Instrument Tones Research Articles

Synthesis and Optimization of Instrumental Tone Quality Using Deep Learning

Synthesis and Optimization of Instrumental Tone Quality Using Deep Learning

MENGALIR DAN MEMBAUR SEBUAH KARYA AKULTURASI MUSIK MINANGKABAU-JAWA

Artistic Research (Art Creation) entitled Flowing and Blending was inspired by the movement and/or migration of Indonesian people from one area to another. This is based on the necessities of life in the area of origin which are considered no longer providing income, so that it has an impact on economic income. The arrival of migrants from an area makes the problem of the culture of origin and those visited sometimes unable to merge. The purpose of this artistic research is to find out the different tone areas. However, in the work Menglir dan Mebaur produces a mixture of musical sounds as measured by the sound ambitus of the instrument when used in cultural communication (music). The process of mutual respect and respect by using the language of communication will be able to flow and blend in the cultural frame, even though both have different backgrounds. Based on the elements of culturalcommunication, it produces cross-cultural values that are mutually respectful and respectful. Musical artwork Flows and Diffuses becomes a manifestation of musical works representing two different cultural elements, however, they can complement each other with the communication language of musical instrument tones when sung. In order to build the musical in this part of the work as a whole, the authors also look for elements of the combination of two cultures, namely Minang and Javanese, with the hope that the concept of assimilation can become a unified musical feeling as amirror or reflection of a togetherness.

Estimation of musical instrument tones focusing on frequency spectrum from auditory cortex by deep learning using fMRI.

Estimation of musical instrument tones focusing on frequency spectrum from auditory cortex by deep learning using fMRI.

Infants’ short-term memory for consonant–vowel syllables

This research examined whether the auditory short-term memory (STM) capacity for speech sounds differs from that for nonlinguistic sounds in 11-month-old infants. Infants were presented with streams composed of repeating sequences of either 2 or 4 syllables, akin to prior work by Ross-Sheehy and Newman (2015) using nonlinguistic musical instruments. These syllable sequences either stayed the same for every repetition (constant) or changed by one syllable each time it repeated (varying). Using the head-turn preference procedure, we measured infant listening time to each type of stream (constant vs varying and 2 vs 4 syllables). Longer listening to the varying stream was taken as evidence for STM because this required remembering all syllables in the sequence. We found that infants listened longer to the varying streams for 2-syllable sequences but not for 4-syllable sequences. This capacity limitation is comparable to that found previously for nonlinguistic instrument tones, suggesting that young infants have similar STM limitations for speech and nonspeech stimuli.

Noninvasive methods for quantifying sound post placement in a cello

The position and orientation of the sound post in violin family instruments has long been known to color the sound of the instrument. Small changes in the position of the sound post relative to the top and back plates of the instrument can result in clearly audible changes in the instrument's tone. Quantifying the effect of the sound post's placement on tone requires precise localization of the sound post. Luthiers have developed simple techniques to localize the post relative to the top of the instrument. Precisely localizing the post relative to the back, however, typically requires disassembly of the endpin. This talk will explore nondestructive and noninvasive techniques to localize the sound post relative to the back of the instrument. Results of these techniques will be compared for two cellos – one with a laminate construction and the other carved. Finally, the effects of differences in material properties on these localization techniques will be discussed.

Kajian Organologi Alat Musik Saluang Pauh Buatan Zulmasdi di Kota Padang

This paper discusses the materials, manufacturing methods and techniques used in making the Saluang Pauh instrument (Zulmasdi version). This study uses a qualitative approach that is descriptive, where the researcher can explain the process of making Saluang Pauh with the study of organology as a basis for analyzing the object. The results of the research refer to the technical theory of organology which includes measurement instruments, descriptions, depictions with scales or photographs, methods or techniques for making and analyzing the sound produced. The conclusion of this research can be seen that in making Saluang Pauh, Zulmasdi uses traditional techniques (in terms of cutting materials, making, measuring and drying instruments) combined with modern techniques (using digital media such as the tuning of the instrument tone) to produce innovative traditional instruments that in accordance with the development of the supporting community

