David's YouTube channel is doctordmh
where you will find his videos. There are a few from other
sites that show David lecturing. Individual links are
available below.
Vocal tract organ accompanies 'O mio babbino caro'
(Puccini):
YouTube video 22: "O mio babbino caro"
(Puccini) arranged by David for the Vocal Tract Organ and
soprano (score)
and here performed in the Picture Gallery at royal
Holloway, University of London. The soprano is 3rd year
Music Student Esme Smith. This is David's first public
event in his new job as Founding Head of the new
Department of Electronic Engineering at Royal Holloway as
alluded to in the introduction to this video by the Dean
of Science, Professor Paul Hogg.
Lecture at Gresham College, London:
YouTube video 21: David gave a lecture
at Gresham College in London titled 'The Science of
Singing' as part of the 2014 City of London Festival on
30th June 2014. This lecture brings together much of
David's thinking and work on the human singing voice in a
practical manner that is relevant to performing singers.
Arduino board to control a synthesiser:
YouTube video 20: The
arduino board has many possibilities and here I am using
it to generate four MIDI control signals via two X-Y
joysticks (pitch, volume, vibrato rate, vibrato depth OR
pitch, volume, 1st formant, 2nd formant) to control a Pure
Data (PD) voice synthesiser. In this demonstration only
one voice is synthesised but the arduino allows 16 inputs
enabling a four part choir (soprano, alto, tenor, bass or
SATB) to be controlled for performance.
Can't sing won't sing:
YouTube video 19: As part of the UK's
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
funded CREST (Creative Speech Technology) Network, a
number of public displays were created and demonstrated at
different venues. "Can't sing won't sing" allows some of
the main aspects of singing (pitch, vowel, vibrato rate
and depth and volume) to be explored using a game
controller for a single voice, then as a fourth voice in a
chord that can be changed and finally in karaoke mode to
sing a song!
Vocal tract organ accompanies 'O mio babbino caro'
(Puccini):
YouTube video 18: "O mio babbino caro"
(Puccini) arranged by David for the Vocal Tract Organ and
soprano (score)
and sung by Dr Helena Daffern. This video was made at the
University of York's 50th Anniversary Graduands' Dinner at
the Merchant Adventurers' Hall on 11th July 2013, after
the first performance in front of HRH Princess Anne at the
2013 Soiree Dinner of the Royal Academy of Engineering at
the University of York on 27th June 2013.
Singing in Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 4:
Youtube video 17: Following the
success of his previous 3 virtual choirs, Eric
Whitacre wrote a piece to be performed at Buckingham
Palace in July 2013 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
celebrations. The piece "Fly to paradise" is performed by
his "Virtual Choir 4"; an international internet-based
choir with 5905 singers who submitted 8409 videos (some
singers, including me, sang more than one part).
Vocal Vision II (David Howard) for Tenor, Bass and
two-part vocal tract organ - first performance:
YouTube video 16: This piece shows off
the vocal tract organ in a 4-part male voice piece where 2
parts are human and 2 are plastic tracts (score).
The first performance was in York's National Centre for
Early Music in "From south to north: A vocal pi" in the
2013 Festival of Ideas. Each 3-D printed vocal tract is
attached to a loudspeaker over which is played a larynx
sound generated using Pure Data (PD) and played via
a MIDI keyboard.
Vocal Vision I (David Howard) for 2
sopranos and computer - second performance:
YouTube video 15: Originally written
as part of the CREST (creative speech technology)
network's final concert performed in Woodend Creative,
Scarborough on 26th January 2013 (see YouTube video 12
below), the second performance was given for the 2013
World Voice Day on 16th April 2013 in the Sir Jack Lyon's
Concert Hall, Music Department, University of York with
sopranos Clare Steele-King and Annie Howard. This video is
of the rehearsal (better audio track than during the
performance). It is a vocalise for Vocal Tract Organ and
two sopranos (score)
and has since been performed at the Festival of Ideas 2013
in the National Centre for Early Music in my concert:
'From South to North; a Vocal Pi'.
