Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools from Stephen Ramsay on Vimeo.

Andrew Sorensen’s Live coding with Impromptu is critiqued by Stephen Ramsay

Thorin Kerr demonstrates a reggae groove using jam2jam on OLPC. With this program we are wanting to emphasise the cultural fluidity of the content so that when new communities play with jam2jam the content they can play with will be one that they value and can be expressive with. Thorin’s work with OLPC is showing that we can put very different content on jam2jam for OLPC so that when it goes to communities around the world we can use content from that place that resonates and engages. Jam2jam research began like this when we asked Afro American kids in Ohio what kind of music they liked and then made generative styles based on those preferences. Whilst most of our styles are what we might call ‘Pop or rock’  we can do anything from abstract electronica to Bach or Xenakis or any tuning and rhythmic system. The ethics of musical content is an important consideration and we hope to place these choices in the hands of the users in their own communities to select and make.

The Jam2jam OLPC Crew: Steve Dillon, Thorin Kerr & Andrew Brown

If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself: ‘Somewhere, my flower is there…’

Pioneering Aboriginal singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter has died.

A Ngarrindjeri woman, Hunter was born in 1955 near the banks of the Murray River in South Australia.

She was a member of the Stolen Generations, having been forcibly removed from her family at the age of eight.

Hunter met her lifelong partner and musical soul mate Archie Roach when she was 16. Both were homeless teenagers at the time.

Roach and Hunter have been described as a singing/songwriting team of extraordinary spirit.

Review by Lia Laor Levinsky College of Education, Israel International Journal of Education and the Arts

” Dillon’s attempt to understand the personal meaning of music for young people is particularly
important in view of past attempts to stay close to scientific modes of thinking.”

“In my view, the major innovation in Dillon’s book is his point of departure for developing his
vision of music education through children. He is interested in examining children’s unique
outlook of their musical experiences and the relevance of this experience to their lives, and
factors that enable children to develop self-contained dialogue with music through listening,
performing, and creating. “

Lia provides an insightful and helpful review in the light of strengthening the thesis for a relational pedagogy based upon our relationship to knowledge in ontological sense radiating out towards the epistemological. It is indeed an  honour to receive these thoughts from an expert in the philosophy of relationships such as this. I am humbled by the insight and attention to the ideas. Steve Dillon

Thorin Kerr Demonstrates jam2jam for OLPC using a Country and western style with web cam images. This shows the extended functionality of network jamming with both music and images DJ/VJ. This will enable users to jam collaboratively with OLPC instruments in real time and also capture images.

Whilst the sound on these little machines is only heard through the tiny inbuilt speakers through headphones or a stereo the sounds are lovely samples.

Download report click here

Eva Saether & Per Skold Malmo Sweden

Matt Thibeault from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign USA and Doctoral student Melanie Matchett

Tim Kitchen Strathcona Melbourne Australia

Alex Ruthmann & Tony Beatrice University of Massachusetts Lowell USA

Thorin Kerr development programmer for ACID’s Network Jamming project has developed a unique approach for using the One Laptop Per Child OLPC XO ccomputer as a musical instrument. Jam2jam presents a band or ensemble metaphor for collaborative  music making with computers. Thorin and the  Network Jamming team have developed a suite of software applications that allow  novice users to plays the computer or a controller as an instrument in a live real time ensemble. For the XO Thorin has made good use of the Sugar environment to create a network jamming experience. Players can use bass, guitar, drums and keyboards by simply moving the arrow keys  horizontally and vertically. These gestures affect a pitch and density algorithm and  a musical style and sound samples for each instrument.

Jammers can then play together by joining the jam host and their instruments syncronise over the Mesh network.

What is exciting about this is that each  computer acts as a single instrument and the Jammers can play collaboratively as aband or ensemble in real time. The idea of  the computers as a distributed intelligence rises up in the design whilst it provides an experience design that activates the collaborative energy of music ensemble collaboration and creative improvisation.