Pitch Transcription of Solo Instrument Tones Using the Autocorrelation Method

Pitch transcription is basically identifying and copying pitch on an audio or music. In this case, the pitch of a solo instrument music is processed to find the composition of the music tones, the method used is autocorrelation. After processing, the system will produce pitch transcription results from the audio that has been processed. this research done digitalization of an old method of identifying pitches into an application that is able to transcribe pitches in an audio. This Pitch Transcription application was created using the Python programming language with Librosa library as a library for audio processing. The purpose of making this system is to facilitate the identification of pitch from a solo instrument music. This Application Feature itself besides being able to show the results of pitch transcription can also display the Onset Graph, Signal Graph play the results of the synthesis transcribed audio sounds. Testing in this study uses audio sourced from 4 single instruments, there are flute, piano, violin and acoustic guitar. The test results show that the implementation of the autocorrelation method in the solo instrument tone transcription application has an accuracy of 92.85%.

Musical Instrument Tone Recognition Using DCT Based Feature Extraction And Gaussian Windowing

The conducted research studied a feature extraction method in a musical instrument tone recognition system. The purpose of this study was to obtain a number of feature extraction coefficients that are smaller than those obtained in previous studies. The studied feature extraction was a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform)-based segment averaging and Gaussian windowing. The testing of the musical instrument's tone recognition system was carried out using pianica, tenor recorder, and bellyra musical instruments, each of which represented many, several, and one significant local peaks in the transform domain. The test results showed that the optimal number of feature extraction coefficient was 8 coefficients, which could give a recognition rate of up to 100%. The test results were achieved using a Gaussian window with a sigma value of 2-6, and a 128 points DCT.

Octave stretching phenomenon with complex tones of orchestral instruments.

For decades, the phenomenon of subjectively enlarged octaves has been investigated using sinusoidal and synthesized complex tones. The present study elaborates the topic with samples of real orchestra instruments in successive tone listening experiments. Compared to previous research, this study also included a substantially larger number of subjects (N = 36). Examined instrument tones were categorized into five groups based on their acoustic principles. In addition, each group was assessed at three dynamic levels (pp-mf-ff). Collected data were analyzed with tuning stretch curves by applying generalized additive models in the manner of the Railsback curve used to characterize piano tuning. Although the tuning curve modeled for the orchestra instruments was observed to differ slightly from the Railsback curve and typical Steinway D grand piano tuning (Steinway, New York), the stretching trends were qualitatively similar. Deviation from a mathematical equal-tempered scale was prominent. According to statistical analyses, dynamics or musical background of the participant did not affect results significantly, but some instrument groups exhibited differences in the curve extremities. In conclusion, the stretched scale is natural for a human listener and should be used as a reference scale in tuning machines instead of the mathematical equal-tempered scale.

How Stable is Pitch Labeling Accuracy in Absolute Pitch Possessors?

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce a given pitch without a reference. This study examines the stability of pitch labeling accuracy in a broad sample of AP possessors when natural complex tones are compared to modified sound structures (slightly out-of-tune pitches, sounds with missing fundamentals, and pure tones). A passive listening test with single tones was developed (Tallinn Test of Absolute Pitch, TTAP), with 150 items selected, representing 60 synthetic instrumental tones (violin, clarinet, and trumpet) in different octave ranges and dynamics, and 90 electronically modified sounds, each presented in three different octave ranges. Additional information was collected, regarding handedness, start of instrumental instruction, educational status, occurrence of AP in the family, and associations with processing pitch recognition. Results showed a clear decrease of pitch recognition accuracy between natural complex sounds and pure sine tones. A significant main effect on TTAP scores was found for early starts of instrumental instruction. The findings are discussed in the context of the nature-nurture debate (genetic vs environmental factors), as well as the implications of genetic and memory aspects of pitch recognition.

