Dr. Robert Tomaro, PhD, LLC
Forensic Musicologist
Music Copyright Infringement • Expert Witness Testimony • Music Investigation • Song Examination and Study
Someone Stole My Song!
Internationally renowned symphonic conductor Dr. Robert Tomaro provides expert testimony to prosecute and defend the claims of music theft, fraud, and copyright infringement. When creating expert witness reports in forensic musicology, Dr. Tomaro employs a vigorous analysis of music theory and his vast knowledge of industry customs. In addition to being an expert on a variety of musical subjects and topics, Dr. Robert Tomaro is a Grammy nominated artist, acclaimed author, college professor, composer and performer. Rooted in years of industry practice and academic study, Dr. Tomaro provides thorough analysis and in depth exploration for each of his client's musical inquiries in order to achieve resolution of contentious disputes. No musical question is too complex or too simple for Dr. Tomaro.
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For answers to your conundrum, contact forensic musicologist, Dr. Robert Tomaro, PhD, LLC.
Forensic musicology services provided for: ​
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Attorneys • Advertising Agencies • Entertainment Industry Professionals • Recording Companies • Producers • Publishing Firms • Musicians
US News & World Report
By Associated Press
July 3, 2021
Beloit Symphony Director Known for His Musical Sleuthing
Beloit, Wis. (AP)
By HILLARY GAVAN, Beloit Daily News
If you know of any rap artists who are plagiarizing beats or lyrics, Beloit Janesville Symphony Music Director Rob Tomaro might be writing a report on them. While he’s best known for conducting in Rock County, Tomaro’s professional skills are in high demand across the country for his work in forensic musicology.
Tomaro can find minute differences in inflections, breaths and pitch the naked ear cannot hear and substantiates his findings using a scientific method employing four to five methods of analysis. His skills are in high demand as there aren’t a high number of forensic musicologists, the Beloit Daily News reported.
“It seems to require two completely disparate skill sets that have to work together,” he said. “You have to have a thorough understanding of how to analyze and describe harmonic analysis in classical music. You also have to understand the latest trends in contemporary music including what happens in a recording studio and the latest techniques in digital signal processing.”
THE REDUCTIVE METHOD OF MUSICOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
This involves creating a musical score by transcribing recorded excerpts from the works in question into a printed musical form. Then, through reductive analysis, the works will be examined to see what conclusions can be reached. This is also known as compositional analysis.
RECORDING ANALYSIS
Recording analysis is the ability to compare the elements which comprise the recordings. This area includes an understanding of the commercial recording process and methods of manipulating sound used in the recording studio. Unlike compositional analysis, which necessarily establishes similarity by a reductive approach, recording analysis typically involves identification and differentiation between two recorded works in terms of melody, harmony, and/or digital signals, in the exact form in which they were recorded. Hence, the tools used for recording analysis tend to include those from the domain of audio engineering as much as from the domain of music theory. Recording analysis also reveals similarities that appear in the musical arrangements which are not revealed in the written scores.
A Temporal Method or Timeline
In order to determine the sequence of events that resulted in the final outcome of the recording process of the works in question, the log of the recording session and/or the final recordings themselves may be mapped as a timeline, which identifies on a moment-to-moment basis the pertinent similarities that exist between the works in question and which contributes to the determination of the existence of plagiarism.
Spectrographic Sound Analysis
A spectrogram is a visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies of a signal as it varies with time. Spectrograms are used extensively in the fields of music, linguistics and speech processing. The visual representation of two sound sources produced by the spectrometer enables the analyst to identify variations in the areas of pitch, tone, articulation, and duration of the sounds more accurately and precisely than analyzing the sounds by listening to them.
Symphonic Conductor & Composer
Previous Experience
(Selected Cases)
Mardonas v. Cyndi Lauper
Gee v. Justin Timberlake
Ciero v. Disney
Lee, Demeritt v. Lil Nas X
Salinas v. Procter & Gamble
Piroli vs. EMI
Fernandez v. Mick Jagger and Keith Richard
Grigson v. Disney
LaCrate v. Beyonce
Brown v. Billie Eilish
LaCrate v. Pitbull
Davis v. Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes
Smith v. Sage the Gemini
Endorsements
“Dr. Tomaro knows his stuff. His extensive musical knowledge and understanding of music copyright law is truly encyclopedic. You definitely want him on your side!”
Andy Frances, Professional Consultant to David Bowie, Garth Brooks, Kenny Loggins, Jimmy Messina, and many others.
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“Rob Tomaro is one of the leading Forensic Musicologists in the country. His insightful analysis and understanding of current trends in the music industry have contributed to his track record of success in the field of music copyright infringement litigation.”
