C4DM Seminar: Sebastian Gonzalez - Musical acoustic research at the Cremona Lab: making AI and craft work together
QMUL, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
Centre for Digital Music Seminar Series
Seminar by:
Sebastian Gonzale
Date/time: 2nd of November, 16:00-17:00
Location: G2, Mile End Campus
Open to students, staff, alumni, public; all welcome. Admission is FREE, no pre-booking required.
Title: Musical acoustic research at the Cremona Lab: making AI and craft work together
Abstract: In this talk I will review the work that the Cremona Lab has done in the last few years using computer simulation, artificial intelligence, and experiments to figure out the relations between the construction parameters of stringed instruments and their vibrational properties. I'll show how we are slowly shifting our perspective of the instrument from its mechanical vibrations to a more sound-based, timbral description of them. I will also present some results derived from the collaboration with Sam Zigmuntowizc and his 20 years of data collection, and my new project with the Open String Foundation that searches to give conservatory-level instruments to children of underprivileged regions, using the latest results of our musical acoustic research for violin shape optimisation.
Bio: A physicist by training, earned his PhD in the Netherlands before a chance encounter with a 13th-generation family of violin makers from Germany stirred his fascination for the craft. This new interest, coupled with his experience running a guitar shop in Valparaiso, Chile, led him to Cremona, Italy in 2019. There, he delved into the acoustics of musical instruments at the Politecnico di Milano. Now, Sebastian combines his technical expertise with his love for music, utilizing computer simulations, artificial intelligence, and hands-on experiments to unravel the mechanics behind the unique sound of the violin.
Read more: https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.08610