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    Reducing and removing barriers to spatial audio : applications of capital as a critical framework to promote inclusion in spatial audio : a thesis submitted to Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Music at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Austin-Stewart, Jesse
    The research within this thesis aims to address the question of whether barriers of capital to the field of spatial audio can be reduced or removed. Spatial audio is the musical utilization of space, where spatialization is the salient feature of the musical work. As a field, it primarily exists within academic and art institutions. Because of this, there are numerous barriers that prohibit people from engaging with the field. These barriers include significant technical requirements, the need for education, the expense of large spatial audio systems, amongst others. These barriers mean that those who are excluded have little to no pathway to engage with the field. This thesis explores the barriers in spatial audio through the lens of capital. Viewed as one’s level of resource, a lack of economic, social, symbolic, cultural, and physical capital can exclude many from engaging with spatial audio. The research within this thesis identifies barriers of capital that exist within the field through qualitative and quantitative survey analysis as well as literature review. The identified barriers are then addressed through practice-led and practice-based research with the creation of new spatial audio works and compositional strategies, alongside user surveys to ascertain the efficacy of the research.
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    Acoustic source localisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) White, Alexander Lyndon
    Many New Zealand native bird species are under threat, and as such conservationists are interested in obtaining accurate estimates of population density in order to closely monitor the changes in abundance of these species over time. One method of estimating the presence and abundance of birdlife in an area is using acoustic recorders; currently, omnidirectional microphones are used, which provide no estimate of the direction of arrival of the call. An estimate of the direction from which each sound came from would help to discern one individual calling multiple times, from multiple birds calling in succession - thus providing more accurate information to models of population density. The estimation of this direction-of-arrival (or DOA) for each source is known as acoustic source localisation, and is the subject of this work. This thesis contains a discussion and application of two families of algorithm for acoustic source localisation: those based on the Generalised Cross-Correlation (GCC) algorithm, which applies weightings to the calculation of the cross-correlation of two signals; and those based on the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm, which provides an estimate of source direction based on subspaces generated by the covariance matrix of the data. As the MUSIC algorithm was originally described for narrowband signals - an assumption not applicable to birdsong - we discuss several adaptations of MUSIC to the broadband scenario; one such adaptation requiring the use of polynomial matrices, which are described herein. An experiment was conducted during this work to determine the effect that the distance between the microphones in a microphone array has on the ability of that array to localise various acoustic signals, including the New Zealand native North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli. It was found that both GCC and MUSIC benefit from larger inter-array spacings, and that a variant of the MUSIC algorithm known as autofocusing MUSIC (or AF-MUSIC) provided the most precise DOA estimates. Though native birdlife was the motivator for the research, none of the methods described within this thesis are necessarily bound only to work on recordings of birdsong; indeed, any multichannel audio which satisfies the necessary assumptions for each algorithm would be suitable. As well as a description of the algorithms, an implementation of GCC, MUSIC, and AF-MUSIC was produced in the Python 3 programming language, and is available at https://github.com/alexW335/Locator.
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    Illusions of liveness : producer as composer : an exegesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Musical Arts In Composition
    (Massey University, 2013) Logan, Sam
    The practise of creating music for the recorded medium has been a fluid and constantly changing enterprise since its inception. Emergences of new studio technologies over the last fifty years have spurred new cultures, philosophies and approaches to music production and composition, ultimately seeing a merging of the once disparate roles of producer and composer. It is this contemporary, technology-informed new role of producer-composer that brings with it discussion - for much of which there is no general consensus - over issues pertaining to perceived liveness, the producer-composer’s control over the resulting sound, and most contentiously the use of music technology itself: its transparency and its legitimacy as substitutions for real instruments. These are all fluid and complex issues and this paper does not attempt to provide answers for, nor take a definitive stance on them other than in the sharing of opinions formed from my own experiences in applying production as composition to the creative aspect of this project. In this paper I seek to share some of the current discussion regarding production-as-composition, in light of my own compositional experiment, which strives to create a simulation of real-performance via almost entirely artificial means within an idealised, hyper-musical sonic environment. By bringing together real musicians and virtual instruments within a recorded track and edited via music production technology, the experiment aimed to produce an illusion of liveness.