GSoC 2024 Project Idea 21.1 HarmonyHub: A Web-Based Platform for Learning Variable-Pitch Musical Instruments (350 h)

GSoC
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Music education faces unique challenges, especially when teaching instruments with variable pitch such as wind instruments and bowed strings. Achieving mastery over these instruments requires personalized guidance and deliberate practice strategies tailored to each student’s level and progress pace. The HarmonyHub project aims to address this challenge in music education by developing a comprehensive web-based platform that facilitates the creation of customized exercises by music teachers for their students. Such an innovative platform will allow for the intuitive composition of exercises, adaptable to students’ varying levels, enhancing the learning experience and fostering a more effective teacher-student interaction.

Outcome: HarmonyHub seeks to empower music educators with the tools to create more engaging and personalized learning experiences, bridging the gap between traditional music education and modern technological capabilities. By fostering a more interactive and personalized learning environment, the project aims to significantly improve students’ musical skills and motivation, making the journey of learning musical instruments more intuitive and rewarding

Objectives:

  • Develop a user-friendly interface that enables music teachers to compose and customize music exercises.
  • Integrate API management for musical score generation and sound generation features (e.g., metronome beats and MIDI sounds).
  • Implement audio analysis capabilities for real-time feedback to the music student, using audio processing libraries like Essentia.
  • Create personalized learning pathways for students, considering factors like age, technical level, and desired progression speed.
  • Enhance student learning experiences and promote deliberate practice through digitalization in music education.

Skill level: Intermediate

Skills Required: HTML, JavaScript, and Python. Experience in digital signal processing and musical knowledge is preferred but not mandatory.

Time Commitment: Full-time (350 hours)

Lead Mentor: Alberto Acquilino (alberto.acquilino@mail.mcgill.ca)

Backup mentor: Mirko D’Andrea (mirko.dandrea@gmail.com)

Project Affiliation: This project is part of the research initiatives at McGill University, aiming to improve music education through digital means.

Technical Keywords: Open Source Music Education, Digital Signal Processing, JavaScript, Python, HTML, MIDI.

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Hello,
Greetings! Hope you’re doing well.
I’m Prahalad Rajagopal, a third-year student majoring in Computer Science at SSN College of Engineering, Chennai, India. I’m very passionate about building computational solutions for typically non-technological problems. I’m constantly on the lookout to further expand my knowledge on this field through hands-on experiences.
I find this project very interesting, as I have learned music ever since I could talk. It is an integral part of my life, and I would love to contribute to any effort to share this vital and beautiful art. I have studied Python, JavaScript, Database Management Systems and web server frameworks in great breadth and depth through my curriculum, and I have implemented these practically and gained hands-on experience through various projects in my academic trajectory. For instance, during my internship with IIT-Madras’ EnerG group I was responsible for building a NLP-based model for processing humongous documents to create a question-answering system and incorporate it to the front-end design of a much larger tool for studying the carbon footprint of energy-based companies. I have also worked with signal processing before- I have developed a novel method of encrypting ECG waves using a mathematical modelling technique and have published this work too. I have done various other projects which have helped me gain the skills required in full-stack development as well as model-building and machine learning.
Please find my LinkedIn profile attached below. Should you need any more information, please do let me know and I will be more than happy to provide it to you. I understand that as an undergrad, my experience and exposure might seem limited. But, I assure you that I’m a quick study, and will work on any task assigned to me with the utmost dedication and sincerity. I would be honored to work on this project with you in whatever way possible.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards
Prahalad Rajagopal
+91 8667745225

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Hello,

Thank you very much for your interest! Please, let us know how we can support a potential application from you for this project. The best method of communication for us is via email at the provided addresses.

Best,
Alberto

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Hello sir,
I’ve sent you a mail regarding the same. Kindly guide me further.

Thank you.

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Greetings Alberto,

I am Manya Gupta, an aspiring data scientist. I have experience in building end-to-end applications using HTML and JavaScript. I am also well-versed in building ML/DL models for various applications. I would love to discuss about this project with you.

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Hello @Alberto Sir,
I hope you’re doing good. Can you please send me the Sample proposal? I have prepared a rough proposal on my end in depth on this project covering all aspects as mentioned in the description with timings including the research I did on tech side. If you can share the proposal, I can adapt a rough proposal to a sample one. Looking forward to it.
Thanks & Regards,
Kunal Singh

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Hello,

Thanks for reaching out. I am using as a reference this document: INCF GSoC 2023 Application template - Google Docs

Looking forward to read about your ideas!
Best,
Alberto

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Hello @Alberto Sir,
I’m Shubham Shekhawat, a second-year student of Computer Science at Chandigarh University, Chandigarh, India. Sir I find this project very interesting and I would love to contribute to any effort to share this vital and beautiful art.
I have studied Java, C++, HTML, CSS, Tailwind, JavaScript and DBMS and I have strong hold on these languages.
I have also done the Internship at NPL(National Physical Laboratory) New Delhi, India. Looking forward to work with you.