We are looking forward to developing some visual features suing the inbuilt camera and engaging  interested musicians in developing some Jam scenes as musical styles with new midi files and instrument samples alongside some recipes for jamming.

For London Based members check out:  Andrew Brown Live Coding performance at:

Livecoding @ Anatomy Museum

14-1-10, Kings College, London

Happy New Year 2010

Welcome to the first post of Sound Communities for 2010. We look forward to an exciting new year of music and sound activities in communities from our network members from all around the world.

A Christmas Carol from Andrew Sorensen on Vimeo.

Its been a vibrant and sensational year for Jam2jam. Many thanks to allour friends and researchers from all over the world who helped put smiles on the faces of children with music and media performance. We look forward to an exciting 2010 with new software releases, a jam2jam book, new recipes for jamming and even more countries joining our Jamnation. All of the team at ACID wish you all a happy and restful Christmas and New year.

Per Skold from Humfryskolan in Malmo, Sweden reminded us that sometimes a smile is enough! To this end I have begun a Flickr site simply entitled Jam2jam_Smiles to gather all the lovely pics of people of all ages being engaged and smiling while using jam2jam.

Download a Free Public Beta version of Jam2Jam for Apple Mac OSX10.4 & 10.5 (NOT SNOW LEOPARD.

ACID Network Jamming team proudly announce the first Public Beta release of Jam2jam AV. Jam2jam AV has been extensively tested by young people and teachers in the UK, USA, Europe, Hong Kong and Australia in successful trials over two years.  ACID programmer Thorin Kerr has worked hard to synthesise the feature requests from trail users Assoc Prof Andrew Brown has extensively improved the responsiveness of the software and adapted it for use with USB controllers.Jam2jam is based on Andrew Sorensen’s Impromptu development and provides an expressive instrument for performance. Project Leader Dr Steve Dillon is excited about the amazing community of jammers that has emerged from trials iin schools, museums, libraries and community centres across Australia and the world and the enthusiasm of the users of all ages. ‘The smiles on the faces of people of all ages using jam2jam has motivated this project- our research into meaningful engagement is evident here.’

jam2jam is a new instrument for collaborative media performance. Network Jamming allows people to play music and do video remixing together over the internet. The project explores ways to enhance learning and community by designing interactive creative activities based on collaborative and generative digital technologies. The project has developed new generative media software that can be controlled over the internet and uses these to increase access to real-time creative interaction for novice users such as children and people with disabilities.

The Network Jamming team have simultaneously developed teaching materials and approaches to public workshops by working with innovative teachers and artists across the world. For teachers and workshop leaders there is a support and share area called Recipes for Jamming that provides ideas and lesson materials for using jam2jam in classrooms and communities.

Jammers can join the jam2jam social network and upload and share your jams at http://www.jam2jam.com/

Conflict as a source of musical ideas: Nature/Nurture and Three Conflicts.

Conflict as a source of musical ideas: Nature/Nurture and Three Conflicts. from dillonsc on Vimeo.

The Musicological Society of Australia Queensland Chapter Annual Lecture 2009, featuring newly appointed head of composition at University of Queensland, Dr Robert Davidson, presenting on “Conflict as a source of musical ideas: Nature/Nurture and Three Conflicts.” This video captures the lecture and aportion of the solo performance examining the conflict in philosophy and the social sciences over human nature, as well as some other conflict-based music. The event was held at the Nixon Room UQ on July 23, 2009 from 4pm to 5:30pm.

Toby Gifford on ABC New Inventors

Toby Gifford is a PhD Student at QUT supervised by Assoc Prof Andrew Brown and Dr Steve Dillon.

His Jambot research explores generative processes with music making.

Link to ABC Site to vote for Jambot as viewers choice.

For more information see: Gifford and Brown Listening for noise: An approach to percussive onset detection (PDF format, 5 pages, 659 KB), a paper presented at the Australasian Computer Music Conference held in Sydney on July 10-12, 2008. You’ll find more information about the event on the Australasian Computer Music Association website. See Jambot in Action.

