4th EGEE User Forum/OGF 25 and OGF Europe's 2nd International Event

The ASTRA project: reconstructing the ancient epigonion on the GRID with EUMEDCONNECT and GEANT2

3 Mar 2009, 17:12

12m

Foyer (Le Ciminiere, Catania, Sicily, Italy)

Demo Scientific results obtained using grid technology Demo Session

Speaker

Dr Domenico Vicinanza (DANTE - ASTRA project)

Description

ASTRA (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) brings history to life. It takes archaeological findings of extinct musical instruments, and lets us play them again thanks to a virtual digital model running on the GRID Using archaeological data as input (for example fragments from excavations, written descriptions, pictures on ancient urns), a complex digital audio rendering technique models the sound of the instrument.

Impact

The benefits of this system are far-reaching. ASTRA not only makes it possible to recreate instruments that previously would have been either too expensive or too difficult to manufacture by hand, it also allows any model and its associated data to be accessed by other parties. This means that the research data can be shared around the world, making it a truly international project of immense value to working archaeologists and historians.

Detailed analysis

The physical modelling sound synthesis technique used by ASTRA aims in fact to use a set of equations and algorithms that describe the physical materials used in the ancient instruments to generate physical source of sound. In other words, the basic idea is to recreate a model of the musical instrument and produce the sound by simulating its behaviour as a mechanical system.
Modeling an instruments such as a violin, it is possible to replicate the slip-stick behaviour of the bow against the string, the width of the bow, the resonance and damping behaviour. Physical modelling is a very computing-intensive technique, as the complex models of the musical instruments are solved by integrating numerical coupled differential equations. This computing power has only just become readily available by using GRID computing environments (large-scale distributed computation) through GILDA (https://gilda.ct.infn.it), the GRID INFN Laboratory for Dissemination Activities and EUMEDGRID.

Conclusions and Future Work

The ASTRA reconstructed epigonion is currently used by musicians of the Conservatories of Music of Salerno and Parma to give concerts.
It is the first time a production network designed for scientific application allows artists to directly use the result of GRID computations

Justification for delivering demo and technical requirements (ONLY for demonstrations)

The ASTRA demo will allow people to listen to the reconstructed instrument, having a chance for playing it using a MIDI keyboard.
A special interface will allow visitors to run real reconstruction on the GEANT2 and EUMEDGRID network using the GILDA portal.
A professional musician will play the epigonion, playing ancient scores.
It is required:
network connection
5 plugs
a PC connected to the network
a VGA screen (LCD, at least 19")

URL for further information

www.astraproject.org
www.geant2.net/upload/pdf/AstraA4_leaflet_FINAL.pdf

Keywords

Music, Art, ASTRA, Ancient instruments reconstruction