Thank you

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hello @Alberto @greg_incf
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Mokshagna, and I am a Computer Science undergraduate with a passion for interdisciplinary projects combining technology, neuroscience, and music. I am currently preparing for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2025 and would like to share a project idea that I have been working on extensively, which I believe could align with INCF’s goals and benefit the community.

The proposed project aims to develop an advanced tool for tempo detection in musical compositions, tailored for applications in neuroscience. While tempo detection is widely used in music production, its implications in neuroscience remain relatively unexplored. This project seeks to bridge this gap, offering precise BPM detection and insights into how rhythmic stimuli influence brain and body functions.

Applications and Benefits:

  1. Brain Synchronization with Rhythms: Investigating how neural oscillations synchronize with rhythmic stimuli to understand cognitive processes like attention, learning, and memory.
  2. Music Therapy: Supporting personalized rhythm-based interventions for Parkinson’s disease, stroke recovery, and ADHD.
  3. Motor Coordination Studies: Analyzing rhythm’s influence on motor activity to improve rehabilitation and physical therapy strategies.
  4. Emotional and Cognitive Insights: Exploring how tempo variations impact emotions, memory retention, and decision-making.
  5. Dataset Creation: Generating annotated datasets of tempo and rhythm for open neuroscience research.
  6. Integration with Existing Platforms: Extending tools like HarmonyHub (GSoC 2024) to enhance research workflows.

The project leverages an innovative deep learning model, DeepRhythm, which has demonstrated superior performance compared to existing tools like TempoCNN, Essentia, and Librosa. Here are some highlights:

|Method |Acc1 (%)|Acc2 (%)|Avg. Time (s)|Total Time (s)|

|DeepRhythm (CPU) |95.91|96.54|0.12|115.02|
|TempoCNN (CNN) |84.78|97.69|1.21|1150.43|
|Essentia |87.93|97.48|2.72|2595.64|
|Librosa |66.84|75.13|0.48|460.52|

Tests on 953 songs across electronic, hip-hop, pop, and rock genres have demonstrated exceptional accuracy and efficiency. This tool can serve as a game-changer for research on rhythm perception and neural synchronization.

I am eager to hear the community’s thoughts on this proposal and its alignment with INCF’s focus areas.
I would like to assure you that the project can be completed well within the allotted time frame, as I have already made significant progress on its development. I kindly request you to consider the efforts I have invested in this proposal

Thank you for your time and consideration. I am excited about the possibility of collaborating with this vibrant community and contributing meaningfully to neuroinformatics.

Looking forward to your thoughts and suggestions!

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Hello,

Thank you for your interest in this project! We are planning to apply for GSoC 2025 as well, but the final selection ultimately depends on Google. However, if you’re interested, you can find the repository for the project here: Repo Link

In the meantime, feel free to test the website, report any issues you encounter, and even work on resolving them if you’d like. Your contributions and feedback are highly appreciated!

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Thank you for your work! We are currently drafting ideas for the project, which will be announced soon. In the meantime, feel free to explore the repository to better understand the work done so far - Repo Link.

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Hello, Thanks for your interest! This posted project was for GSoC 2024, we are currently working on a proposal for 2025 which will be published soon. I suggest to keep watching on Neurostar for the new list of projects on 2025.
Best wishes,
Alberto

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Hello,
I see that Keerthi, who is a mentor for this project, already replied!
Additionally, I feel that your projects aligns with the research conducted at the Dalla Bella Lab (https://dallabella-lab.ca/). I would suggest you to also keep an eye on their initiatives.
Best regards,
Alberto

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@Keerthi_Reddy_Kambha I have just finished cloning the repo and setting it up. I believe I’ll understand the codebase within 2-3 days. I wanted to ask if I can open issues on GitHub if I find any in the project, and if I can resolve them myself?

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Thanks for your work! Feel free to proceed if you’re interested. We’re open to any new issues you find, or you can reach out to any of the mentors to discuss any feedback you have.

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@Keerthi_Reddy_Kambha Yes definitely I’m interested.
Like how can I reach out the mentors via mail, GitHub or here on neurostars only?

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Hello @Alberto @Keerthi_Reddy_Kambha @greg_incf

I hope you’re doing well. My name is Saksham Singla, and I am a second-year Computer Science student at Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India. I find this project incredibly interesting, and I would love the opportunity to contribute and help in any way I can to share this vital and beautiful art.

I have studied Java, C++, HTML, CSS, JavaScript ,Tailwind and DBMS, and I have a strong grasp of these technologies. I am eager to apply my skills and learn from this experience.

Looking forward to your guidance and the possibility of working together.

Thank you!
Best regards,
Saksham Singla

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Any of those would work