Research Sub-Axes

This page includes more details about each Sub-Axis of TONE, including leaders, contact information, and active or envisioned projects.

Axis 1: Analysis of Timbre and Orchestration

Sub-Axis 1.1 Digital research tools

Leaders: Stephen McAdams (McGill University), Charalampos Saitis (Queen Mary University of London)

Contact: stephen.mcadams[at]mcgill.ca | c.saitis[at]qmul.ac.uk

Summary: TONE researchers will expand the scope of OrchView and OrchARD by adding new taxonomies, including functional orchestration and tools for the analysis of non-score-based traditional, improvised, and electroacoustic musics.

Sub-Axis 1.2 Composition and music notation

Leaders: Victor Cordero (Haute école de musique de Genève), Nathalie Hérold (Sorbonne Université)

Contact: victor-manuel.cordero-charles[at]hesge.ch | nathalie.herold[at]sorbonne-universite.fr

Summary: Repertoires using notation will be analyzed using flexible taxonomies of orchestration techniques, functional orchestration, and perceptual grouping effects, all with an approach that encourages a multiplicity of analytical methods.

Sub-Axis 1.3 New methods for analysis

Leaders: Nicole Biamonte (McGill University), Caroline Traube (Université de Montréal)

Contact: nicole.biamonte[at]mcgill.ca | caroline.traube[at]umontreal.ca

Summary: TONE will develop new theories and analytical techniques to describe the functions and perception of timbre and orchestration in non-notated musics, including aural analysis, computational audio descriptors, and visual representations.

Sub-Axis 1.4 Perception and semantics

Leaders: Lindsey Reymore (Arizona State University), Kai Siedenburg (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg)

Contact: lreymore[at]asu.edu | kai.siedenburg[at]uni-oldenburg.de

Summary: We will analyze acoustic parameters related to timbre perception and other musical elements to model the perceived grouping effects of various orchestral combinations and their changes over time. We will also continue to develop techniques to measure listeners’ emotional reactions and link them to musical structure, timbral properties, and cultural factors.

Sub-Axis 1.5 Instruments and sociocultural contexts

Leaders: Mondher Ayari (Université de Strasbourg), Althea SullyCole (McGill University)

Contact: ayari[at]unistra.fr | althea.sullycole[at]mcgill.ca

Summary: TONE will pursue the organological and acoustic analysis of musical instruments and voices in diverse traditions, and the sociocultural analysis of the communities that use them, as a basis for understanding the affordances that constituent instruments offer to orchestration practices.

Sub-Axis 1.6 Pedagogy of timbre/orchestration study

Leaders: Robert Hasegawa (McGill University), Leigh VanHandel (University of British Columbia)

Contact: robert.hasegawa[at]mcgill.ca | leighvh[at]mail.ubc.ca

Summary: This sub-axis examines how timbre and orchestration can be taught in music curricula at all levels and seeks to translate TONE research findings into open-source resources for educators.

Axis 2: Research-Creation

Sub-Axis 2.1 Digital tools for creation

Leaders: Carmine Cella (University of California, Berkeley), Gilbert Nouno (Haute école de musique de Genève)

Contact: carmine.cella[at]berkeley.edu | gilbert.nouno[at]hesge.ch

Summary: Systems like Orchidea, FluCoMa, and IRCAM’s Dicy2 analyze, match, and improvise with sounds to aid real‑time collaboration. Within TONE, these technologies are framed as co‑creative tools for experimental music, not replacements for human composers.

Sub-Axis 2.2 Contemporary orchestration research ensembles (CORE)

Leaders: Jimmie LeBlanc (Université de Montréal), Karola Obermüller (University of California, San Diego)

Contact: jimmie.leblanc[at]umontreal.ca | kobermueller[at]ucsd.edu

Summary: Our innovative CORE program brings together student composers, performers, and analysts, supervised by artists and researchers from different disciplines, to co-create musical works and solve orchestration problems.

Sub-Axis 2.3 Playing, singing, improvising

Leaders: Émilie Girard-Charest (Conservatoire supérieure de musique et de danse de Lyon), Antony Csaba (University of British Columbia)

Contact: emilie.girard-charest[at]cnsmd-lyon.fr | acsaba[at]uvic.ca

Summary: Researchers and artists in this sub-axis will record, quantify, and analyze performances while developing innovative techniques for new musical creation.

Sub-Axis 2.4 Acoustics, space, and recording

Leaders: Martha de Francisco (McGill University), Malte Kob (Hochschule für Musik Detmold)

Contact: martha.defrancisco[at]mcgill.ca | kob[at]hfm-detmold.de

Summary: Expert acousticians, recording engineers, and Tonmeisters within TONE will study acoustic effects in detail through acoustic cameras, multiple microphone arrays, measurements of performance space acoustics, and expert perceptual evaluation.

Sub-Axis 2.5 Pedagogy of creative practices

Leaders: Andile Khumalo (University of the Witwatersrand), Jason Noble (Université de Moncton)

Contact: andile.khumalo[at]wits.ac.za | jason.noble[at]umoncton.ca

Summary: This sub-axis considers timbre and orchestration pedagogy for creative practice across a wide range of styles and genres, including digital orchestration, jazz arranging, studio work with digital audio workstations, soundscape composition, and creative recording/mixing techniques.