Tone-based music consists of sequential arrangements of notes that generate pitch structures over time. An expert listener is able to ascertain these structures over time. MuSA.RT allows listeners to see tonal structures as they hear them. Real-time tracking of tonal patterns in music also has widespread applications in music analysis, information retrieval, performance analysis, and expression synthesis.

MuSA.RT shows the names of the pitches played, the triads, and the keys, as the music unfolds in a performance. The structures are visualized and computed using the three-dimensional Spiral Array model. Two trackers, called Centers of Effect (CEs), one for longterm and one for shortterm information, show the history of the tonal trajectories.

The three-dimensional model dances to the rhythm of the music, spinning smoothly so that the current triad forms the background for the CE trails. The real-time MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) input can be captured from an acoustic piano through a Moog piano bar.

MuSA.RT was designed using François' Software Architecture for Immersipresence, a general formalism for the design, analysis and implementation of complex and interactive software systems.

Photo: Composer Lisa Bielawa tries out the MuSA.RT system at the Radcliffe Gymnasium, January 16, 2008. Photo by E. Chew.

project co-leaders: profs. elaine chew and alex françois