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Headshot 2019I am an assistant professor at Butler University in Indianapolis, teaching and researching music theory and cognition with a focus on ‘groove’ and ‘feel’ in music. This website is a simple place for me to host my music and work.

Visit my faculty page: https://www.butler.edu/jordan-arts/undergraduate-programs/music/faculty-staff/music-theory-faculty/

Before Butler, I worked at SUNY Potsdam, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University.

Formerly, I taught sax, clarinet, piano, drums, and theory, as well as classroom music in London, England. I also played sax in The Kings of Soul and a few big bands (previously, I ran the University of London Big Band).

In addition, I am involved in engraving and publishing music for sax ensembles.

Some of my work:

A qualitative study that offers a multidimensional definition of groove in Psychology of Music:

Groove Publication

A collaborative data report that collects together a large amount of timing data on drum grooves in Empirical Musicology Review:

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An interview with Dan Charnas about his 2023 book Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm:

…and I have two more articles that will be coming out shortly:

  • “AI Stem Separation & MIR: Assessing the Validity of Onset Analyses That Use AI-Isolated Audio”
    • A lot of groove research evaluates the timing of individual instruments’ onsets that have been extracted from a full-band recording using machine learning tools; however, we don’t know whether analytic findings may be due to inclusions created by the separation process (“hallucinations”) or whether reconstructed stems are faithful enough to be used for MIR research.
  • “AI Stem Separation Tools in the Aural Skills Classroom”
    • This paper delves into the technical, pedagogical, and ethical aspects of using AI-driven stem separation tools in the music theory classroom. By breaking full-band recordings into their individual components, these tools offer new ways to scaffold the development of auditory streaming – a key music cognition skill that enables students to hear through complex, multi-instrument textures. The paper explores how these tools can enhance aural skills training while considering the moral and legal implications of incorporating such technology in education.