necessary to exactly fit the total desired melody duration This new array represents the melody s rhythmic sequence If the user selects Avoid syncopation between bars or within the bar the bar duration or shorter rhythmic values will be forced as a subdivision of the total duration It is important to notice that the sequence of execution in ModusXXl is organized so that rhythmic values are generated first before generating the melodic values This is because the number of melodic notes pitches to be generated depends on the number of rhythmic values generated in the first place 2 3 ModusXXI V 1 0 Main Window The main window of ModusXXI figure 4 has two basic func
9. gram With ModusXXI it is possible and easy to create very simple and also very complex melodies The program s user interface elements for selection of time signature number of bars duration rhythmic values syncopation among other parameters allow the user to vary the complexity of the generated melodies We present three cases of possible use of the program Case A Beginner ModusXXl can generate very simple melodies that can help to identify interval direction With a parameter selection of 2 4 time signature total duration of one measure crotchets as the only rhythmic value and the manual interval selection of minor second upward and downward the program will generate melodies with only one ascending or descending interval Thus beginners can practice the difference between upward and downward intervallic direction Case B Learning with the Modus Novus methodology Say the student wants to practice Modus Novus third chapter The new intervals are minor and major third but this chapter also includes minor and major second perfect fourth and fifth The student can begin with ModusXXI preparatory exercises section 3 which includes just the new intervals major and minor third and major minor seconds it does not include the perfect fourth and fifth When the student has mastered this section he can practice ModusXXI chapter 3 which includes all intervals of Modus Novus chapter 3 Case C Self teach
10. iding syncopation in half notes A Quaver subdivision lf this is activated the melody will made of just quavers and smaller values avoiding syncopation in crotchet values Once ModusXXI has generated a melody the user can play it or view the score as shown in Figure 5 CPN Modus XXI Figure 5 Score window EEN Vol 10 No 1 February 2012 ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 2 4 First steps using ModusXXl ModusXXI generates atonal melodies with the specified intervallic structure The user just needs to select some parameters and click the create melody button in order to generate a melody When a melody is created the program opens a window with the message A new melody has been created Click the play button or the view score button Then the user can decide whether to hear the melody in order to write it down or to see the score in order to revise his music writing or in order to sing the melody Once a melody has been created the user can play it as many times as he wants or needs It is also possible to change the tempo speed of the created melody at any moment If the melody was created with a fast tempo v g 150 beats per minute the user can play it again at a slower tempo 60 b p m for instance Once the user has transcribed the melody he can view the score in order to evaluate his own transcription The jM
11. ing Maybe the user does not attend an ear training course and or does not have the Modus Novus textbook ModusXXI can also be used to create melodies for dictation or sight reading in this case The user just needs to manually select the intervals that he wants to practice for example melodies with a combination of perfect fifths and minor sixths This combination is not considered in Edlund s book but ModusXXI allows to set it up and use it Rhythmic complexity and register can also be controlled in ModusXXI It has a syncope control that allows or not syncopation between bars and inside bars The Journal of Applied Research and Technology Ea ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 program can also create melodies with or without register limits 3 Software evaluation ModusXxXI was tested with a group of 40 students Based on the Mean Opinion Score MOS evaluation method 5 we used numbers to give marks from 5 to 1 5 Excellent 4 Good 3 Satisfactory 2 Poor and 1 Bad to the following questions 1 User interface clarity _ 2 Ease of use of the graphic interface _ 3 User s manual _ 4 Program operability _ 5 Representation of musical concepts intervals rhythm values etc by means of user interface objects buttons checkboxes etc _ 6 For atonal ear training and Modus Novus methodology practice ModusXXI can be a
