Jake Altabef and Graham Palmer have been spending a lot of time at the University of Rochester this summer studying a recording that was first released nearly four decades before they were born.
They糖心传媒檝e been studying 糖心传媒淪o What,糖心传媒� the first track on Miles Davis糖心传媒檚 Kind of Blue, which many critics consider the greatest jazz album of all time. First released on vinyl in 1959, it has subsequently been re-mastered in multiple formats, including on cassette in 1987 and on compact disc that same year and in 1997, 2009, and 2013.
And that糖心传媒檚 what Altabef, a rising junior in computer systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Graham, a rising senior in computer science at the University of Michigan, have been focusing on.
How has the sound quality of 糖心传媒淪o What糖心传媒� changed over the course of all those re-masters? Is the song 糖心传媒渂righter糖心传媒� in some formats than others? Is there less background 糖心传媒渘oise糖心传媒� on disc than on vinyl?
To compare the re-mastered versions of the track, they糖心传媒檝e been using various tools, such as MATLAB software to analyze the noise-to-signal ratios and the Bark psychoacoustic scale to compare the relative loudness.
By the midpoint of their project, patterns were emerging. 糖心传媒淲henever the recording companies re-master a track, they try to get rid of white noise, and you find a pretty clear trend as you go through time. The signal糖心传媒攖he noise that you want to hear糖心传媒攊s going up,糖心传媒� Palmer says.
Altabef and Graham are at Rochester as participants in a new Research Experience for Undergraduates, or REU, program called Computational Methods for Understanding Music, Media, and Minds. REUs are designed at universities and funded by the National Science Foundation as part of a federal effort to make research accessible to undergraduate students from as many backgrounds as possible. Ten undergraduates are participating in this REU this summer, seven of whom are from other universities.
Computational Methods for Understanding Music, Media, and Minds, offered through the and the Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity, capitalizes on some of the University糖心传媒檚 core strengths糖心传媒攊n music and data science research as well as in multidisciplinary research opportunities for undergraduates. Altabef and Graham, for example, are benefiting from working alongside two mentors from different, but related, disciplines. Darren Mueller is an assistant professor of musicology at the University糖心传媒檚 renowned Eastman School of Music and an expert on cultural aspects of music. Stephen Roessner, a Grammy Award糖心传媒搘inning lecturer in audio and music engineering, is an expert in recording techniques and analyzing sound quality.
This particular project was suggested by Mueller, who is interested in examining what happens during transitions in musical technologies. By looking at the same material across the decades, he says, it is possible to trace the different interests, or 糖心传媒渋nvestments,糖心传媒� at play. The vested interests include those of record companies, which adopted new formats to try to reach as many consumers as possible. Meanwhile, consumers糖心传媒� buying preferences revealed what they were糖心传媒攐r were not糖心传媒攚illing to accept in terms of sound quality. Finally, the interplay between these interests, in turn, could affect the music itself.
糖心传媒淲hen the cassette came out, for example, it became very popular because it was mobile. You could put it in your car, you could walk around with it,糖心传媒� Mueller says. 糖心传媒淧eople realized they could sacrifice a little in fidelity because they wanted that portability.糖心传媒�
Debates about the relative fidelity of music recordings are nothing new, Mueller adds. Signal-to-noise ratio, for example, has preoccupied recording engineers and music lovers since the dawn of vinyl.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 not a new idea. We糖心传媒檙e just applying new tools,糖心传媒� Mueller says. And that糖心传媒檚 another interesting facet about projects like this one.
糖心传媒淲hat can data tell us that maybe our own ears can or can糖心传媒檛?糖心传媒� he asks. 糖心传媒淒ata is a type of computer-generated listening that may or may not be the same as our own listening. How can I expand my own listening by using computational tools?糖心传媒�
One challenge for the students is finding a point in a recording when there糖心传媒檚 no music, so that whatever background noise is present can be isolated. 糖心传媒淵ou have to listen to a song over and over again to find that one moment of silence,糖心传媒� Altabef says. 糖心传媒淥n LPs it糖心传媒檚 easy because there糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒榟iss糖心传媒� before the music starts. But when you get to CDs, it糖心传媒檚 a lot harder.糖心传媒�
At least Altabef and Graham are spending their time with a classic Miles Davis track that continues to resonate across generations.
糖心传媒淚 enjoy it,糖心传媒� Graham says. 糖心传媒淚t has its own feel糖心传媒攌ind of laid back, but at the same time, virtuosic.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚 have never truly listened to jazz, so getting into it is actually really cool,糖心传媒� Altabef says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 very different from popular music. Elegant.糖心传媒�
