Thank you for visiting my portfolio page. Here you can find information about me and my work, which includes publications on music, actual music, and software.
About Me
I am a musician and a Senior Research Fellow in Music Cognition & Computation at The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University. Funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), I develop computational models of music perception and use these models to shed light on human cognition, to drive creative musical outputs, and to inform the development of educational tools for mathematics and music.
My current $369,000 ARC DECRA award funds a three-year research project titled "Uncovering Universal Mechanisms for the Communication of Musical Emotion". The research focus is on tonality and meter; for example, using perceptual and cognitive processes to explain why differing successions of tones and chords, and differing rhythms induce differing feelings of fit, stability, and likeability. My research also explores intercultural music cognition, and engages with new musical interfaces and the algorithmic generation of music, as exemplified by my suite of free music applications available at the Dynamic Tonality website, which includes the widely used musical loop generator XronoMorph.
You can download my CV here.Publications
Journal Articles
Taylor, J. R. & Milne, A. J. (in press). The Rhythmotron. Leonardo Music Journal, 29:67–72.
Smit, E. A., Milne, A. J., Dean, R. T., Weidemann, G. (2019). Perception of affect in unfamiliar musical chords. PLoS ONE, 14(6):e0218570.
Dobrowohl, F., Milne, A. J. & Dean R. T. (2019). Controlling perception thresholds for changing timbres in continuous sounds. Organised Sound, 24(1):71–84.
Dean, R. T., Milne, A. J., and Bailes, F. (2019). Spectral pitch similarity is a predictor of perceived change in sound- as well as note-based music. Music & Science, 2:2059204319847351.
Dobrowohl, F. A., Milne, A. J., and Dean, R. T. (2019). Timbre preferences in the context of mixing music. Applied Sciences, 9(8):1695.
Stanford, S., Milne, A. J., and MacRitchie, J. (2018). The effect of isomorphic pitch layouts on the transfer of musical learning. Applied Sciences, 8(12):2514.
Milne, A. J., Bulger, D., and Herff, S. A. (2017). Exploring the space of perfectly balanced rhythms and scales. Journal of Mathematics and Music, 11(2).
MacRitchie, J. and Milne, A. J. (2017). Exploring the effects of pitch layout on learning a new musical instrument. Applied Sciences, 7(12):1218.
Milne, A. J. and Holland, S. (2016). Empirically testing Tonnetz, voice-leading, and spectral models of perceived triadic distance. Journal of Mathematics and Music, 10(1):59–85.
Milne, A. J. and Dean, R. T. (2016). Computational creation and morphing of multilevel rhythms by control of evenness. Computer Music Journal, 40(1):35–53.
Milne, A. J., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2016). Testing a spectral model of tonal affinity with microtonal melodies and inharmonic spectra. Musicae Scientiae, 20(4):465–494.
Milne, A. J., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2015). A spectral pitch class model of the probe tone data and scalic tonality. Music Perception, 32(4):364–393.
Prechtl, A., Milne, A. J., Holland, S., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2012). A MIDI sequencer that widens access to the compositional possibilities of novel tunings. Computer Music Journal, 36(1):42–54.
Milne, A. J., Sethares, W. A., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2011). Modelling the similarity of pitch collections with expectation tensors. Journal of Mathematics and Music, 5(1):1–20.
Sethares, W. A., Milne, A. J., Tiedje, S., Prechtl, A., and Plamondon, J. (2009). Spectral tools for Dynamic Tonality and audio morphing. Computer Music Journal, 33(2):71–84.
Milne, A. J., Sethares, W. A., and Plamondon, J. (2008). Tuning continua and keyboard layouts. Journal of Mathematics and Music, 2(1):1–19.
Milne, A. J., Sethares, W. A., and Plamondon, J. (2007). Isomorphic controllers and Dynamic Tuning: Invariant fingering over a tuning continuum. Computer Music Journal, 31(4):15–32.
Book Chapters
Milne, A. J. and Olsen, K. N. (in press). Pitch, timbre, and rhythm. In Thompson, W. F. and Olsen, K. N., editors, The Science and Psychology of Music: From Beethoven at the Office to Beyoncé at the Gym. ABC-CLIO.
Milne, A. J. (2019). XronoMorph: Investigating paths through rhythmic space. In Holland, S., Mudd, T., Wilkie-McKenna, K., McPherson, A. P., and Wanderley, M. M., editors, New Directions in Music and Human-Computer Interaction. Springer.
Hilton, C., Calilhanna, A., and Milne, A. J. (2018). Visualizing and sonifying mathematical music theory with software applications: Implications of computer-based models for practice and education. In Montiel, M. and Gómez, F., editors, Theoretical and Practical Pedagogy of Mathematical Music Theory: Music for Mathematics and Mathematics for Musicians, Form School to Postgraduate Levels. World Scientific.
Milne, A. J. (2018). Linking sonic aesthetics with mathematical theories. In Dean, R. T. & McLean, A. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Conference Proceedings
Milne, A. J. and Calilhanna, A. (2019). Teaching music with mathematics: A pilot study. In M. Montiel, F. Gómez-Martín, and O. A. Agustín-Aquino (Eds.), Mathematics and Computation in Music, (LNCS, Vol 11502, pp. 383–389). Cham: Springer.
Hearne, G., Milne, A. J., and Dean, R. T. (2019). Distributional analysis of n-dimensional feature space for 7-note scales in 22-TET. In M. Montiel, F. Gómez-Martín, and O. A. Agustín- Aquino (Eds.), Mathematics and Computation in Music, (LNCS, Vol 11502, pp. 201–212). Cham: Springer.
Hamilton, T. J., Doai, J., Milne, A. J., Calilhanna, A., Hilton, C., Goldwater, M., Cohn, R. (2018). Teaching mathematics with music: A pilot study. In Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE 2018). Wollongong, Australia.
Herff, S. A., Johnson, G. D., Milne, A. J., Herff, C., Kim, J., Shi, J., Krusienski, D. J. (2017). Signal characterization for a musical rhythm BCI. In Proceedings of the 39th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). Jeju Island, Korea.
MacRitchie, J. and Milne, A. J. (2017). Evaluation of the Learnability and Playability of Pitch Layouts in New Musical Instruments. In Proceedings of the Sound and Music Computing Conference 2017 (pp. 450–457). Espoo, Finland.
Milne, A. J., Herff, S. A., Bulger, D., Sethares, W. A., and Dean, R. (2016). XronoMorph: Algorithmic generation of perfectly balanced and well-formed rhythms. In Proceedings of the 2016 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, pages 388–393, Brisbane, Australia.
Milne, A. J., Bulger, D., Herff, S., and Sethares, W. A. (2015). Perfect balance: A novel principle for the construction of musical scales and meters. In T. Collins, D. Meredith, and A. Volk (Eds.), Mathematics and Computation in Music—MCM 2015, volume 9110 of LNAI, pages 97–108, Heidelberg. Springer.Milne, A. J., Carlé, M., Sethares, W. A., Noll, T., and Holland, S. (2011). Scratching the scale labyrinth. In Agon, C., Amiot, E., Andreatta, M., Assayag, G., Bresson, J., and Mandereau, J., editors, Mathematics and Computation in Music—MCM 2011, volume 6726 of LNAI, pages 180–195, Berlin Heidelberg. Springer-Verlag.
Milne, A. J., Xambó, A., Laney, R., Sharp, D. B., Prechtl, A., and Holland, S. (2011). Hex Player—a virtual musical controller. In Jensenius, A. R. and Godøy, R. I., editors, Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME11), pages 244–247, Oslo, Norway.
Milne, A. J. (2010). Tonal music theory: A psychoacoustic explanation? In Demorest, S. M., Morrison, S. J., and Campbell, P. S., editors, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, pages 597–600, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Milne, A. J., Sethares, W. A., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2010). Metrics for pitch collections. In Demorest, S. M., Morrison, S. J., and Campbell, P. S., editors, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, pages 77–80, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Milne, A. J. (2009). A psychoacoustic model of harmonic cadences: A preliminary report. In Louhivuori, J., Eerola, T., Saarikallio, S., Himberg, T., and Eerola, P., editors, ESCOM 2009 Proceedings, pages 328–337, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Plamondon, J., Milne, A. J., and Sethares, W. A. (2009). Dynamic Tonality: Extending the framework of tonality into the 21st century. CMS South Central Chapter Conference, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
Milne, A. J. and Prechtl, A. (2008). New tonalities with the Thummer and The Viking. In Crossan, A. and Kaaresoja, T., editors, Proceedings of the 3rd International Haptic and Auditory Interaction Design Workshop, volume 2, pages 20–22, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Non-Traditional Research Outputs (ERA-Compliant)
Truman, J. and Milne, A. J. (2018). Resonances. Recorded work, http:// handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:51627.
Milne, A. J., Colley, I., Dobrowohl, F., and Sa'Adullah, F. (2017). Primitive Minimals and My Only Friend. Recorded work, http://handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:43862.
Milne, A. J., Taylor, J., and Stanton, C. (2017). Rhythmotron. CoLABS 2017 (29/09/2017: Bungarribee Park, Blacktown, NSW). Recorded work, http://handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:43728.
Milne, A. J., Hearne, G., Dobrowohl, F., and Colley, I. (2016). Babylon 19|30. Recorded work, http://handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:39993.
Milne, A. J., Dean, R. T. (2014). Serial Meantimes. Recorded work, http:// handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:40696.
Milne, A. J. (2014). Red-backed Fairy-wren. Recorded work, http://handle.westernsydney.edu.au: 8081/1959.7/uws:40695.
Other
Milne, A. J. and Herff, S. A (2016). How a little mathematics can help create some beautiful music. The Conversation (Australian edition), 18/07/2016.
Milne, A. J. (2013). A Computational Model of the Cognition of Tonality. Doctoral dissertation, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Milne, A. J. (2009). A Psychoacoustic Model of Harmonic Cadences. Master's thesis, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Music, Jyväskylä.
Milne, A. J., Sethares, W. A., & Plamondon, J. (2006). X_System. Commissioned report, Thumtronics Inc.
Music
This section comprises a small selection of music I have written, improvised, and performed. Numerous other examples of my work can be found on soundcloud.com/andrew-j-milne. I also engineered, mixed, and mastered all of these examples with the exception of Yak Butter, where those duties were performed by Jim Hoyland.
Installation Music
These are two pieces taken from a suite of music collectively improvised for an art exhibition by Susannah Montgomery. I created an interesting recording setup—a multiplicity of instruments (guitars, bass, 'cello, saxes, drums, piano, accordion, melodica, various percussions) were arranged in a circle at the centre of which were two ribbon mics in a Blumlein configuration. Around the circle were a number of outward pointing instrument mics feeding into effects units and then into monitors pointing towards the central ribbon mics—great use was made of a lovely vintage Roland tape echo machine. The musicians were free to wander between instruments and adjust the effects units. Christine Collister (voice, etc.), Brad McCloud (drums, etc.), Iggy Harling (bass, cello, guitar, voice, keys, etc.), Andrew Milne (keys, guitar, bass, etc.), Andy Montgomery (saxes, cello, voice, etc.).
Film Music
The first piece below is taken from My Last Winter directed by Guy Passmore. It was collectively improvised having just watched rough cuts from the movie. The musicians are Christine Collister (voice), Brad McCloud (drums), Andrew Milne (keys and guitar), Andy Montgomery (sax).
The second piece, for flute, viola, and electric bass, is part of my score for the film Melencolia, directed by Margaret Constantas.
Band Music
I have formed a number of gigging rock/post-rock bands. I am interested in the intersection of improvised and written music, and much of my music mixes these two modes of creation. Backstreet is a reconstruction and rearrangement of what was originally a free improvisation, Nectar and Ambrosia is a completely free improvisation. The musicians are Christine Collister (voice, etc.), Brad McCloud (drums), Andrew Milne (keys and guitar), Andrew Montgomery (saxes, etc.), and additionally Iggy Harling (bass) on Nectar and Ambrosia.
Microtonal Music
I have recently become interested in the compositional possibilities afforded by microtonal scales—they provide novel sets of constraints within which the composer or performer can direct their creativity. One of the great difficulties with composing and performing such music is that almost all current musical interfaces are designed to work effectively only with tunings similar to 12-tone equal temperament. In collaboration with Anthony Prechtl, Bill Sethares, and Jim Plamondon, I have written a number of software tools to facilitate the use of microtonal tunings. These are available, as freeware, on the Dynamic Tonality website (see below).
In the video below, a small group improvise on my piece Yak Butter. It is in a microtonal temperament called porcupine. The musicians are Vassilis Angelis (drums), Maxime Canelli (guitar), Simon Holland ('cello), Andrew Milne (QWERTY). It uses a 7-tone well-formed scale (1 large and 6 small steps). I used the Dynamic Tonality synths 2032 and TransFormSynth, played through Relayer, which converts the QWERTY keyboard into musical keyboard with a layout appropriate for the scale used.
Magic Traveller is a "sketch"—an experiment to see if it is possible to utilize familiar musical techniques (triadic harmony connected by smooth voice-leading, and a few simple modulations) within an unfamiliar tuning system. I also performed this piece live in Jyväskylä, with additional oud and drums. It's in the magic temperament, and is based on a ten-tone well-formed scale (3 large, 7 small steps) with a couple of modulations. It was written and performed on a Thummer, and uses the Dynamic Tonality synth The Viking. The MIDI was sequenced in SONAR.
Software
I have designed, written, and co-written, Max/MSP applications that facilitate the performance and composition of microtonal music. These applications are available, as freeware, on the Dynamic Tonality website. (Dynamic Tonality—developed by myself, Bill Sethares, Jim Plamondon, and Anthony Prechtl—is an audio synthesis and control framework that helps musicians to explore novel tunings, scales and timbres using a small number of intuitive parameters.) I have also written a number of MATLAB routines, whose purpose is to model perception of music.
Dynamic Tonality Software
XronoMorph. XronoMorph is a free macOS and Windows app for creating multilayered rhythmic and melodic loops (hockets). Each rhythmic layer is visualized as a polygon inscribed in a circle, and each polygon can be constructed according to two different mathematical principles: perfect balance and well-formedness (aka MOS). These principles generalize polyrhythms, additive, and Euclidean rhythms. Furthermore, rhythms can be smoothly morphed between, and irrational rhythms with no regular pulse can also be easily constructed. By A. J. Milne and S. A. Herff (first released in 2015).
Relayer. Enables musicians who play the AXiS-49, the QWERTY keyboard, or the Thummer, to play in a wide variety of isomorphic note layouts and microtonal tunings. It utilizes my novel theory of APS layouts, which ensures scales follow a simple spatial pattern (Milne et al, 2011; Prechtl et al., 2012). By A. J. Milne (first released in 2011).
Hex. A MIDI sequencer that uses a two-dimensional lattice, instead of a piano roll, to make the sequencing of microtonal music as straightforward as it is for 12-tone equal temperament. I invented and prototyped Hex in 2007, after realizing that all isomorphic note layouts have a pitch axis that can be oriented vertically (like a piano roll), regardless of the underlying tuning (Milne et al., 2008; Milne et al, 2011; Prechtl et al., 2012). By A. J. Milne and A. Prechtl (first released in 2010).
2032. A physical modelling (modal) synthesizer, where the tuning of tones and their partials can be independently and dynamically altered with a small number of intuitive controls. By A. Prechtl and A. J. Milne (first released in 2009).
TransFormSynth. An analysis-resynthesis synthesizer where the tuning of tones and their partials can be independently and dynamically altered with a small number of intuitive controls (Sethares et al., 2008). By W. A. Sethares, Stefan Tiedje, Andrew Milne, Anthony Prechtl (first released in 2008).
The Viking. An additive-subtractive synthesizer where the tuning of tones and their partials can be independently and dynamically altered with a small number of intuitive controls. This was the first Dynamic Tonality synthesizer and is detailed in (Milne and Prechtl, 2008). By A. Prechtl and A. J. Milne (first released in 2008).
MATLAB Routines
Melodic Affinity Model. The model of melodic affinity described in the paper Milne, A. J., Laney, R., and Sharp, D. B. (2016). Testing a spectral model of tonal affinity with microtonal melodies and inharmonic spectra. As described in (Milne, et al. 2016).
Context-Probe Similarity. These comprise two routines—one is a bottom-up (psychoacoustic) model of Krumhansl's probe tone data (tonal hierarchies); the other extends this to model the tonicity of any chord or pitch class given a scale (or other pitch class set). As described in (Milne, et al. 2015).
PitchMetrics. A package of MATLAB routines to calculate the pitch domain distance between pitch collections (such as chords, melodies, scales, tunings, virtual pitches, or spectral pitches) as described in (Milne, et al. 2011). By A. J. Milne and W. A. Sethares (first released in 2011).
This site is designed and maintained by Andrew Milne. Please email me if you have any questions: andymilne [ a t ] tonalcentre [ d o t ] org