The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Strives For Openness | Cultural Architecture - Metropolis Magazine

Mikki Brammer, editor at large for Metropolis Magazine summarizes, Designed by John Wardle Architects, the new home of Australia's oldest music school breaks way from the monastic model of the conservatory.

A diversity of connections between indoors and outdoors is a defining feature of John Wardle Architects’ Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. A bulky cantilever creates an open-air performance space beneath.
 Photo: Courtesy © Trevor Mein

The study of music entails a dedication to practice that can be especially isolating. So when local firm John Wardle Architects envisaged a new design for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australia’s oldest music institution, the firm had a key underlying objective: The building, located within the University of Melbourne campus, shouldn’t feel like a monastery.

Instead, principal Stefan Mee says he and his team designed the 70,500-square foot structure to strike a balance between inward focus and the world outside. It needed to feel relaxed and intimate—more greenroom than concert hall, more backstage than main stage, as he puts it—and encourage students to feel part of a community...

That understanding of interactivity goes beyond fellow students. Bell-shaped portholes, hinged panels, disguised windows, and an oculus on the ground level allow passersby a glimpse inside the Conservatorium’s various learning and rehearsal rooms. Some observers may even detect a musicality in the shapes and patterns of the building’s concrete facade, on which 66,000 small ceramic tiles cluster like notes on a music staff. “We like that abstract clue to somebody on the street about what might be happening inside,” says Mee.
Read more... 

Source: Metropolis Magazine

You, an Adult, Should Take a Music Class. Here’s Why | Music - Philadelphia magazine

Samantha Spengler, Research Editor at Philadelphia magazine notes, Inside a small Italian Market storefront on a December Friday night, there is confusion. 

A group music class at Mister John’s in Bella Vista. 
Photo: courtesy of John Francisco

A world away from the neighboring produce stands that sit dark and empty, the space inside is warm and raucous. Apparently, there had been a set list and a particular order to the acts lined up for the evening’s open mic, but circumstances have changed, and no one quite knows who will be taking the stage first.

In yellow plastic chairs — an adult-sized version of those you’d find in kindergarten classrooms — the 20 or so people inside Mister John’s Music discuss each other’s evening plans. They are all busy: hosting parties at their homes and chauffeuring kids to friends’ houses, so the set list will have to adapt based on everyone’s changing schedule. Eventually, things are straightened out and the first duo steps up: Demi and Joel, on guitar and ukulele, respectively, launch into a stunning original song.

Joshua Lehrer arrives at the keyboard next. He’s accompanied by Mister John instructors Diego, on guitar, and Eric, on percussion. It’s clear Joshua is nervous. His wife is in the audience, Joshua says, and he’ll be playing her favorite song because today is her birthday. He begins the opening strains of “Transatlanticism” by Death Cab for Cutie, occasionally stuttering and missing keys...

A 2007 study published in Aging & Mental Health studied adults ages 60 to 85 who were new to music instruction. Six months after taking piano lessons, they showed gains in memory, speed of mental processing, planning ability and other cognitive functions. And researchers from the University of Liverpool found in 2014 that even a half hour of music instruction increases blood flow to the left hemisphere of the brain.
Read more... 

Source: Philadelphia magazine 

WVU announces music and health degree | Community - My Buckhannon

Students who have a passion for music but also want a career in healthcare can now study both disciplines with a new degree program at West Virginia University by My Buckhannon.

WVU will be one of the first universities in the nation with a music and health undergraduate program.
Photo: WVU

WVU will be one of the first universities in the nation with a music and health undergraduate program.

The Bachelor of Science in Music and Health is unique in that it provides students with an opportunity to be a music major while pursuing one of six tracks in the health sciences. Music and Health majors can select a medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry or physician assistant track within the program.

According to WVU’s School of Music Director Michael Ibrahim, the need for the program is significant, as many prospective students have a great interest in furthering their music skills, but also want a career in healthcare...

In addition to taking private lessons, performing in ensembles and taking core music courses, students will also take all of the science electives appropriate to the long-term goal of working in their selected health profession.

“We know that music is a powerful and moving tool that can help improve health and wellbeing, and studies have shown that the brain releases dopamine, a chemical that has a positive effect on mood, when people hear music they like,” Dr. Clay Marsh, WVU Health Sciences vice president and executive dean, said. “We are excited to be able to offer unique programs that allow our future healthcare providers to achieve their academic goals on a speedier path and to be able to offer personalized care to their patients.”
Read more... 