Jam2 jam research goes to Hong Kong

John Ong                                       Haze Yam                 Charis Chua

ACID: Network Jamming Post graduate researcher and Canto Pop producer John Ong has been working with singers Haze Yam and Charis Chua to develop scenes for Jam2jam that reflect the expressiveness of Hong Kong Chinese popular music. The result has been a delightful sounding demo recording and a scene that will enable players to both play and compose their own Canto Pop song.

Charis is a graduate of Griffith University Conservatorium and Haze is a Nursing graduate from Queensland University of Technology. Both are actively involved in singing as part of the expressiveness in their lives. John Ong has been researching music and religious ecstasy form the western Church music directors perspective.

With the network Jamming project we have always tried to involve people from the community to design musical environments so that the first sounds players hear are ones that are familiar and potentially provide an opportunity for expressive and collaborative performance.

Dr Steve Dillon has been invited by the innovative Professor Sam Leong to present the new version at the Hong Kong Institute of Education to examine research partnerships to explore the musical and social implications of generative media and popular music in Hong Kong Schools.

Congratulations

Dr Don Devito, Music Director at Sidney Lanier School was selected as Florida CEC Teacher of the Year.

Sidney Lanier is a public school in Gainesville, Florida for students with moderate to profound disabilities between the ages of 3 and 22. The Sidney Lanier Music Program is global in scope and is linked with universities and music programs internationally through research, cooperative music making, and professional music education organizations.

DISCOVERING ABILITIES

WEILL RECITAL HALL AT CARNEGIE HALL PERFORMANCE 2010

This evening of music is a demonstration of shared experiences based on research projects conducted by both university music education professors and community musicians from around the world with the Sidney Lanier School Music Ensemble. Sidney Lanier is a public school for children with moderate to profound disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities.

Face To Face from Andrew Sorensen on Vimeo.

Impromptu and 3D Modelling.

Jam2jam makes news in Russia

Jam2jam concerts for all ages

Sound, Music, Gesture: A Concert in Sydney - 23:09:09

A concert of performances exploring relationships between sound, music and gesture

by: Ben Marks and Andrew Johnston; Jon Drummond; Bert Bongers and Jos Mulder; Sam Ferguson.

WHEN

6pm, Wednesday September 23 2009

WHERE

UTS Bon Marche Theatre

UTS Building 3

755 Harris St, Ultimo

Sydney, Australia

(near cnr. Harris St. and Broadway, enter from Harris St)

Map: http://www.uts.edu.au/about/mapsdirections/bway.html

Free entry

The image shows Bert Bongers and his crew demonstrating the gestural controllers for ACID’s jam2jam generative music software.

Jam2jam @ Brisbane Powerhouse: Powerkidz as free school holiday activity 23rd-24th September 2009

Tyson Clancy Jones with the 4-8 year old j2jammers at Brisbane Powerhouse.

CreActives Dream it Up

Greg Dodge is the realisatuer of amazing community music partnerships.

Dream It Up 2009 - Logan City, Australia. On stage - KITCH, XY LATU, TRAVIS LEE and VIC KENA. This was amazing way to finish the day in front of under 1000 young year 9 & 10 students from over 20 Logan City schools.

The initiative is a cross cultural collaboration between so many in the community and is all about inspiring future dreams for young people.

Greg Dodge is the final MC for the day……this is an annual event in Logan City.

Link to Report from Massachusetts

Students in Anthony Beatrice’s Music Production I class may soon be making music with people from across the world. Beatrice, the director of Instrumental Music and Music Technology at the middle and high schools, is collaborating with Dr. Alex Ruthmann of UMass-Lowell to introduce his students to a new online software program called Jam2Jam.

For those of you fortunate enough to attend you will know that Jamskolan was a HUGE success. Workshops, showcases, forums and demos enjoyed with abundance by all.

The decided outcome from the process was a recipe for a jam book for teachers and community workers using jam2jam and a book documenting the ideas that came out of the comparative research and 13 days of discovery.

