A cross-disciplinary study between the two research areas of Audio Technology and Music Education was performed to assess how different aspects of education and experience may influence the experience of music listening given a typical streaming service-Spotify.(1) The point of departure is that streamed media facilitates a plenitude of versions of the same song. The paper focuses on the differences that these different songs yield from various mastering processes and production choices motivated by the end distribution media and user settings in the playback system that aim to alter the sound. These variations may all lead to differences in musical dynamics and timbre. A listening test was conducted to examine listeners’ preferences, the assessed audio quality, and subjects’ reports on how the music content affected them when given the possibility to compare versions in a controlled environment. The test subjects (n = 76) represented populations with various educational backgrounds and experience within music and audio technology. Among the results, it was found that education and experience in some cases do affect preferences.

In the context of musical Bildung, a study was performed to assess how different aspects of education and experience may influence the affordance from music listening in a typical streaming service such as Spotify. This was done by investigating whether subjects’ backgrounds affect preferences and/or choice of wording in motivations when comparing versions of different tunes. The versions that were compared were selected for typical differences that may occur in a streaming context full of choices, e.g. different masters or user settings. Five different tunes were compared in a classic A/B test. A survey, related to the A/B test, captured three aspects of perceived differences: preference, musical affection and audio quality. Questions were also added to capture a range of background factors that were assumed to affect these aspects, e.g. listening habits, earlier musical education and/or socialisation. Earlier research has shown that similar tests were performed with people of convenience, e.g. sound or computer engineers, predominantly males 25–45 years of age. They have thus not accounted for the results from psychoacoustic studies which have stated that preferences may differ on behalf of demographic factors such as gender and age. In the study at hand, the common selection of participants was challenged by performing a strategic selection of participants. This included professional musicians, students within music education, professional sound engineers, students in sound engineering and people without any explicit education within the expertise areas accounted for above. The number of participants was N=60 of mixed gender and of varying ages from 13 years and up. The presentation will show several statistically significant results. 

Different ballistic definitions for the momentary time scale used in live loudness measurement were evaluated. Definitions from the ITU and EBU were compared as well as a faster version of the ITU version, two asymmetric time scales and the deprecated ballistics, defined in EBU Tech 3205-E, for peak program meters. The goal was to identify the ballistics definition that would function as the best complementary tool to a short-term time scale. Engineers within the broadcast industry and students in audio technology performed an audio alignment task in a simulated live broadcast environment using one ballistics definition per trial. Fader movements and output levels were recorded. After each trial, a set of assessment scales were rated by the subjects. Some results were: a decay time constant of 250 ms yielded better representation of the low-level parts of the dynamics in the signal compared to a 400-ms time constant; the present ITU version of the momentary time scale yielded an estimated less eye fatigue; effects on the resulting output levels, related the gate in ITU-R BS.1770 in conjunction with live compensation of unadjusted audio material were shown.

Spotify som en strömmande medieaktör har idag en stor roll att spela för hur dagens, framförallt populärmusik, produceras och låter. Med den digitala tekniken, och i synnerhet den strömmande tekniken, underlättas möjligheten till förändring av innehållet i de ljudande filerna. Det går därför att finna många olika ljudande versioner av en och samma inspelning. Olikheterna kan dels bero på att verket har anpassats för olika distributionsformat, men kan också bero på att äldre verk har mastrats om för att få en dynamik och klangbild som motsvarar produktioner i närtid. I detta projekt har en studie, baserad på lyssningstester, genomförts för att utröna på vilket sätt dynamik och klang i musikproduktioner får betydelse för den musikaliska upplevelsen och vidare, hur utbildning och erfarenhet inom musik- eller ljudområdet kan spela roll i ens preferenser för olika versioner av samma inspelning. Ett huvudsyfte med kapitlet är att medvetandegöra lyssnandet för att förstå hur teknik både kan hjälpa och stjälpa möjligheterna till upplevelse av musik samt att öka medvetenheten för de kvaliteter i det musikaliska språket som kan komma att påverkas av de produktionsbeslut som berör dynamik och klang. 

