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Variations2, Version 3 is released, August 2004.

Playlists are the main new feature for version 3.0. Users can create their own lists of audio segments from multiple recordings, saving their lists as data files. Playlists can be used to create class listening lists or personal custom mixes. The segments in a playlist can be renamed, and the start- and end-points of segments can be adjusted.

Version 3.0 also provides access control based on class reserve lists. Students in participating classes can install Variations2 on their own computers. Variations2 will give them access to the recordings and scores on reserve for their class. (Full access to Variations2 materials is always available within the music library.) Instructors can use playlists to create audio class reserve lists easily. The Variations2 installation process has been streamlined and improved to support wider use.

With version 3, the Variations2 Timeliner can be used with local MP3 or WAV files on one's own hard drive as well as on recordings on the Variations2 server. Finally, version 3 supports Ctrl-F "Find" (Cmd-F on a Mac) within search results or inside the Details window.

ISMIR 2004 : International Conference on Music Information Retrieval, October 10-14, 2004

The fifth annual International Conference on Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR 2004) will be held October 10-14, 2004. ISMIR 2004 will be held at Audiovisual Institute, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain. More information on ISMIR 2004 may be found at http://ismir2004.ismir.net/.

ISMIR 2003 was held October 26-30 at Library of Congress (LC) in Washington, D.C., USA, and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. For more information about the conference, please see the conference Web site at http://ismir2003.ismir.net/.

For more information about past and future conferences, mailing lists and related information visit http://www.ismir.net/.

November 5, 2003 - Variations2 Supports Classroom Use of Music Library Resources

Faculty members at the IU School of Music in Bloomington and IUPUI have been using Variations2 to support their classroom instruction. Dr. Glenn Gass recommends that his students use Variations2 to listen to The Beatles albums for his Z401:The Music of The Beatles class. Dr. Gass gives the students access to a listening list which bookmarks specific songs and albums they should recognize. For Aural Skills Project #1 in the T331 Musical Skills IV class, instructor Melissa Korte is requiring that her students use the Variations2 Timeliner to complete their assignment. Students must be able to fill in the missing pieces of the selected twentieth or twenty-first century music by ear. Instructor David Cartledge recommends that his students in M544 Piano Literature: 1850 to the Present use Variations2 to do their listening. Included in his syllabus are links to bookmarks for specific pieces and timelines to help his students prepare for class. Dr. Roberta Lindsey's M174 Music for the Listener class at IUPUI used Variations2 to search for and then bookmark the beginning points of each of the variations in Mozart's Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Variationen uber Ah, vous dirai-je maman).

August 29, 2003 - Variations2 version 2.0 is released!

Version 2.0 of the Variations2 software has been released. The Windows PCs in the Indiana University Cook Music Library have been upgraded to 2.0, and the version on the Music Library Macs will be upgraded in the near future. Students will soon also be able to access Variations2 in other campus Student Technology Centers. Variations2 version 2.0 has several new features including a timeliner tool for diagramming musical forms, better support for printing of musical scores, and score pages than can turn in sync with a sound recording. Students or faculty in need of assistance with Variations2 or faculty who would like it installed in their classroom or office should visit the Variations2 User Guide for more information.

March 25, 2003 - Take a look at the new Variations2 User Guide!

In addition to helping new users of Variations2 at the IU School of Music learn about the basics of logging in, searching, listening, viewing scores, and creating bookmarks, this guide provides ideas to instructors on how to use Variations2 to create assignments and includes helpful steps to ensure success when using it in the classroom.