Specialist Research Laboratory

Music Research Laboratory

AUDITORY NEUROCOGNITION AND MUSIC RESEARCH UNIT

The Music research laboratory comprises the collaborative, interdisciplinary research activities of 4 academic staff members in the School of Behavioural Sciences and a large number of academic and industrial collaborators from a range of disciplines, and research students. The following table outlines the research interests in the laboratory.

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A number of methodological techniques are being used to explore these issues, including:

1. Structural and functional neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI, PET),

2. Numerical models of neurological processing,

3. Experimental and cognitive neuropsychology,

4. Numerical modeling of physical systems, and

5. Signal processing analogues to human performance (psycho-acoustical modeling).

At present, imaging techniques are specifically being used to interrogate the neurocognitive basis of absolute pitch perception in high caliber musicians, and singing and language skills in musicians and non-musicians. This information has been used in clinical applications where brain injury has occurred in professional musicians.

Research investigating the basic perceptual processes involved in sound recognition and segregation, and pitch, melodic and rhythmic perception has been ongoing in the lab, with recent projects employing computer modeling and cognitive and perceptual experimental techniques to examine these fundamental auditory skills. Models of auditory cognition and perception are being applied to the development of new digital tools for the representation and analysis of music for use in music education and composition.

Applied research employing numerical modeling of physical systems by Finite Element Methods is being undertaken on musical instrument and ensemble design and the design of music reproduction systems. These design studies are guided by psycho-acoustic criteria and the behavioral data gained in the more fundamental research outlined above.

Research Staff:

• Dr Sarah Wilson
• Associate Professor Dr Neil McLachlan
• Senior Research Fellow Dr David Hirst
• Dr Dean Lusher

Research Collaborations:

• MACAM (Music, Auditory Cognition and Mind)

• PRIMAL Network

•  Professor David Reutens, Monash Institute for Neurological Diseases, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne

•  Professor Graeme Jackson, Brain Research Institute , Melbourne

•  Associate Professor Jenni Ogden, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland

•  Prof Brian Butterworth, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Queen Square

•  Prof Denis Burnham and A/Prof Kate Stevens, MARCS Auditory Labs, University of Western Sydney ( Bankstown Campus)

•  Assoc. Prof. Dinesh Kant Kumar, School of Electronic and Computer Engineering, RMIT

•  Prof. Cathy Falk, Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne

•  Dr Neryl Jeanneret, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne

•  Dr Colin Burvill, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Melbourne

Current Funding & Grants:

Project:

A study of acoustical, psycho-acoustical and musicological factors in tuned percussion ensemble design

Year:

2006-2011

Funded by:

Australian Research Council – Discovery Program

Project:

Human behavioral modeling

Year:

2007-2010

Funded by:

Australian Research Council – Linkage Program

Current Graduate Research Students:

Catherine Wan, Rashika Perera, Rowena Beecham, Catherine Martin, Ellen Gentle, Rebecca Sussex, Dave Marco, Dougal Phillips