ANALISIS STRUKTUR MUSIK DAN TEKNIK BERMAIN BIOLA FOUR SEASON “WINTER” KARYA KOMPONIS ANTONIO VIVALDI

This study aims to determine how the structure of music andviolin technique Four Season "Winter" by composer Antonio Vivaldi.In the discussion of this study used the theories related to researchtopics such as Antonio Vivaldi biography, analytical understanding,understanding of musical forms, musical structure and technique ofplaying the violin. The method used by the researchers in this study isdescriptive-qualitative method. The sample in this study such as thesheet music and videos of Four Season "Winter" by composer AntonioVivaldi. The techniques of data collection in this research are workinglaboratory analysis the melody of violin instrument like musicalstructure and technique of playing the violin and literature studyconducted at the Laboratory of the Department of Music Arts, Facultyof Languages and Arts, State University of Medan. From the results ofthis study can be obtained structure of music Four Season "Winter" bycomposer Antonio Vivaldi has 63 bars with 12 motifs includingoriginal motive literal replications and development, up and downsequence, bridges, enlargement of the interval, 10 phrases and is a 3-part song form complex / major played by violin playing techniques asdiverse namely legato, staccato, trill, double stops, and sforzando andusing the dynamic crescendo, mezzo forte, forte, piano, with the righthand position of mixed fingering position of the I-VII. Interpretationof the Four Seasons "Winter" tells the eerie atmosphere transitionalclimate when winter freeze with the sound of the wind through thestrains indicated cruel instrument tones on the violin.

Feature Extraction of Musical Instrument Tones using FFT and Segment Averaging

A feature extraction for musical instrument tones that based on a transform domain approach was proposed in this paper. The aim of the proposed feature extraction was to get the lower feature extraction coefficients. In general, the proposed feature extraction was carried out as follow. Firstly, the input signal was transformed using FFT (Fast Fourier Transform). Secondly, the left half of the transformed signal was divided into a number of segments. Finally, the averaging results of that segments, was the feature extraction of the input signal. Based on the test results, the proposed feature extraction was highly efficient for the tones, which have many significant local peaks in the Fourier transform domain, because it only required at least four feature extraction coefficients, in order to represent every tone.

Prevalence and function of Heschl's gyrus morphotypes in musicians.

Morphological variations of the first transverse Heschl's gyrus (HG) in the human auditory cortex (AC) are common, yet little is known about their functional implication. We investigated individual morphology and function of HG variations in the AC of 41 musicians, using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as magnetoencephalography (MEG). Four main morphotypes of HG were (i) single HG, (ii) common stem duplication (CSD), (iii) complete posterior duplication (CPD), and (iv) multiple duplications (MD). The vast majority of musicians (90%) exhibited HG multiplications (type ii-iv) in either one (39%) or both (51%) hemispheres. In 27% of musicians, MD with up to four gyri were found. To probe the functional contribution of HG multiplications to auditory processing we performed fMRI and MEG with auditory stimulation using analogous instrumental tone paradigms. Both methods pointed to the recruitment of all parts of HG during auditory stimulation, including multiplications if present. FMRI activations extended with the degree of HG gyrification. MEG source waveform patterns were distinct for the different types of HG: (i) hemispheres with single HG and (ii) CSD exhibited dominant N1 responses, whereas hemispheres with (iii) CPD and (iv) MD exhibited dominant P1 responses. N1 dipole amplitudes correlated with the localization of the first complete Heschl's sulcus (cHS), designating the most posterior anatomical border of HG. P2 amplitudes were significantly higher in professional as compared to amateur musicians. The results suggest that HG multiplications occur much more frequently in musicians than in the general population and constitute a functional unit with HG.