ACID would like to thank all who contributed to the success of the Symposium; our overseas friends who joined us from the Universities of Illinois, Massachusetts and Malmo, our performers from Down Syndrome Association of Queensland, students from Queensland Academy for Creative Industries, Tim Kitchen, Andy Foster, Fiona Vance and the many others who we couldn’t have done it without. A heartfelt thank you to you all!

Matt Thibeault Sousa-fies us

12th August marks the final day of Jamskolan09.

Over the last ten days participants from Australia, Sweden and the USA have determined the research agenda and conceptual framework for generative media systems and a suite of unique software tools to provide access to meaningful engagement with media in schools and communities.

This has been a unique experience sharing the collective creativity and wisdom of the participants. The structure of proceedings simultaneously developed software and pedagogy. A dynamic presence that included academic rigour and experienced innovative practitioner- teacher researchers.

What is clear is the need for simple and accessible design, collaborative spaces for interaction and the provision of dynamic and responsive tools that allow art to be present in the conversation about art. It focuses upon performance and improvisation as metaphors for presenting what we know and can do.  Providing a space where analytical knowledge can be discussed alongside intuitive and embodied knowledge in compelling ways that increase expressive range and give access to meaning in personal social and Cultural ways.

This Collaborage space allows unstructured ’stacks of data in a range of forms to be combined, extended and manipulated in a blank space.

International Generative Media Systems Education Workshop and  Symposium.

3rd-12 August 2009.

Kelvin Grove Urban Village Queensland University of Technology

ACID Welcomes International and Interstate Delegates to the first Jamskolan Symposium

Program and public events

Download Invitation

MSAQ Annual Lecture

Conflict as a source of musical ideas: “Nature/Nurture and Three Conflicts.”

This will be a lecture and solo performance examining the conflict in philosophy and the social sciences over human nature, as well as some other conflict-based music. The event is free and all MSAQ members are encouraged to invite friends.

Thursday 23rd July 2009 4-5:30pm University of Queensland, St Lucia, Nixon Room (http://www.uq.edu.au/maps/pdf/StLuciaMap.pdf).

Robert Davidson studied composition with Terry Riley in California and New York, and completed a PhD in composition at the University of Queensland. In addition to many compositional commitments he plays bass in the ensemble Topology, for which he was a founding member. For more info: http://www.topologymusic.com/index.php/bio/robert/

The lecture is a satellite event to the International Society for Cultural History Conference, held at UQ on 20-23 July.

Jam2Jam video made by Dr Tim Kitchen at Strathcona in Melbourne

Jam2Jam Strathcona Trial 1 from Tim Kitchen on Vimeo.

Innovative music and film and television teacher Dr Tim Kitchen encourages students from Strathcona Baptist Girls School to talk about their first experiences with jam2jam. Tim is leading network Jamming trials in Victoria. Tim has extensive experience as a Music educator and featured as a case study participant in Steve Dillon’s book Music Meaning and Transformation and he has since developed expertise in film and television production and completed a doctorate in Information Technology focusing on education.

Congratulations  to Julie Ballantyne

Congratulations to the amazing Dr Julie Ballantyne and her Husband Rory on the birth of their first Child: Laura Joy McKinnon Born 9/7/09 3600grams.

The ACID Vision research project led by Dr David Mc Kinnon has delivered the amazing 3DSee software after Eight years of 3D image research.  Dr David McKinnon has designed software that could revolutionise the way three-dimensional images are created. The software has an amazing range of applications from Mining to Cows as well as games.   Read more about 3DSee here. See it on slash dot com

Powerjam workshops begin Friday 3rd & Saturday the 4th July 1pm at Brisbane Powerhouse. Led by CreActives/Ellaways coach Tyson Clancy-Jones.

Look here for the JamVideos. Book at this link

Network Jamming to be featured in Dr Pamela Burnard’s Keynote at the ANZARME conference in Christchurch New Zealand: Modulating Spaces for Creativity and Innovation in Music Education

1. Situating  musical creativity and innovation in the community

(Irish initiative looks at music in communities)

2. Situating  musical creativity and innovation in a global community

Andrew Brown’s  long awaited ‘Making Music with Java.’

