Study after study confirms that music is a positive catalyst for all parts of the brain. Two students from the College of Arts and Science are tapping their unique passions for music to craft innovative Immersion Vanderbilt projects. Their creative musical explorations have expanded the research of their immersion professor mentors as well.
TAO-TAO HE: TRAINING AI ALGORITHMS WITH AN UNSUNG MASTER COMPOSER
Tao-Tao He has loved music for as long as he can remember, and he started playing piano at age 5. Now, through Immersion Vanderbilt, he has found a way to combine his passion for music with the cutting-edge technology of artificial intelligence.
He is double majoring in mathematics and music with a minor in data science. Under the guidance of Douglas Shadle, associate professor of musicology at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, they are using AI to help reimagine the music of composer Florence Price.
REINVENTING FLORENCE PRICE
Shadle has been studying Price's work for years. She was the first African American female composer to gain national acclaim by having her work performed by a major symphony orchestra.
"My main research interest is finding ethical and robust strategies to preserve and honor her music because the physical scores in her own handwriting were nearly destroyed," Shadle said. "Tao-Tao's main research interest was the coding side. And so we were able to have this incredible meeting of the minds that took both of our projects to fantastic new levels."
He and Shadle began by digitizing Florence Price's composition manuscripts. Then Shadle encouraged He to attend an international conference tied to music data and tech, and He came back with a big idea to train an artificial intelligence music generator to learn Price's style of music and create new music in her style.
"It opened a whole new world to me, interacting with people experimenting with all types of AI functionalities who also deeply respect music and musicians," He said. "My mind was blown!"
AI MUSIC MODEL
At the conference, He met math professor Martin Malandro from Sam Houston State University who has an expertise in AI music models. The three partnered and created a model that proved to be so successful that they presented their peer-reviewed research at the International Society for Music Information Retrieval conference in September 2025.
He, Class of 2026, said this immersion project opened doors to his professional future, and he plans to apply to Ph.D. programs to keep working on music AI models. Shadle and He are also interested in bridging Blair with Vanderbilt's new College of Connected Computing on the emerging field of music information retrieval.
"I'm hoping to develop an AI model that could give feedback to composers and musicians because right now the models can generate music, but they can't guide you through the process. They can't help the user understand why certain music compositions work," He said. "I think I have the skill set now to help make that happen."
ALLY HANSEN: REIMAGINING MUSIC PERFORMANCE WITH A HOLISTIC RESEARCH APPROACH
Ally Hansen, Class of 2026, is taking full advantage of the positive impact music has on all areas of the brain by working toward three diverse majors-climate studies, tuba performance and medicine, health and society. She spent her summer between an internship at a Nashville solar company and her immersion research project: reimagining the music of Johann Sebastian Bach for tuba.
"One of the things I really like about A&S is that we frequently combine disciplines and incorporate different ideas from outside the core subject of the class. Professors really encourage a more holistic view," the Wisconsin native said. "I don't always see that in music, and I wanted to figure out how to do that."
HOLISTIC PRACTICE
Hansen, who transferred to Vanderbilt for her junior year, and Blair professor Bethany Wiese have been examining how musicians could incorporate holistic principles to elevate their overall performance. Where in the past, Hansen might have just practiced and memorized a piece of music, she and Wiese instead focused on unique elements to adapt Bach to tuba while improving how Hansen understands and ultimately performs the music.
"We created a way to think about tuba playing that brought together multiple disciplines in the same way that Ally would work on a research project in her other majors," said Wiese, associate professor of tuba and euphonium.
"We reimagined the process to positively impact the final product," Weise said.
"We've been using cognitive science, sports psychology, pedagogy, music theory and history all to inform the way that we practice," Hansen said. "So the goal is to become better teachers to ourselves and also understand how and why we practice and perform the way we do."
The duo examined such topics as exploring the differences between time, space and rhythm and adapting a Bach string piece for tuba by learning how bow speed and fluidity could be adapted for brass instrument players.
SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
They're not keeping this research to themselves. Along with a presentation at Vanderbilt's undergraduate research fair, Hansen posts her research discoveries and performances on Instagram, @bachtubaproject.
"Professor Wiese is kind of the Bach extraordinaire in the tuba world, and I'm getting so much from her and she's so collaborative," Hansen said.
The immersion project has been so successful for student and teacher that they are continuing the work into an independent study throughout the year.
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