12. is based on Modus Novus methodology and selects therefore the subset of intervals according to the corresponding chapter of Modus Novus selected by the user For example if Chapter 7 is selected minor second major second and perfect fourth upward and downward will be automatically activated when the user presses the create melody button A Preparatory exercises This option allows melody generation with minor and major seconds and the specific new intervals presented on every chapter For example if Preparatory exercises 3 is selected the melody will be generated with 3m 3M and seconds In contrast if Modus Novus Chapter 3 were selected the melody could be made up also containing intervals of perfect 4 and 5 Rhythmic values 11 The following rhythmic values can be selected for the generation of rhythmic sequences whole note half note crotchet quaver sixteenth note dotted half dotted crotchet and dotted quaver Syncopation 12 With this option it is possible to avoid syncopation between bars or to allow it The last setting allow syncopation deactivates the next option Subdivision 13 otherwise it remains active In that case you can find three settings A No subdivision Activated by default it generates melodies with no syncopation between bars but with syncopation possibly occurring within the bar A Crotchet subdivision This setting creates melodies with crotches and smaller values avo
13. ng Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 2 ModusXXI ModusXXI is a computer application that can randomly generate a practically unlimited number of atonal melodies based on the Modus Novus methodology The user defines parameters like the subset of desired intervals taken from the Modus Novus methodology rhythmic values time signature tempo duration etc The software takes the subsets of selected intervals and rhythmic values and a random method based on a uniform probabilistic distribution function selects some members of these subsets in order to generate a melody In other words all members of the intervals and rhythmic values subsets have the same probability to be chosen 2 1 Implementation ModusXXI has been written in the Java programming language 2 The program is organized in objects classes and libraries relying particularly on the external third party Music library 3 Music is a Java package toolkit for instrument building as well as music making developed as a music research project of the Queensland University of Technology QUT ModusXXI uses Music to define notes rhythmic values time signature and tempo to generate the graphic music notation image and to play the melody that can also be saved as a MIDI file 2 2 Intervals and rhythm generation in ModusXX1 A brief description of the more significant processes of melody generation implemented in ModusXXI is
14. ntain in different chapters with an increasing degree of difficulty Modus Novus is organized in twelve chapters as shown in Table l Unfortunately the melodic examples contained in Edlund s book are not enough in number and diversity for use in aural dictation and sight reading in the classroom and for homework in regular one semester or longer courses A more extended and deeper study of this subject requires necessarily the access to additional melodic material A computer application that can generate this additional material can be a powerful tool that helps to solve this problem Chapter Intervals Minor second major second and perfect fourth II Perfect fifth and the preceding material III Minor third major third and the preceding material IV Examples of melodies from the repertoire Application exercises for chapters I III V Tritone and the preceding material VI Minor sixth and the preceding material VII Major sixth and the preceding material VIII Examples of melodies from the repertoire Application exercises for chapters V VII IX Minor seventh and the preceding material X Major seventh and the preceding material XI Examples of melodies from the repertoire Application exercises for chapters IX XI XII Compound intervals Weitmelodik Table 1 Modus Novus s chapters EN Vol 10 No 1 February 2012 ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Traini
15. on ModusXX calls a generation method based on the Math random method that is part of the Java Math library This method allows to randomly select array indices and creates a new second descending mayor second and ascending perfect fourth which could be part of Modus Novus first chapter The program will group these array that represents the melodic sequence of intervals The corresponding Java code is shown in Figure 2 public static int noteGeneration int firstNote int lowestNote int highest note int totalNotes int notesArray new int totalNotes notesArray 0 firstNote for int i 1 i lt totalNotes i int iterations 0 int randomindex int newNote do if iterations gt 1000 return null random ndex int Math floor Math random intervals lenght newNote notesArray i 1 intervals randomIndex while newNote gt highestNote newNote lt lowestNote notesArray i newNote Return notesArray Figure 2 Note generation code Taking into account the user s selected rhythmic values and the total melody duration the class RythmGenerator java creates a random rhythmic sequence as illustrated in Figure 3 User s selected rhythm values Quaver 0 5 Crotchet 1 Half note 2 math random method Rhythm values sequence created by ModusXXI Half note 2 2 crotchets Crotchet 1 3 crotchets Half note 2 5 crotchets 5 5 crotchets 6 5 crotchets exceeds total duration 7 5 crotch