Source: My Buckhannon 

Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Board Adds Kristine Pacheco-Bernt | Arts - Noozhawk

Kristine Pacheco-Bernt, noted violinist and music educator, has joined the Board of Directors of the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (PASF), inform Deborah Bertling for Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation.

Photo: Kristine Pacheco-Bernt

With experience as a performer in orchestras from San Francisco to Santa Ynez, she plays locally with the UCSB Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Choral Society, and the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara.

Kristine Pacheco-Bernt has served as the MERIT Program assistant for the Music Academy of the West and is currently the education programs manager for the Santa Barbara Symphony, overseeing all music education center programs and marketing, designing and implementing the curricula and coordinating all activities, concerts and contracts...

Pacheco-Bernt joins current PASF Board members Bertling, Rosalind Amorteguy Fendon (treasurer), Peter Bertling, Barbara Burger, Christopher Davis, Ronald Fendon, Dr. Marjorie S. Gies (vice president), Noel Lucky, David McKee, Adrian Spence, Marylove Thralls (secretary), and Patricia Yzurdiaga.
Read more...

Source: Noozhawk

Of Course You Can Use Math to Perfectly Fold a Notebook Page Into a Bookmark | Science - Popular Mechanics

Caroline Delbert, writer, book editor, researcher, and avid reader summarizes, Hey, you never know when it'll come in handy.

Photo: Caroline Delbert

You find a lot of great stuff when browsing through arXiv, the repository of scientific research run by Cornell University, including very elaborate solutions to problems you didn't necessarily know existed. But now that we think about it, we would like to know the ideal way to fold a notebook page in order to "bookmark" it, actually.

Enter Chenguang Zhang, a postdoc in MIT’s math department and Earth Resources Laboratory, who crunched the numbers to find the perfect folding method. In a new paper posted to arXiv, Zhang says he was inspired by a square notebook with a top spiral that he’s been using.

Folding as a way to bookmark pages, Zhang says, conjures the idea of origami. In recent decades, as the study of how materials can fold and deform becomes more important in micromaterials, spaceflight, and everything in between, researchers are studying origami and kirigami principles under the scrutiny of science. As Zhang explains, “Since the last century, it has seen significant developments that, interestingly, were far beyond its originally recreational and artistic nature.”...

There you have it. There really is math for everything.

Read more...

Source: Popular Mechanics

Students gear up for robotics challenge to find engineers of tomorrow | Robotics - FE News

As part of #NationalApprenticeshipWeek local students from 24 schools across Northern Ireland took part in a regional heat of the @Tomorrows_Eng ineers EEP #Robotics Challenge, as Michael Magill, FE News reports.  
 

Photo: FE News

Managed locally by leading Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics #STEM educational charity Sentinus, and hosted in partnership with The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB NI), regional heats have been taking place in early 2020 across the UK, ahead of the national finals at The Big Bang Fair in March.

By building, programming and controlling LEGO robots, the Challenge introduces student teams to real-world engineering, technology, robotics and computing tasks, and aims to help students put their school learning into context and at the same time discover exciting new careers. Students had to research, design and present their own solution to a contemporary engineering problem faced by STEM professionals in the aviation industry.
Read more...

Source:  FE News

How To Teach Artificial Intelligence | Education - Forbes

Follow on Twitter as @tvanderark

Tom Vander Ark, education advocate, advisor, and author of Getting Smart: How Personal Digital Learning is Changing the World reports, Every high school graduate should have an appreciation of how AI is reshaping the economy and the career landscape—and the option of educational pathways that lead to college and meaningful high wage work. 

Photo: Forbes

Artificial intelligence—code that learns—is likely to be humankind’s most important invention. It’s a 60-year-old idea that took off five years ago when fast chips enabled massive computing and sensors, cameras, and robots fed data-hungry algorithms. 

We’re a couple of years into a new age where machine learning (a functional subset of AI), big data and enabling technologies are transforming every sector. In every sector, there is a big data set behind every question. Every field is computational: healthcare, manufacturing, law, finance and accounting, retail, and real estate. We all work with smart machines—and they are getting smart fast. 

A World Economic Forum report indicated that 89% of U.S.-based companies are planning to adopt user and entity big data analytics by 2022, while more than 70% want to integrate the Internet of Things, explore web and app-enabled markets, and take advantage of machine learning and cloud computing...

