Joint Physics & Astronomy/Electrical Computing & Engineering Colloquium

This talk will consider the use of mathematics to analyze the signals present in music. The first part of the talk will focus on disassembly of a music file into component parts through the use of the complex spectral phase evolution (CSPE) method for super-resolution of frequencies. The second part of the talk ill look at the problem of detecting flaws in a music recording, generally called "wow and flutter", that are caused by problems in the original recording equipment. Examples will be shown of signals from wire recordings, tape recordings and video recordings. Methods of repair will be presented, both graphically and through some example sound clips, that can restore the recording almost to its original state. The next segment of the talk will address the methods of rebuilding the music from the mathematical representation. This will include a discussion of the use of controlled chaotic unstable periodic orbits (cupolets) as a way to produce complicated music signals with very few bits of information. The rebuilding will be demonstrated by playing a music file where mathematical "layers" can be added or removed on-the-fly to go from a 32Kbps version up to a lossless version of the music. The talk will finish by discussing some mathematical details and then concluding remarks will indicate current and future research areas.