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  • Research

    The fundamental principle of IRCAM is to encourage productive interaction among scientific research, technological developments, and contemporary music production. Since its establishment in 1977, this initiative has provided the foundation for the institute’s activities. One of the major issues is the importance of contributing to the renewal of musical expression through science and technology. Conversely, sp…

    • Research Topics
    • The STMS Lab
    • Research Teams
    • Sound Systems and Signals: Audio/Acoustics, InstruMents
    • Acoustic and Cognitive Spaces
    • Sound Perception and Design
    • Sound Analysis-Synthesis
    • Sound Music Movement Interaction
    • Musical Representations
    • Analysis of Musical Practices
    • Projects
    • Sound Workshop
    • The Musical Body
    • Creative Dynamics
    • Finished Projects
  • Creation

    IRCAM is an internationally recognized research center dedicated to creating new technologies for music. The institute offers a unique experimental environment where composers strive to enlarge their musical experience through the concepts expressed in new technologies.

    • Composers & Artists in Studio
    • Chloé Thévenin in studio
    • Oren Boneh in studio
    • Tristan Murail in studio
    • Martin Matalon in studio
    • Sébastien Gaxie in studio
    • Murcof in the studio
    • Vimala Pons in studio
    • Lucie Antunes in studio
    • Deena Abdelwahed in the studio
    • Music-Fictions
    • Artistic Research Residency
    • Artistic Residencies: The Blog
    • Rendez Vous 24.25
    • 2024-2025
    • Replay Concerts
    • Seasons from 1996 to present
    • ManiFeste-2024 Website
    • ManiFeste festival from 2012 to 2024
    • L’Étincelle, IRCAM’s journal of creation
  • Transmission

    In support of IRCAM's research and creation missions, the educational program seeks to shed light on the current and future meaning of the interactions among the arts, sciences, and technology as well as sharing its models of knowledge, know-how, and innovations with the widest possible audience.

    • Training Courses
    • Training Courses 2024.25
    • Max, Max for Live
    • Computer-Assisted Composition
    • ASAP & Partiels
    • Sound spatialization
    • Designing Audio Experiences on the Web
    • Generative AI
    • Sound Design
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    • Master ATIAM
    • Sound Design Master's Program
    • Mixed-Music
    • AIMove Master
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    • ULYSSES Ensemble
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  • Sheng! L'orgue à bouche - 10th seminar [live]








Tue 13 April 2021,
2:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.
Ircam
salle Stravinsky

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Research
Seminar






Sheng! L'orgue à bouche - 10th seminar [live]

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Analyse acoustique de l'orgue à bouche
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The afternoon will be divided into two sessions:

A comparison of sheng and khene acoustics: What we found out with the visualization of reed vibration, and new perspectives on previous results
with René Caussé (IRCAM - STMS)

The khene and the sheng both belong to the family of free-reed instruments. They present several differences in their structure (number of pipes, reed position, the embouchure and its link to the base, etc.), and in the relationship between the resonant frequencies of their pipes and of the associated reeds. One of the principal consequences of these differences is noticeable in the spectral composition of the resulting sounds.

In the second part of this talk, we will come back to several results presented earlier in this seminar. In particular, the influence of pipe length on the reed oscillation, and the role of sheng "resonators".

Finally, a few visualizations of reed vibration will be presented, and the usefulness of these visualizations will be addressed, for a better comprehension of the way the instrument works, but also for the study of various playing techniques.

Spectral characteristics of sheng tones: between interactions, adaptations, and instrumental technique
with Julie Delisle (Université de Montréal) and Mikhail Malt (IReMus/IRCAM)

If the sound of sheng is without any doubt a living thing, for some sheng musicians, the instrument itself lives its own life. Because of its structural properties, of its self-imposed constraints, and of the way it reacts to the energy brought by the musician's breathing. Our first research results will be the subject of this presentation, as a work in progress. They were obtained following an approach based on an analysis of the audio signal, with the aim of characterizing in acoustical terms the indicators of this constant interaction between the sheng and the person who brings it to life.

The collaboration with two very skilled musicians, experts of the sheng, Wu Wei and Li Li-Chin, was the key to  become more familiar with the sheng aesthetics and instrumental technique, but also with the challenges they bring with them, in the context of daily practice as well as while experiencing compositional tendencies that lead sheng musicians to constantly develop new aspects of their playing, among them polyphony. In addition, a series of sound samples were recorded by Li Li-Chin, grouping individual notes, intervals and combinations of notes, and various articulations and techniques to perform tone inflections and modulations. These samples were analyzed with the help of different algorithms for the extraction of timbre descriptors.

First, we will address the principal spectral characteristics of sheng timbre, including harmonicity and roughness, as well as temporal aspects. Then we will further explore the polyphonic capabilities of the instrument, and the phenomena occurring when several pipes are simultaneously set into vibration. In the last part of this talk, several parameters and aspects of sheng instrumental technique will be discussed, and we will explore their acoustical properties and possible variations.

Contact | contact(at)tpmc-paris.com

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With support of IReMus, CNRS, LAM, Collègium Musicæ, DRAC Ile-de-France et SACEM

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Sheng! L'orgue à bouche - 11th seminar

Tuesday 1 June 2021
Ircam
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