Microsoft offers many training classes resulting in certificates. They have bundled resources into Imagine Academy, a set of resources used by schools in 135 countries. It supports pathways in computer science, data science, infrastructure, and productivity. 

Work experiences and internships are a valuable complement to classroom learning. In Dallas over 75 business partners support the 18 P-TECH academies (which combine high school, community college and work experience). 
Read more...   

Source: Forbes 

Q&A on the Book Agile Machine Learning | Culture & Methods - InfoQ.com

Key Takeaways

• Invest in metrics - these are your customers
• The unknowns in data projects are different to those in traditional software engineering projects and so customers and sponsors need to learn how to understand progress and expectations
• Plan for mitigation - the only certain thing about data is that it will contain errors, so design for data mitigation from the start
• A data engineer or scientist needs to be an expert in communicating with data - invest in this skill
• Wallow in data - present results and discuss insights with your peers to make informed and balanced decisions for the team

---

The book Agile Machine Learning by Eric Carter and Matthew Hurst describes how the guiding principles of the Agile Manifesto have been used by machine learning teams in data projects. It explores how to apply agile practices for dealing with the unknowns of data and inferencing systems, using metrics as the customer.

Photo: JumpStory

InfoQ readers can download an extract of Agile Machine Learning - Chapter reprinted with permission from Apress (2020) an imprint of Springer Nature.

InfoQ interviewed Matthew Hurst about using agile for a data engineering team, rebuilding the data catalog every day, continuous integration and deployment of data changes, the benefits of rewriting software, doing sprint demo meetings, what can be done to break the pace for teams that are working at a sustainable pace, and technical excellence in data projects.
Read more... 

Recommended Reading

Agile Machine Learning:
Effective Machine Learning Inspired by the Agile Manifesto

Source: InfoQ.com  

Deep learning can fool listeners by imitating any guitar amplifier | Machine learning & AI - Tech Xplore

A study from the Aalto Acoustics Lab demonstrates that digital simulations of guitar amplifiers can sound just like the real thing by Mark Fletcher, Annamari Tolonen, Aalto University.

Testing guitar signals at the Acoustics Lab.
Photo: Aalto University

The implications are that as the software models continue to improve, they can replace traditional analogue guitar amplifiers, which are bulky, fragile and expensive.

Many popular guitar amplifiers and distortion effects are based on analogue circuitry. To achieve the desired distortion of the guitar signal, these circuits use nonlinear components, such as vacuum tubes, diodes, or transistors. As music production becomes increasingly digitized, the demand for faithful digital emulations of analogue audio effects is increasing.

Professor Vesa Välimäki explains that this is an exciting development in deep learning, 'Deep neural networks for guitar distortion modeling has been tested before, but this is the first time, where blind-test listeners couldn't tell the difference between a recording and a fake distorted guitar sound! This is akin to when the computer first learned to play chess'.

The main objective of the field of Virtual Analog (VA) modeling is to create digital emulations of these analogue systems which will allow bulky, expensive and fragile analogue equipment to be replaced by software plugins that can be used on a modern desktop or laptop computer...

Alec Wright, a doctoral student, focusing on audio processing using deep learning says,' The tests were conducted to validate the performance of models emulating either the Blackstar HT5 Metal or Mesa Boogie Express 5:50+ tube amplifiers. The models were created with a focus on real-time performance, and all of them can be run in real-time on a desktop computer'.  
Read more...

Source: Tech Xplore

Best of arXiv.org for AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning – January 2020 | AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning - insideBIGDATA

In this recurring monthly feature, we filter recent research papers appearing on the arXiv.org preprint server for compelling subjects relating to AI, machine learning and deep learning – from disciplines including statistics, mathematics and computer science – and provide you with a useful “best of” list for the past month by Daniel Gutierrez, Author at insideBIGDATA.

Researchers from all over the world contribute to this repository as a prelude to the peer review process for publication in traditional journals. arXiv contains a veritable treasure trove of learning methods you may use one day in the solution of data science problems. We hope to save you some time by picking out articles that represent the most promise for the typical data scientist. The articles listed below represent a fraction of all articles appearing on the preprint server. They are listed in no particular order with a link to each paper along with a brief overview. Especially relevant articles are marked with a “thumbs up” icon. Consider that these are academic research papers, typically geared toward graduate students, post docs, and seasoned professionals. They generally contain a high degree of mathematics so be prepared.
Read more... 

Enjoy your reading and have a cup of ☕️coffee!  

Source: insideBIGDATA