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Music Technology and Digital Musicology Lab

The Music Technology and Digital Musicology Lab (MTDML) is part of the Institute for Musicology and Music Pedagogy at the University of Osnabrück.

A research focus at MTDML is on Acoustical Extended Reality and Computer Audition. Acoustical Extended Reality uses virtual, augmented or mixed reality technologies in connection with acoustic (here mainly: music-related) research questions. Computer Audition uses methods from the field of artificial intelligence to obtain semantic information from audio files.

Other related fields of research are musical acoustics, music perception and electronic sound generation / musical interfaces. The MTDML benefits from the lively exchange with the musical ensembles, choirs, bands and symphony orchestras located at the institute.

Head of MTDML

Prof. Dr. Michael Oehler

Osnabrück University
Neuer Graben/Schloss
Room 11/332

Tel.: +49-541-969-4458
Email: michael.oehler@uos.de

Some exemplary research and thesis projects at MTDML*

Acoustical feature analysis and classification of popular music. Audio in mobile games and VR games. Auditory perception thresholds of geometric approximations. Automatic detection of musical instruments in polyphonic music using a Convolutional Neural Network. Conception and implementation of an algorithm for generating catchy melodies. Construction of an electrostatic FEC headphone for playback of binaural simulations. Desert Weather Music - weather sonification between art and science. Design and construction of a computer-controlled electromagnetic mechanism for a Fender Rhodes. Development and evaluation of a multilabel Deep SVM with audio pre-processing to detect emotions in music. Development of a software for the synthesis of lamellophones. Development of a software tool for quantifying various mechanically caused background noises of the audio system in automobiles and subsequent analysis based on selected psychoacoustic features. High level sound morphing techniques and their implementation. Improvement of music recommender systems. Influence of room acoustic parameters on the auditory perception of cochlear implant users. Influences and opportunities of 3D printing on musical instrument manufacturing. A study on the quality of selected 3D prints with mouthpieces as an example. Interfaces of control room automation in the WDR Funkhaus Düsseldorf. Introduction to music-based programming - a workshop for middle school students. Learning classifications Ludwig van Beethoven's creative phases on multiple time scales. Listening test for binaural reproduction of 3D microphone systems. Loudness measurement of object-based audio scenes in the context of the development of the ITU-R Baseline Renderer. Measurement and auditory evaluation of Hi-Fi systems in vehicles. Mixed Audio Reality. Localization of real and virtual sound sources. Modification of an omnidirectional microphone using outer ear models. Music in the spectrum of digitization - effects of FM synthesis on synth pop Optimization of the binaural presentation of multi-channel sound for audio streaming audio. Perceived sound quality of data reduced audio recordings in everyday listening situations with special consideration of binaural recordings. Perception of time through the influence of rave music. Perceptual discrimination of samples and real recordings with special consideration of audiovisual stimuli Physical modelling of a clarinet under consideration of the tone hole grid by means of digital waveguide synthesis. Radiation patterns of acoustic musical instruments in virtual environments - considerations of virtual sound field synthesis on the basis of recorded sound sources Real-time sound synthesis of string instruments based on digital waveguides. Realization of an ontology for the representation of film music information using the example of Stanley Kubrick's work Recognition of lies by means of acoustic features of the human voice. Research on the semantics of musical notation through mathematical remodelling. Research to improve the room acoustics of the Partika Hall at the Robert Schumann University of Music in Düsseldorf. Room acoustic measurements and improvements in the Frankfurt Cathedral. Studies on the influence of spectral and temporal modulation on the music perception with Cochlear Implants. The Calliope Orchestra: A multidisciplinary physical-computing project for the upper school. The challenge of room acoustics in music theatres using the example of the Osnabrück City Theatre. The context-dependent evaluation of the entry music of performers of World Wrestling Entertainment. The Hammond organ - object of continuous (re)discovery? The influence of cerebral asymmetry on performance when playing the piano. The influence of dynamic compression on the intensity of emotional listening to popular music. The influence of psychoacoustic variables on the advertising effect of audio advertising. The perceived quality of audio compression algorithms in everyday listening situations. The phenomenon of electronic dance music - an empirical perspective. The Sound of Radio - Analysis and comparison of music-specific sound characteristics of radio stations. Unpleasantness of sounds from a psychoacoustic perspective.

* Some of the projects were already started during Michael Oehler's previous professorship at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Engineering (ISAVE) at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences (2016/2017).