Vocal Vision 1 for 2 sopranos and
computer - first performance:
YouTube video 14: I wrote this piece
for 2 sopranos (Maria Bovino and Lisa J Coates) and
computer vocalise synthesised quartet (score)
as part of the CREST (creative speech technology)
network's final concert performed in Woodend Creative,
Scarborough on 26th January 2013. It explores fundamental
differences between human and computer synthesised singing
and for that reason, is in vocalise. It has since been
performed at World Voice Day (April 2013) in the Sir Jack
Lyon's Concert Hall at the University of York (see YouTube
video 13 above) and in the Festival of Ideas 2013 in the
National Centre for Early Music in my concert: 'From South
to North; a Vocal Pi'.
Organ Pedals iPhone App:
YouTube video 13: This is a brief
video describing the OrganPedals App and showing it in
action after a Christmas Service. It accompanies myself
playing the organ in St. Luke's Burtonstone Lane in York,
UK which has two manuals and pedals (Ped: 16 8; Gt: 88842;
Sw: 888428) - there is no pedal reed stop!
Larynx simulator 'virtual choir':
YouTube video 12: This circuit build
exercise at Cardiff University to encourage more
undergraduates to read for electronics degrees. The
circuit uses a 555 timer chip to create an audio
oscillator in the singing range which has a frequency
control and a 'play' button. The video shows the 'Virtual
Choir' finale which involved 40 players in a harmonised
rendering of a song. Biggest issue was tuning the 40
boards to the required notes (ultimately these were rather
approximate!) of the scale!
Beatboxing lecture at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer,
London:
Youtube video 11: I gave a lecture
on the 4th of July 2010 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer
for the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society in their
Festival of Science and the Arts. It was on beatboxing
working with 2 of the UK's top beatboxers: Gracious
B and Schlomo.
The von Kempelen speaking machine:
Youtube video 10: This is a
demonstration of a (circa 1793 - yes the date is correct!)
replica von Kempelin speaking machine which was made by
Principal Pipe organs of York.
Electrolarynx demonstration:
Youtube video 9: This is a
demonstration of an electrolarynx which might be provided
to replace your larynx if you loose its functionality due
perhaps to larynx cancer.
Acrylic vocal tract tubes demonstration:
Youtube video 8: This is a
demonstration of acrylic vocal tract tubes from Japan
which are machine-shaped to produce vowels.
Singing in Eric Whitacre's 'Sleep' virtual choir:
Youtube video 7: This piece called
'sleep' was composed by Eric Whitacre (choral composer) and he
set up an international internet-based choir for this, his
second "Virtual Choir". Over 2000 singers from all around
the world took part and it was all recorded remotely via
the internet. This is me singing the tenor part.
Virtual cocoon show reel:
Youtube video 6: This show reel was
made for our 'virtual cocoon' project to demonstrate what
life might be like if one could experience being somewhere
else.
"The babe is sleeping":
Youtube video 5: Written for choir
(The Beningbrough Singers sing with David Howard
conducting) and Stuart Rimmel's "Cymatic" (which he plays
in the video), this demonstrates how computer-based
physical modelling functions. Notice that energy is put
into the system using the computer mouse rather like the
bowing of a stringed instrument.
Cymatic:
Youtube
video 4: This is a physical modelling system
to enable music to be created using a computer. It was
written by Stuart Rimmel as part of a UK EPSRC
(Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
research project (Principal Investigator: David Howard) to
explore such synthesis techniques.
How an MP3 player works:
Youtube video 3: Here I describe how
an MP3 player works - did you know that when you buy an
MP3 track you only get 10% of the equivalent CD data?
Shrouds parting on a flying fifteen sailing dinghy:
Youtube video 2: For another aspect of
the virtual cocoon project (see YouTube video 4 above) we
needed sailing footage. Here I am with Christopher Moir
sailing his flying
fifteen in quite a blow and the port shroud came
adrift - not a common everyday experience and not one you
would wish for! You can see it detach and what we did to
save the mast!
The whistle from the Flying Scotsman:
Youtube video 1: Here I talk about the
whistles on the famous Flying
Scotsman steam locomotive at the National Railway
Museum (NRM) in York, UK. This opportunity to hold the
actual whistles arose when I presented a stand called
"Warning sounds of the railway" for National Science and
Engineering Week from 13th to 15th March 2008. Flying
Scotsman was in pieces in the NRM's workshop at that time
and the whistle was loaned to my stand for the event.