Melodic Patterns Research Articles

경제 범패 안채비소리 ‘개탁성’의 음악적 특징과 기능

This study aims to elucidate the musical characteristics and functions of gaetakseong (開鐸聲), an anchaebisori of Gyeongje beompae (Buddhist chant). Since musical features of gaetakseong, as opposed to other subgenres of beompae, are observed, not constrained by musical piece and ‘sori (sound)’ or ‘seong (聲 sound)’, it is necessary to examine different types of beompae in order to clarify the identity of gaetakseong. Therefore, this study selects and analyzes a total of five songs: two hotsori pieces that are non-anchaebisori among beompae, and three pieces that represent the other three anchaebisori, yuchiseong (由致聲), chakeoseong (着語聲), and pyeongeseong (徧界聲). The common musical characteristics of the five pieces include a free rhythm with asymmetrical, irregular beats and a melodic mode of menari-tori finishing in ‘mi’ or ‘la’. In the case of text setting, there are four different patterns shown in these songs: ① melismatic (multiple notes per syllable), ② homographic+melismatic, ③ homographic (one note per syllable), and ④ homographic+melismatic+melismatic.’ In pyeongeseong, however, only two patterns ② and ③ are observed. In particular, the common melodic characteristics of the five pieces are found in the ③ homographic pattern; the melody is relatively monotonous because it is mainly composed of three notes 'mi', 'la', and 'do', centering on 'la', or it continuously repeats a single note. Therefore, it is found that the melody in the ③ homographic pattern has less activity and a narrow range compared to the ①, ②, and ④ patterns, whereas more dynamic melodic patterns as well as an expanded range, depending on the singer's capability, appear in yuchiseong. The distinctive musical features of the five pieces are first in the literary form, with “Bokcheongge” written in verse, and “Yeongsan Gaegye”, “Yuchi”, “Chakeo”, and “Su-ui-an-jwa” written in prose, each showing with a different writing style. Regarding the tempo, most start slowly, around 35-50, while “Huchakeo” typically starts faster than that, around 75-80. In addition, the range of hotsori was the minor 10th, which is more than an octave while yuchiseong shows the perfect 8th and chakeoseong and pyeongeseong show the minor 6th, which are less than an octave. Gaetakseong has been emphasized as a sound of “reading blurry and darkly” or “sweeping away” among scholars and practitioners of beompae. As a result, the partial characteristics of the gaetakseong were identified as the essence of the overall ‘seong.’ However, as discussed in this paper, the sound of “reading blurry and darkly” or “sweeping away” is limited just to the simple melody-type singing style of the homographic pattern, and gaetakseong reveals the characteristics of ‘seong’, showing that various singing styles other than the homographic pattern coexist. Therefore, it can be argued that gaetakseong is the ‘seong’ with various musical structures and forms. Moreover, it has been found that the “Yeongsangaegye”, which has very long lyrics, is implemented by selectively using two or three singing styles depending on the situation, demonstrating that the singing style of gaetakseong is very flexible and fluid. Since gaetakseong is woven with four singing styles alternating and intersecting, it can be said to be a very suitable method for effectively handling limited time without significantly damaging the characteristics of each genre of music unique to beompae. Therefore, in large-scale rituals, when similar genres of beompae are arranged without overlapping each other or it is judged difficult to finish the rituals within a set time, the musical function of gaetakseong, which can reduce the performance time compared to the original while sufficiently utilizing the unique characteristics of beompae, will stand out even more.

Pupillometry reveals effects of pitch manipulation within and across words on listening effort and short-term memory.

For individuals with hearing loss, even successful speech communication comes at a cost. Cochlear implants transmit degraded information, specifically for voice pitch, which demands extra and sustained listening effort. The current study hypothesized that abnormal pitch patterns contribute to the additional listening effort, even in non-tonal language native speaking normally hearing listeners. We manipulated the fundamental frequency (F0)within and across words, while participants listen and repeat (simple intelligibility task), or listen, repeat, and later recall (concurrent encoding task) the words. In both experiments, the F0 manipulations resulted in small changes in intelligibility but no difference in free recall or subjective effort ratings. Pupillary metrics were yet sensitive to these manipulations: pupil dilations were larger when words were monotonized (flat contour) or inverted (the natural contour flipped upside-down), and larger when successive words were organized into a melodic pattern. The most likely interpretation is that the natural or expected F0 contour of a word contributes to its identity and facilitate its matching and retrieval from the phonological representation stored in long-term memory. Consequently, degrading words' F0 contour can result in extra listening effort. Our results call for solutions to improve pitch saliency and naturalness in future development of cochlear implants' signal processing strategies, even for non-tonal languages.