Laura McGarragan, Attorney at Law, McGarragan Law Offices, Rockford, Illinois
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“Dr. Rob Tomaro is a highly professional, talented, competent, and knowledgeable Forensic Musicologist with a great bedside manner. He can definitely tell the forest from the trees, and he understands the big picture. He can make extremely complicated matters easy to understand, and he is able to illustrate them a logical, simple way.
I would give my highest recommendation to anyone inquiring about his services. As I told him; he is my hero.”
Thanks again,
Jeff Davis
Founder, CEO Viabl Corp
Master of Arts Degree and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Dr. Tomaro holds a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from New York University, where he studied Musicology with Dr. Lawrence Ferrara. He also served as Assistant Conductor, then Music Director and Conductor of the New York University Symphony Orchestra during the period of his doctoral studies.
Professor of Music
Dr. Tomaro served as a Professor of Music at St. John’s University in New York, Rutgers University in New Jersey, and Beloit College in Wisconsin.
Music Director and Conductor
Dr. Tomaro is in the twenty-first year of his tenure as Music Director and Conductor of the Beloit Janesville Symphony in Wisconsin and was recently appointed as Pops Conductor of the Racine Orchestra in Wisconsin. His symphonic conducting career includes international performances with The London Symphony Orchestra, The Hayes Symphony Orchestra of London, The Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland, The Black Sea Philharmonic Orchestra of Rumania, and The Moravian Symphony Orchestra of the Czech Republic. Domestically, Dr. Tomaro has appeared with The Rockford Symphony in Illinois, The Dubuque Symphony in Iowa, the Lima Symphony in Ohio, the Powder River symphony in Wyoming, The Fort Wayne Symphony of Indiana, the Santa Cruz County Symphony in California, and the Elysian Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey.
Learned Music Theorist and Analytical Mind
From a very young age Dr. Tomaro was trained to hear the components and details of music with ferocious accuracy. He can write down a splatter of notes and identify the instruments playing them or hear when there is a wrong note in the middle of a wind chord. As a symphonic conductor with thirty years of experience, Dr. Tomaro has conducted some of the most prestigious symphony orchestras in the world. He can hear if a musician in the second violin section is playing flat or sharp, or if the third French Horn out of four is out of tune. Conductors spend countless hours (many more than one would probably imagine) reading every instrumental line of the music, playing parts of it on the piano, listening to many different recordings of it, and imagining what it should sound like. Balancing an orchestra means making sure the audience can hear whatever they are supposed to, all the way through piece.
Grammy Nominated Producer and Arranger
Dr. Tomaro is a two-time Grammy nominated producer and arranger. His nominations came in 2014 and 2015 for his work in producing pop artist Susan Aquila’s CDs: Broken Angel and Miss Conduct.
Sound Engineer Expertise
From 1980 through 1984, Dr. Tomaro was the owner and principal engineer of Beyond Sound Recording Studios at 474 Greenwich Street in Manhattan.
Music Composer and Arranger
Before entering the Master of Arts and then the Doctor of Philosophy programs in Music Composition at New York University in 1987, Dr. Tomaro studied composition and arranging with renown commercial arranger Don Sebesky.
Studio Recording Artist
Dr. Tomaro has thirty years of experience as a recording studio session guitarist and performing guitarist, first in Chicago, then in New York City. In addition to his work in the recording studios of Manhattan and Chicago, he performed in the orchestras of the original Broadway productions of: Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Barnum, Les Miserables, The Who’s Tommy, Evita, and The Lion King.
Author & Published Academic Works
New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Seventh Edition
London, 1997. “The Music of Elliot Sharp.”
London, 1997. “The Music of Francis Thorne.”
Journal for New Music Research, Swets & Zeitliner, Lisse, The Netherlands,
Vol. 23, Fall 1994 “Contemporary Compositional Techniques for The Electric Guitar in United States Concert Music”
The Rock River Times – serving Illinois and the Wisconsin state line area 2013-2015
Appointed Classical Music Editor, 2013
2011 to present: Classical and Jazz Music Editor and Reviewer for Cashbox Magazine, U. S. and Canada
Radio Interview: What is Forensic Musicology?
Presenting a two-part audio series culled from Dr. Tomaro’s recent interview on the “Talk of the Town” show on WCLO radio in Wisconsin with Tim Bremel, in which he analyzes the most famous music plagiarism cases of our time and explains how they turned out the way they did and how they changed music copyright law forever.
Part I - Stairway to Nowhere
Dr. Tomaro analyses the Stairway to Heaven case, in which a California band called Spirit sued Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, accusing them of stealing one of their songs and turning it into Stairway to Heaven. Dr. Tomaro breaks it all down and explains what happened and why.
THIS JUST IN!
Part 2 - What is Contemporary Musicology? Someone Stole My Song!
In part 2, Dr. Tomaro discusses two more famous music. copyright lawsuit cases:
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"My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison vs. "He's So Fine" by The Chiffons
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"Got to Give it Up" by Marvin Gaye vs. "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and Pharell Williams