Magic Learning Pill: Ontological and Instrumental Learning in Order to Speed Up Education.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the phenomenology of learning - people"s attitudes toward their learning experiences that have inherent worth in themselves (i.e., ontological learning) or have value outside of the learning itself (i.e., instrumental learning). In order to explore this topic, 58 participants from the U.S., Russia, and Brazil were interviewed with a central question derived from the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's short story "Profession": whether participants would take a "Magic Learning Pill" (MLP) to avoid the process of learning, and instead magically acquire the knowledge. The MLP would guarantee the immediate learning by skipping the process of learning while achieving the same effect of gaining skills and knowledge. Almost all participants could think of some learning experiences for which they would take MLP and others for which they would not. Many participants would not take MLP for ontological learning, which is learning experiences that have inherent value for the people, while they would take MLP for instrumental learning, which is learning that mainly serves some other non-educational purposes. The main finding suggests that both instrumental and ontological types of learning are recognized by a wide range of people from diverse cultures as present and valued in their lives. This is especially significant in light of the overwhelmingly instrumental tone of public discourse about education. In the context of formal education, ontological learning was mentioned 35 times (28.0%) while instrumental learning was mentioned 74 times (60.2%). Although ontological learning was often mentioned as taking place outside of school, incorporating pedagogy supporting ontological learning at school deserves consideration.

The role of initial attack and performer expertise on instrument identification

The purpose of this study was to examine the role initial attack and expertise play in the identification of instrumental tones. A stimulus CD was made of 32 excerpts of instrumental tones. Sixteen possible combinations of the variables of initial attack (present or absent), expertise (beginner versus professional), and timbre (flute, clarinet, alto sax, trumpet) were recorded twice, once on B-flat4 and once on F4. After listening to the excerpts, music major ( n = 100) and non-major participants ( n = 112) identified the instrument that was performed in the excerpt and the expertise level of the performer of the excerpt. A list of possible instruments was provided that included the four stimulus instruments as well as four distractor instruments. Data analysis revealed initial attack presence had a significant main effect on instrument identification, especially for music majors’ identification of performer expertise. Results suggest presence and possibly quality of the initial attack affect timbre identification and tone quality assessment.

Effect of reverberation on instrumental vibrato tones

Musical vibrato is the process by which a performer subtly varies the frequency and amplitude of a note for expressive effect. Previous work has suggested that the vibrato modulation may not be uniform across all overtones, causing the individual frequency trajectories to become decorrelated. In this study, we investigate the effect of reverberation on instrumental tones performed with vibrato. This is accomplished by performing a detailed time-frequency analysis to extract the instantaneous frequencies of many overtones. In order to accurately track the low amplitudes of the upper harmonics, we present an algorithm tailored for optimal tracking in as little as 10 dB SNR. For tones recorded in an anechoic environment, the instantaneous frequency modulations of all the overtones are found to be highly correlated. However, tones recorded in a reverberant space, as well as anechoic recordings processed with a synthetic reverberation are found to have significantly lower correlations between the overtones. In addition to providing insight into musical timbre variations, these results could be useful for characterization of acoustic transfer functions or applications where overtone correlation is assumed, such as audio source separation.

An Application of Genetic Algorithms on the Synthesis Technique of Musical Instrument Tones

Genetic algorithms are optimum algorithms which depend little on questions and are able to find global optimum.In order to implement the synthesis of musical instrument tones and modify its results,this paper proposes to use genetic algorithms to find and optimize the parameters of discrete summation synthesis.Finally,the synthesis result of Erhu instrument tones is given out in comparison with other methods.

Discrimination of Random Spectral Alterations in Repeated Notes of Sustained Musical Instrument Tones (JAES Volume 62 Issue 10 pp. 654-662; October 2014)

Discrimination of Random Spectral Alterations in Repeated Notes of Sustained Musical Instrument Tones (JAES Volume 62 Issue 10 pp. 654-662; October 2014)

Effects of fundamental frequency removal and low-pass filtering on pitch comparisons.

