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Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Lynnsey Weissenberger

– The purpose of this paper is to present a new framework for representing music for information retrieval that emphasizes socio-cultural aspects of music.

1043

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a new framework for representing music for information retrieval that emphasizes socio-cultural aspects of music.

Design/methodology/approach

Philosophical and theoretical concepts related to the nature of music, aboutness, musical works are explored as they inform how music is represented. Multidisciplinary perspectives on music information representation, classification, and retrieval provide insight into how information science can better accommodate music information within its disciplinary boundaries.

Findings

A new term, music information object (MIO), is presented and defined. Downie’s (2003) theoretical statements are reconceptualized into a theory of representational incompleteness and three meta-classes for music information object representation.

Practical implications

This new framework incorporates more dimensions of music representation than existing frameworks allow and can facilitate comparisons between classifications of MIO representations by music practitioners, scholars, and system developers.

Originality/value

The meta-classes form a much-needed theoretical framework for classifying and defining MIOs from any musical tradition for retrieval. This fills a gap in music information retrieval research, which lacks a theoretical framework that can accommodate musics from all traditions without attempting to organize them according to a western-centered understanding.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 71 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2011

Rose Marie Santini

This paper aims to discuss how collaborative classification works in online music information retrieval systems and its impacts on the construction, fixation and orientation of…

2165

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss how collaborative classification works in online music information retrieval systems and its impacts on the construction, fixation and orientation of the social uses of popular music on the internet.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a comparative method, the paper examines the logic behind music classification in Recommender Systems by studying the case of Last.fm, one of the most popular web sites of this type on the web. Data collected about users' ritual classifications are compared with the classification used by the music industry, represented by the AllMusic web site.

Findings

The paper identifies the differences between the criteria used for the collaborative classification of popular music, which is defined by users, and the traditional standards of commercial classification, used by the cultural industries, and discusses why commercial and non‐commercial classification methods vary.

Practical implications

Collaborative ritual classification reveals a shift in the demand for cultural information that may affect the way in which this demand is organized, as well as the classification criteria for works on the digital music market.

Social implications

Collective creation of a music classification in recommender systems represents a new model of cultural mediation that might change the way of building new uses, tastes and patterns of musical consumption in online environments.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the way in which the classification process might influence the behavior of the users of music information retrieval systems, and vice versa.

Details

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-075X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2008

Charles Inskip, Andrew MacFarlane and Pauline Rafferty

If an information retrieval system is going to be of value to the user then it must give meaning to the information which matches the meaning given to it by the user. The meaning…

7152

Abstract

Purpose

If an information retrieval system is going to be of value to the user then it must give meaning to the information which matches the meaning given to it by the user. The meaning given to music varies according to who is interpreting it – the author/composer, the performer, cataloguer or the listener – and this affects how music is organized and retrieved. This paper aims to examine the meaning of music, how meaning is communicated and suggests this may affect music retrieval.

Design/methodology/approach

Musicology is used to define music and examine its functions leading to a discussion of how music has been organised and described. Various ways of establishing the meaning of music are reviewed, focussing on established musical analysis techniques. It is suggested that traditional methods are of limited use with digitised popular music. A discussion of semiotics and a review of semiotic analysis in western art music leads to a discussion of semiotics of popular music and examines ideas of Middleton, Stefani and Tagg.

Findings

Agreeing that music exists when communication takes place, a discussion of selected communication models leads to the proposal of a revised version of Tagg's model, adjusting it to include listener feedback.

Originality/value

The outcome of the analysis is a revised version of Tagg's communication model, adapted to reflect user feedback. It is suggested that this revised communication model reflects the way in which meaning is given to music.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 64 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 February 2012

Juan Pablo Bello and Kent Underwood

The purpose of this paper is to report recent advances on a collaborative project that aims to develop content‐based methods for music information retrieval (MIR) as an…

1855

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report recent advances on a collaborative project that aims to develop content‐based methods for music information retrieval (MIR) as an alternative to standard text‐based modes of access to digital music libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes current practices and ongoing research, and it discusses potential applications for future use.

Findings

Content‐based MIR approaches can extend and enhance the capabilities of traditional text‐based discovery and delivery systems and thus support the work of expert users such as musicians and musicologists. Examples of technologies developed in the context of the project include novel methods for automatic chord identification, motif finding, the visualization of musical structure, and retrieval of musical variations using harmonic and structural information.

Practical implications

The paper looks at new, non‐verbal modes of interaction with digital music archives based on musically substantive features such as chords, motifs, rhythms, etc. By building more sophisticated dimensions of interactivity into a discovery‐and‐delivery system, these tools could give the end‐user a more meaningful and rewarding experience. The tools potentially would be less costly and more scalable than textual annotation and markup, and their applicability extends beyond digital libraries to other music services.

Originality/value

This article discusses the advantages and challenges posed by audio‐based MIR and shows, via project‐specific examples, its relevance to supporting the needs of digital music library users.

Details

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-075X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2017

Morten Hertzum and Pia Borlund

Social question and answer (social Q&A) sites have become a popular tool for obtaining music information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what users ask about, what…

Abstract

Purpose

Social question and answer (social Q&A) sites have become a popular tool for obtaining music information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what users ask about, what experience the questions convey, and how users specify their questions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 3,897 music questions from the social Q&A site Yahoo! Answers were categorized according to their question type, user experience, and question specification.