Description:

Making Music with Java is an introduction to music making through software development in the Java programming language using the jMusic library. It explains musical and programming concepts in a coordinated way. The book is written for the musician who wishes to learn about Java programming and computer music concepts, and for the programmer who is interested in music and sound design with Java. It assumes little musical or programming experience and introduces topics and issues as they arise. Sections on computer music and programming are interlaced throughout, but kept separate enough so that those with experience in either area can skip ahead as required.

Purchase from Lulu.com

ISBN: 978-1-4092-8133-7

Conversations at the Edge: Network Jamming

The State Library of Queensland is building a new space called The Edge  a place for experimentation and creativity, which provides new and digital tools to enable the exploration of critical ideas, green initiatives, new design practices and media-making.  Steve Dillon & Andrew Brown led a discussion about the value of Network Jamming as creativity support tool, collaborative technology and mode 3 learning.

The savetoDISC Research Network wishes the inspirational Music Education Researcher

Dr Pamela Burnard

a Very Happy Birthday.

Click to see jam2jam Birthday Card

Congratulations to savetoDISC PhD Candidate Simon Chan on the reading/performance of the ‘The Might Have Beens’ by The Other production Company.

Simon ’s latest work is a musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s play, “Dear Brutus”. The story concerns a group of people who get a second chance in life, courtesy of the delinquent old fairy, Lob - and an enchanted wood that appears magically every Midsummer’s night. Photograph in poster by Jules Zysman. Orchestrations of “Jealousy” and “Have I Told You I Love You Today” by David Lazar. A reading and song performance was presented at the QUT Kelvin Grove Campus music concert hall on the 21st of June 2009.

Network researcher Dr Don Devito at Sidney Lanier School in Florida is about to

take music and Discover Abilities to Carnegie Hall NYC.

DIScovering ABILITIES is a performance workshop and an inclusive exhibition of research and performances between the Sidney Lanier School music ensemble comprised completely of students with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities and the following professors of community music and music education:

Dr. Emma Rodriguez Suarez: Syracuse University professor of music education

Dr. Phil Mullen: ISME board member and community musician in London

Dr. Steve Bingham: Santa Fe College jazz band director

Prof. Andy Krikun: Bergen County Community College music professor

Dr. David Akombo: Weber State University professor of ethnomusicology

Dr. Magali Kleber: Universidade de Londrina, Brazil music education professor

Lansana Camara:  Group Laiengee director (music ensemble for children with disabilities in Conakry, Guinea West Africa highlighted with Sidney Lanier in the May issue of the ISME newsletter.)

The majority of these institutions has published research in the field of community music and special education with Dr Devito and the music students at Sidney Lanier. These are members of the forming North American Coalition for Community Music and ISMEs CMA. The Sidney Lanier music website is in the blogroll with further details.

Jam Bot

ACID Doctoral Student and Apple scholarship holder Toby Gifford has been nominated for the Next Big Thing Award: Vote for him and listen to his amazing JamBot here.

Jambot website

Students from Pentucket Regional High School in Massachusetts using photos of their marching band from the St Patricks day Parade and jamming with them.

New jam2jam scene update

Dance / Electronic Music producer and DJ Nick Coleman has produced some great new jam2jam scenes for Hip Hop and Techno jams.

Nick runs a record label called : Sucksmusic

MIXDEX (Lite)

Andrew Sorensen the innovative author of Impromptu has released the first in a series of iPhone/ iPod Touch music applications. Get your free version of  MIXDEX from the Apple store today!

Download Here

MIXDEX lite is a DJ application in your pocket!   MIXDEX lite offers 60 custom audio tracks and five decks allowing you to mix up some wicked beats.  You control the start and duration of each audio track and their position on one of five mixing decks.  Then when you’re ready hit the Matrix editor and control all five decks for some serious DJ fun.  Don’t forget to plug MIXDEX into a sound system for some serious fun!