Pitch has been defined as perceptual attribute which allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale ordered from low to high (Klapuri & Davy, 2006; p. 8). A primary acoustic dimension for determining the pitch of complex periodic sounds is fundamental frequency (Stevens & Volkmann, 1940; Idson & Massaro, 1978). Relationships between the spectral components of complex tones also contribute to pitch. Harmonic relations, in particular, strengthen the sensation of pitch (Plomp, 1976; Terhardt, 1974).In contrast, timbre traditionally has been defined by exclusion. For example, the American Standards Association (1960) defines timbre as attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which a listener can judge that two sounds similarly presented and having the same loudness and pitch are dissimilar. Part of the reason for the adherence to the traditional definition of timbre may be that timbre has repeatedly been demonstrated to consist of several perceptual dimensions. Yet, establishing an inclusive definition critically depends on understanding the nature of each of the various dimensions of timbre. Research that has sought to define timbre dimensions has typically involved the multidimensional scaling (MDS) of timbre dissimilarity judgments for musical instrument tones. Reported MDS solutions have tended to converge on several acoustic correlates for the perceptual dimensions of timbre. These associations are summarized below (Caclin, McAdams, Smith, & Winsberg, 2005; Grey, 1977; Krumhansl, 1989; McAdams, Winsberg, Donnadieu, De Soete, & Krimphoff, 1995; Miller & Carterette, 1975). The correspondence between some timbre dimensions and their putative acoustic correlates also has been confirmed by timbre discrimination tasks in response to acoustic manipulations (Grey & Moorer, 1977; also see McAdams, Beauchamp, & Meneguzzi, 1999).Dimensions of musical instrument timbre fall into three broad categories: temporal, spectrotemporal, and spectral.1 Important temporal information is conveyed during the attack portion of a tone, the most salient characteristic of which is the logarithm of rise time. For example, MDS studies have shown that the logarithm of rise time is strongly correlated with a perceptual dimension of timbre (Caclin et al., 2005; Krimphoff, McAdams, & Winsberg, 1994; McAdams et al., 1995). When attack transients are removed (Saldanha & Corso, 1964) or swapped across instru- ments (Thayer, 1974), the accuracy of instrument recognition suffers.The most commonly referenced spectrotemporal dimension is spectral flux, a measure of (the lack of) harmonic stability over the duration of a tone (e.g., see Krumhansl, 1989). However, this dimension has not always significantly correlated with MDS solutions, and sometimes corresponding perceptual dimensions have been accounted for equally well or better by spectral attributes such as spectral irregularity (Krimphoff et ah, 1994) or the relative intensity of odd versus even harmonics (Caclin et al., 2005), both of which contribute to the jaggedness of the spectrum. Several alternative spectrotemporal attributes have been determined to contribute to timbre when controlling for spectral flux, as well as spectral envelope shape and rise time (McAdams et ah, 1999; also see Beauchamp & Lakatos, 2002).The current investigation sought to understand the potential impact on pitch made by spectral timbre information. One primary spectral attribute of timbre is brightness, which is related to the relative amount of higher-frequency energy, and is strongly correlated with spectral centroid, an intensity-weighted average of the frequencies in a tone (Schubert & Wolfe, 2006). Because spectral centroid strongly correlates with a primary perceptual dimension in MDS solutions, it has repeatedly been inferred that listeners use perceived brightness to differentiate between musical instruments (Ehresman & Wessel, 1978). …

Earlier timbre processing of instrumental tones compared to equally complex spectrally rotated sounds as revealed by the mismatch negativity

Harmonically rich sounds have been shown to be processed more efficiently by the human brain compared to single sinusoidal tones. To control for stimulus complexity as a potentially confounding factor, tones and equally complex spectrally rotated sounds, have been used in the present study to investigate the role of the overtone series in sensory auditory processing in non-musicians. Timbre differences in instrumental tones with equal pitch elicited a MMN which was earlier compared to that elicited by the spectrally rotated sounds, indicating that harmonically rich tones are processed faster compared to non-musical sounds without an overtone series, even when pitch is not the relevant information.