Findings

The music questions were diverse with (dis)approval (42 percent), factual (21 percent), and advice (15 percent) questions as the most frequent types. Advice questions were the longest and roughly twice as long as (dis)approval and factual questions. The user experience associated with the questions was most often pragmatic (24 percent) or senso-emotional (12 percent). Pragmatic questions were typically about the user’s own performance of music, while senso-emotional questions were about finding music for listening. Notably, half of the questions did not convey information about the user experience but the absence of such information did not reduce the number of answers. In specifying the questions, the most frequent information was about the music context and the user context.

Research limitations/implications

This study suggests a division of labor between social Q&A sites and search engines for music information retrieval. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one social Q&A site.

Originality/value

Social Q&A sites provide an opportunity for studying what information real users seek about music and what information they specify to retrieve it, thereby elucidating the role of social Q&A in music information seeking.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 73 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Charilaos Lavranos, Petros A. Kostagiolas, Konstantina Martzoukou and Joseph Papadatos

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for…

3263

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity.

Findings

The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors’ approach “musical creativity” is treated as a musician’s aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician’s information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world.

Originality/value

An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 71 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 April 2018

Antti Mikael Rousi, Reijo Savolainen, Maaria Harviainen and Pertti Vakkari

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of situational relevance of music information from a performing musician’s point of view by delving into its diverse layers…

2045

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of situational relevance of music information from a performing musician’s point of view by delving into its diverse layers within the context of Doctor of Music students’ information seeking.

Design/methodology/approach

Music-related information is approached through six modes that categorize music information sources based on their levels of abstraction. Situational relevance of the modes of music information is examined in relation to the situational requirements of accomplishing a dissertation on music task consisting of both a series of concerts and a written thesis. The empirical material was collected by interviewing Finnish doctoral students in the field of music performance.

Findings

A set of situational relevance types related to each mode of music information were identified. As a whole, the differences between the perceived importance of the modes varied a little.

Research limitations/implications

The goal of the present paper is not to create a generalizable list of situational relevance types suggested by modes of music information, but to show that the modes may suggest diverse situational relevance types of their own when evaluated by performing musicians.

Originality/value

The present paper provides a rare account on performing musicians’ vocational and school-related information seeking. For studies of music information retrieval, the present paper offers new contextual facets explaining why diverse music information could be relevant to musicians. For studies of music-related information seeking, the present study offers new insights on why performing musicians have information needs regarding certain types of music information sources.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 74 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2011

Bryan Duggan and Brendan O'Shea

This paper aims to describe the Tunepal project as an example of a music information retrieval (MIR) system that is having an impact on how musicians access, learn and play…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the Tunepal project as an example of a music information retrieval (MIR) system that is having an impact on how musicians access, learn and play traditional Irish music around the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the functionality of the Tunepal system: consisting of the tune corpus, the web site tunepal.org and mobile apps supporting iOS and Android OS. Tunepal facilitates query‐by‐title and query‐by‐playing music (QBP) searches and allows a musician to retrieve and playback scores amongst other supported functions.

Findings

Tunepal has been favorably received and musicians report that the system is being used in a variety of scenarios including archiving and the preparation of sleeve notes for commercial recordings. Tunepal has a growing user base in 25 countries.

Originality/value

The comprehensive tune corpus (over 16,000 compositions), the query‐by‐playing technology and the fact that the mobile apps provide access to the corpus in situ in traditional music sessions and classes make this project uniquely useful.

Details

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-075X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Petros A. Kostagiolas, Charilaos Lavranos, Nikolaos Korfiatis, Joseph Papadatos and Sozon Papavlasopoulos

The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey…

3414

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons’ macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians.

Findings

Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks.

Originality/value

A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 71 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2018

Charilaos Lavranos

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) aims to promote activities and cooperation between music libraries worldwide. IAML…

Abstract

Purpose

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) aims to promote activities and cooperation between music libraries worldwide. IAML configures policies affecting to set up their working framework as well as music information services at national and international level. Furthermore, IAML’s function promotes the role of music libraries linking the cultural life of every place, fostering musical creativity. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the crucial role of IAML’s function in enhancing musical creativity.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides theoretical and practical issues on topics related to music information employed for musical creativity in the context of music librarianship. It presents the function of music information management organizations and especially that of IAML as a mechanism for enhancing musical creativity, and at the same time it discusses suggestions and practices for the interrelation between them. More specifically, it discusses perspectives about educational programs on information literacy for musical creativity, the enhancement of the digital presence of all musical trends (the long tail to the demand of music information services), the strengthening of the culture of openness to a wider scale and the use of music information management software, as well as the linkage and stimulation of synergies between music information management organizations for the benefit of various music communities.

Findings

The outcomes of the study set up a theoretical connection between music librarianship issues and musical creativity, in terms of identifying that musical creativity is directly linked to music information and to the operation of the music libraries, and it can also be influenced by the availability of music information services and the information profile of the musicians involved.

Originality/value

The significance and originality of the study should be emphasized since it is the first study providing theoretical and practical issues linking music librarianship with musical creativity.

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