Digital Playgrounds for Music

DPf M: Digital Playgrounds for Music

Digital Playgrounds for Music (DPfM) aims to disseminate a new approach to the study and analysis of music using technology to facilitate interactive aural engagement. DPfM is taking this research and promoting its use in universities, secondary schools and with cultural organisations. 

Nationally and internationally, music education is currently facing a number of important challenges and criticisms: 1) that it is too narrowly focused on traditional (Western) music literacy, limiting its accessibility; 2) that the repertoire of what ‘counts as music to be studied’ is too narrow and does not reflect the great diversity of C21st musical activity, and the experiences and interests of many potential students; and 3) that it does not communicate its ideas effectively and can seem exclusive and elitist. 

By using interactive software to enable students to engage directly and in detail with music as sound, DPfM aims to resolve many of these problems: it embraces a wide variety of musics, is accessible to an inclusive range of users, and communicates complex ideas interactively and playfully. In short it provides an approach that is more diverse and accessible.

Development of the DPf M tools:

In the following links at the bottom of the page you can interact with and learn more about the various software packages that are part of the DPfM project including:

The Tools for Interactive Aural Analysis (TIAALS): A interactive workspace for building your own projects with working with music as sound.

Technology and Creativity in Electronic Music (TACEM): Nine case studies analyzing key works in the musical and technical development of computer music presented in an interactive software offering users the opportunity to try out emulations of the software used by the composers for themselves.

Project Team:

Project Director: 
Prof Michael Clarke (University of Huddersfield)

Senior Research Fellow:
Dr Frédéric Dufeu (University of Huddersfield)

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow:
Dr. Maria Sappho (University of Huddersfield)

 

contact the team at dpfm(@)hud.ac.uk

Call for Projects: Interactive Aural Projects with DPfM

The Digital Playgrounds for Music (DPfM) team invite researchers, archivists, museums to transform their materials into engaging interactive aural projects using the Tools for Interactive Aural Analysis (TIAALS) software. This opportunity is open to projects on any subject related to music, performance, theory, and more.

DPfM is pleased to offer complimentary sessions where you will collaborate with a TIAALS specialist to develop your project from the ground up. If you are interested in producing your materials in this way, or if you would just like to learn more about how interactive aural approaches might be appropriate for your research please reach out to us at dpfm@hud.ac.uk.