Discrepancies in loudness (i.e. sensation of audio intensity) has been of great concern within the broadcast community. For television broadcast, disparities in audio levels have been rated the number one cause to annoyance by the audience. Another problem area within the broadcast and music industry is the loudness war. The phenomenon is about the strive to produce audio content to be at least as loud or louder to any other audio content that it can easily be compared with. This mindset, when deciding for audio level treatment, inevitably leads to an increase in loudness over time, and also, as a technical consequence, a decrease of utilized dynamics. The effects of the loudness war is present in both terrestrial radio transmissions as well as in music production and in music distribution platforms.

The two problems, discrepancies in loudness and the loudness war, both emanate from the same source; regulations of audio levels and the design of measurement gear have not been amended to cope with modern production techniques. At the time when the work on this thesis started, the ruling technical recommendations for audio level alignment were based on peak measurement. This measured entity has poor correspondence to loudness. To counter the above described problems, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has developed new recommendations for audio alignment, EBU R 128 and ITU-R BS.1770. The new definitions for loudness measurement constitutes simplified models on the human perception of audio intensity. When using the new recommendations in production, the problems have been shown to diminish.

For an engineer in a live broadcast scenario, measurement equipment also need to be updated in real-time to illustrate a time-variant loudness of the signal. EBU and ITU also has regulated how this type of measurement gear should behave. EBU Tech 3341 and ITU-R BS.1771 define properties for live loudness meters. These recommendations has since the time of publication been implemented in measurement equipment from manufacturers and become available in production facilities.

This thesis investigates the conceptions that have led up to the present recommendations for live loudness meters. It maps out the (at the time) present ways to evaluate the same. Emanating from this knowledge, a new methodology to evaluate loudness meters is proposed that combines qualities from former methods to achieve an alternative balance between ecological validity and control in the experiment design. The methodology includes a procedure to capture data from engineers’ actions and the resulting audio levels from simulated broadcast scenarios. The methodology also incorporates a way to process this type of data into different parameters to be more accessible for interpretation. It presents an approach to model the data, by the use of linear mixed models, to describe different effects in the parameters as the result of the meters’ characteristics. In addition, a review on publications that examine the engineers’ own requests for beneficial qualities in a loudness meter has been condensed and revised into a set of meter criteria that specifically is designed to be applied on the outcome of the mixed models. The outcome of the complete evaluation yields statements on meter quality that are different and complementary to formerly proposed methods for meter evaluation.

The methodology has been applied in two different studies, which also are accounted for in the thesis. The conclusions from these studies has led to an increased understanding of how to design live loudness meters to be satisfactory tools to the engineer. Examples of findings are: the effect of the speed of the meter, as being controlled by one or several time constants, on the readability of the meter and the dispersion in output levels – some tested candidates, with higher speed than the present recommended ones, has been shown to be adequate as tools; the three-second integration time has been shown to generate a smaller dispersion in output levels than the 400 ms integration time; the effect of the gate in BS.1771 on the resulting output levels– the gate generally leading to an increase in output levels. The acquired knowledge may be used to improve the present recommendations for audio level alignment, from EBU and ITU.

Qualities of loudness meters were investigated by running a simulated live broadcast show, mixed by subjects with different degrees of audio engineering experience. The subject-induced fader movements and the resulting output levels were analyzed using a general linear mixed model and then interpreted according to a proposed set of quality criteria for live loudness meters. The results show that, for subparts of the program. meters with slower integration lime caused less dispersion of the resulting output levels and a smaller error to a given target level. The varying integration tunes of the meters did not cause any significant differences in reaction time. It is concluded that this type of data may be used in evaluation of loudness meters and the specific study provides insight into the effect of time scales and meter implementation for EBU R 128-compliant meters.

Musikproduktion med Isabella Lundgren och Zion Care Gospel Singers.

ISBN/EAN: 7330658514349

It only takes but one step on African soil to know you are on sacred ground. The vastness of the land reminds me of the endlessness of our universe. The arching trees reaching for the sky, of our will to explore it. The roaring wildlife, that it is from nature we are truly sprung. 

Africa - the cradle of civilization - is a remarkable continent with remarkable people. The story of this album takes place here. Specifically, in the small village of Shangarai in Tanzania. 