16. presented below More about the implementation of the program can be found in the first author s master thesis Development of an atonal melody generator computer program based on Lars Edlund s methodology 4 text in Spanish Melody generation is implemented in two Java classes NoteGenerator java and RythmGenerator java The class NoteGenerator java creates the melody pitches MIDI notes by selecting random intervals from the desired subsets as shown in Figure 1 Lowest note C4 First note C5 Highest note C6 User s selected intervals 0 274 minor upward 1 294 major downward 2 Perfect 4t upward math random method Intervals notes sequence created by ModusXXI 2 Perfect 4t upward 2 Perfect 4 upward 2 Perfect 4t upward 1 274 Major downward 2 Perfect 4th upward 0 274 minor upward F5 Bb5 Eb6 Db6 Gb6 A6 Figure 1 Melodic generation Journal of Applied Research and Technology EA ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 Assume the user selects C5 as the initial note C5 in Latin America corresponds to middle C or C4 in English speaking and other countries or to the MIDI note value 60 and a two octave register from C4 to C6 Also assume the user chooses to practice the musical intervals of ascending minor intervals in an array of three elements When the user clicks the Create melody butt
17. que se concentra exclusivamente en el estudio de las relaciones interv licas en la m sica atonal Actualmente existen diversos sistemas que generan m sica con computadora Sin embargo ninguno se basa en relaciones interv licas atonales espec ficas ModusXXI es una aplicaci n de c mputo que cuenta con una interfaz de usuario de f cil manejo y funciona en cualquier sistema operativo que soporte la M quina Virtual de Java www java com La generaci n de las melod as es aleatoria y sigue la metodolog a Modus Novus ModusXXI fue evaluado con un grupo de estudiantes de m sica utilizando el sistema de evaluaci n MOS Mean Opinion Score o de opini n promedio con un porcentaje de aceptaci n superior al 80 Journal of Applied Research and Technology Le ModusXXI An Atonal Melody Generator for Ear Training Based on Lars Edlund S Modus Novus Methodology A Meave 1 9 1 Introduction 1 1 The Modus Novus Modus Novus 1 is the first of two didactic books dedicated to the study of sight reading and ear training written by the Swedish composer Lars Edlund 1922 who was a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm Published in 1963 Modus Novus is one of the first ear training methods that attempts to tackle the problems connected with the reading of 20th century music that is not major minor tonal Edlund s method concentrates on atonal music composed during the first half of the 20 century by twelve tone
18. tions ODO e Collect user s input data e Execute program actions Available program actions are as follows e Create melody Button 14 e Play or stop melody Button 15 and 16 e View score Button 17 The user can supply the following data Time signature 1 The user can select from 2 4 3 4 etc up to a 9 4 time signature ModusXXI generates melodies with crotchet denominator time signature only This limitation is imposed by the latest Music library version used for this implementation The Music library might be improved in the future by its developers removing this limitation in upcoming versions Duration 2 Here the user introduces the number of bars giving the total melody duration ModusXXI can generate melodies with a maximum duration of 67 crotchets or equivalent also limited by the current version of the Music library Tempo 3 The melody playback speed in metronomic units beats per minute can also be specified 60 bpm one beat per second ModusXXI Time signature 2 4 ww Number of bars 4 Tempo between 30 and 250 60 Sa 1 2 Beginning note cs 7 4 5 Intervals Manual selection of intervals gt Melody with register limit lt Lowest note C4 3 TE Highest note c6 F 6 7 Upward intervals 2m y C 7M L Compound intervals Downward intervals L 7M _ Compound intervals Rhythm Values _ Whole 7 Half note 7 Crotchet _ Quaver 16th _ Dotted half
19. usic menu which opens when the view score button is clicked allows among other functions to save the created melody as a MIDI file or in other formats and to change the MIDI instrument used to play the melody 2 5 ModusXXI in the classroom and at home Music dictation is one of many important activities that are usual during an ear training course one which often requires dedication of sufficient time and continuous practice If a teacher spends much time on dictation other activities such as sight reading melody harmonizing etc could be disregarded Another problem with dictation is the fact that each student has his own learning pace Some students can learn to transcribe dictations in a relatively short time while others may need more time Using ModusXXl part of an ear training course can be done aided by computer For example the student can sing and harmonize the preparatory exercises and melodies of Modus Novus under teacher supervision during the class and later he can practice dictation on his own with the computer program The student just needs to choose the corresponding Modus Novus chapter in the program and begin practicing dictation Because ModusXXl can generate a practically unlimited number of melodies the student can do as many dictation exercises as he needs 2 6 Controlling melody complexity with ModusXXI Accurate control of melodic generation parameters is also a very important feature of the pro
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