Coming to Brisbane 3rd-12th August 2009

Download newsletter

The Australasian CRC for Interactive Design (ACID) is proud to announce  the first International Symposium and Development Workshop for Network Jamming from the 3rd-12th of August 2009 at the Kelvin Grove campus of Queensland University of Technology.

The workshop will bring together world leaders in generative arts making software, educational and community development, Music Industry and community partners with music educators from the USA and Sweden.

International Guests include:

• Dr Eva Saether Lund University Malmo Academy of Music, Sweden.
• Dr Alex Ruthmann University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA.
• Dr Matthew D. Thibeault University of Illinois Urbana Champaign USA.

Australian researchers: Steve Dillon (QUT), Andrew Johnson (UTS),Wayne Taylor (QUT), Michael Dezuanni (QUT) Jeremy Yuille (RMIT) Andrew Brown (QUT), Andrew Sorensen (ACID)Thorin Kerr, (ACID-RA), John Ong (QUT),Barbara Adkins (QUT), Bert Bongers (UTS), Adam Postula UQ.

• The workshop will develop experience design resources and new jamscenes to provide access to collaborative performance for people of diverse cultures and abilities. We will work with a range of new controllers to enable access for disabled performers and develop application scenarios for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program.

Postgraduate researchers from Australia, USA and Sweden will work with Industry, community and academic professionals to create a global network for Generative arts resource production and research into meaningful engagement.

An Evening with Mike Howlett

An Evening with Mike Howlett from dillonsc on Vimeo.

Grammy award winning record producer Mike Howlett talks candidly about the producer as artist and the role of record producers in the popular music industry.  A 40 minute presentation at the Graffiti room Brisbane Powerhouse in Australia for the Musicological Society of Australia Queensland Chapter.

Visit Musicological Society of Australia - Queensland Chapter

Sound Links: Community Music in Australia Project

Steve Dillon Visited Network Jamming sponsors Sibelius/Avid in London to discuss Generative music applications.

QUT Master of Music Graduate Fartein Orestad label Noisy Fingers producing Norwegian rapper Erik de Torres

See the Preview Tab for a New meaningful music making for life series update.   C-S-P to distribute eBook versions of Music Meaning and Transformation and the subsequent series.

Congratulations to Sandra Kirkwood and Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band on their new book.

Turn of the Century: Ipswich Thistle Pipe Band 1909-2009″ . This is a unique book, as it includes many personal stories written by band members and supporters. The project supported, by Arts Qld & Ipswich City Council, was very participatory so the results are quite unlike anything that you have seen before in Australian pipe band history.

CreActives Dream it up 2008 in Logan

The Choir of Hard Knocks

SavetoDISC Welcomes The Choir of Hard Knocks: Rec link initiative: Voices of the unheard to Brisbane. Sweet Freedom and Lifelines Brian Procopis will be a community development leader in the project with RecLinc’s Ben Pennings who heads the Queensland initiative.

Speaking Through the Beat

Dr Don DeVito Sidney Lanier Tampa School Florida

Masculinities and Music provides a window into the world of men and boys and their engagement with music. This book offers both personal reflections and academic argument. Historical perspectives are provided alongside recent research findings. Topics include an interrogation of the affect of hegemonic masculinity on musical involvement, with references to compulsory heterosexuality, gender-role-rigidity and avoidance of femininity. Stories of men and boys and their struggle to participate in music permeate the volume, which concludes with some examples of effective practice for men and boys wishing to engage or re-engage with music.

Australian academic Scott Harrison’s writing is the result of many years of experience as both performer and teacher. He offers a glimpse into his own experiences as young man performing at school and, as an adult singing opera and music theatre. His experience as a teacher of males and females from pre-school to adulthood imbues the book with authority born of genuine familiarity with his topic. This is a passionate, humorous yet serious look at men and music. The volume is essential reading for teachers, parents, academics and young men.

Congratulations to the new Sweetfreedom executive: Steve Dillon Chair Secretary, Hughie Brown Vice Chair, Luke Chippendale Treasurer while Brian Procopis Secretary.