Like all good ideas this began as an inconceivable one, impossible to realize. Yet it took form and became a reality. A reality you are holding in your hands. 

The premise is this: 26 children from Tanzania that have never had a voice or music lesson in their life, will meet five professional musicians and teachers from Sweden to record an album together. 

The children all reside at an orphanage called the Zion Care center and they have all lived lives shaped by loss. Despite this they carry themselves with a gratitude and grace that is rare to find. It only took us five minutes to fall in love. 

Electricity is sparse and to find a location to record an actual album was a difficult task, but due to the generosity of the locals we managed to make it happen. Time is relative in Africa - but at the same time nothing is impossible. 

We made this album because we believe in the power of creativity, and especially in music. These children taught us that it is a truly transcendent and transformative endeavor to not only pursue and practice music, but to live it. That's what they do, they live music. Every spare moment they sing, they dance, and they rejoice in music. It is not about creating a perfect performance. It is a way to communicate. 

I hope you will enjoy this album and the journey it will take you on. It conveys the message that it is not what you have that puts value to your life, it is how you live it. 

With Love, Isabella Lundgren

The changed landscape of media, with digital distribution as a keyfactor, creates new conditions for people’s access to cultural expressions. This has mainly been studied through technical and financial perspectives, focusing on the record industry, file sharing, human–technology interaction, and click frequency. New questionsare necessary for an understanding of what functions streamed musicand art expressions can have in people’s lives, and how companies such as Spotify relate to these functions.The aim of the study is to explore Bildung in the nexus of streaming services, art and users, with Spotify as a case study. Research questions: How and to what extent do technical, legal, economic, and ethical factors control possibilities for meaningmaking in the interaction between streaming media such as Spotify, arts, and human beings? How does the quality of art/music distributed through streaming influence opportunites for Bildung? How do users make meaning in the specific contexts? To what extent is the user involved in her own Bildung via the algorithms making up the participation?

To achieve this aim and address the research questions an interdisciplinary study is needed, which makes it possible to understand the complex phenomena of a streaming media platform in relation to Bildung. Technicians and researchers from the humanities and social sciences will approach the research problem and form a holistic understanding of streaming media in relation to human beings, art, and technology. Hence, combinations of methodological approaches are required. Big-data analysis will provide access to how varied demographics use Spotify. The Spotify users’ activities, experiences of streaming media interactions, and meaning-making will be accessed through qualitative netnographical observations, shadowing, and interviews. Sound quality analysis will clarify what aesthetic values are involved in the most appreciated listening experiences, which will be related to Bildung.

En tecknad film skapad av Pennfilm med Per Åhlin, Alicja Björk och Lasse Persson som regissörer. Filmen består av tre historier av Astrid Lindgren med karaktärerna Emil och Ida i Lönneberga. Astrids egen röst används. 

Filmen är producerad av Filmlance International AB och fick 8 miljoner i produktionsstöd från Svenska Filminstitutet. Den distribueras av SF Film och finns tillgänglig på flera plattformar. Första gången var biopremiär 25 december 2013. Den senaste plattformen var visning i SVT med påföljande tid tillgänglig i SVT Play under hösten 2016. Både tecknandet och inspelningen av musiken gjordes på ett äldre traditionellt sätt. D.v.s. alla bildrutor har tecknats för hand. Musiken har spelats in i akustisk studio under Georg Riedels ledning med hjälp musiker och musiktekniker. Till den större delen har musikernas insatser skett tillsammans och utan pålägg. Därefter har musiktekniker och Georg Riedel mixat materialet för filmmediet. 

Georg Riedel - musik

Jon Allan - ljudproducent/ljudtekniker

Filmlance International AB - producent

Pennfilm - teckning av film

SF film - distributör

As a response to discrepancies in loudness levels in broadcast, the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union and the European Broadcasting Union state that audio levels should be regulated based on loudness measurement. These recommendations differ regarding the definition of meter ballistics for live loudness meters, and this paper seeks to identify possible additional information, needed to attain a higher conformity between the recommendations. This work suggests that the qualities we seek in a live loudness meter could be more differentiated for different time scales (i.e. Momentary and Short-term that is defined by two different integration times), and therefore also should be evaluated by different evaluation criteria.