Core principles of melodic organisation emerge from transmission chains with random melodies

Music is a product of both biological and cultural evolution. Cultural transmission is the engine of cultural evolution and may play a role in the establishment of musical universals. Here, we examined how transmission dynamics can shape melodic features in music. Specifically, we tested whether random melodic seeds, in their transformation, take on properties known to characterise music within or even across cultures. Using an iterated learning paradigm, we investigated the transmission of random melodic seeds through a chain of non-musician participants (N = 64). We found that melodies reproduced vocally between “generations” became more similar to known musical scales, exhibited a predominance of consonant intervals, and reduced the number of scale degrees used. Additionally, we observed the previously documented tendency for large intervals to be followed by a change in direction, as well as features common to both music and speech including phrase-final lengthening and the Zipfian distribution of signalling units. As participants' vocalisations converged towards greater memorability, they exhibited decreased entropy, and their contours became smoother and more consistent. Finally, certain short melodic patterns became prominent motifs within the incipient musical “traditions” simulated by the chains. These emerging features may reflect a process shaped by (i) cognitive bottlenecks such as learnability; (ii) statistical properties of the processes and structures involved in inter-generational vocal transmission; but also by (iii) idiosyncratic cultural artefacts specific to the lab samples employed. Overall, our results demonstrate that fundamental aspects of melodic structure emerge naturally through the process of cultural transmission, as simulated in the lab.

Commentary on David Temperley's "Melodic Pattern Repetition and Efficient Encoding: A Corpus Study"

The following is a commentary of David Temperley's article on melodic pattern repetition and encoding. The article advances our understanding of patterns that could foster efficient encoding of melodies in Western tonal music. The research has room to grow in the theoretical context and provides opportunities for experimental work to test its predictions.

The Role of Prosody and Intonation in English Phonology: Implications for Speech Perception and Production

The role of prosody and intonation in English phonology has significant implications for speech perception and production. These phonological processes influence how words are understood and articulated in English. Recent studies have shown that prosody and intonation play a crucial role in verbal communication. This article aims to investigate the importance of prosody and intonation in understanding and producing speech in English language learning intonation refers to the melodic pattern in speech that can change the meaning of a sentence. It is often used to convey emotions or to emphasize a message. On the other hand, prosody encompasses the patterns of pitch, stress, and duration in speech that impact word articulation and comprehension. Both work together to create accurate articulation and understanding of words in English this linguistic study underscores the importance of prosody and intonation in English language learning and elucidates how these two aspects influence speech perception and production. With a deep understanding of prosody and intonation, learners can enhance their ability to communicate in English more effectively and accurately.

NeuralPMG: A Neural Polyphonic Music Generation System Based on Machine Learning Algorithms

The realm of music composition, augmented by technological advancements such as computers and related equipment, has undergone significant evolution since the 1970s. In the field algorithmic composition, however, the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in sound generation and combination has been limited. Existing approaches predominantly emphasize sound synthesis techniques, with no music composition systems currently employing Nicolas Slonimsky’s theoretical framework. This article introduce NeuralPMG, a computer-assisted polyphonic music generation framework based on a Leap Motion (LM) device, machine learning (ML) algorithms, and brain-computer interface (BCI). ML algorithms are employed to classify user’s mental states into two categories: focused and relaxed. Interaction with the LM device allows users to define a melodic pattern, which is elaborated in conjunction with the user’s mental state as detected by the BCI to generate polyphonic music. NeuralPMG was evaluated through a user study that involved 19 students of Electronic Music Laboratory at a music conservatory, all of whom are active in the music composition field. The study encompassed a comprehensive analysis of participant interaction with NeuralPMG. The compositions they created during the study were also evaluated by two domain experts who addressed their aesthetics, innovativeness, elaboration level, practical applicability, and emotional impact. The findings indicate that NeuralPMG represents a promising tool, offering a simplified and expedited approach to music composition, and thus represents a valuable contribution to the field of algorithmic music composition.

DNA of Music: Identifying Relationships among Different Versions of the Composition Sadhukarn from Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia Using Multivariate Statistics

Sadhukarn, a sacred music composition performed ritually to salute and invite divine powers to open a ceremony or feast, is played in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Different countries have unique versions, arranged based on musicians’ skills and en vogue styles. This study presents the results of multivariate statistical analyses of 26 different versions of Sadhukarn main melodies using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and cluster analysis. The objective was to identify the optimal number of parameters for identifying the origin and relationships among Sadhukarn versions, including rhyme structures, pillar tone, rhythmic and melodic patterns, intervals, pitches, and combinations of these parameters. The data were analyzed using both full and normalized datasets (32 phrases) to avoid biases due to differences in phrases among versions. Overall, the combination of six parameters is the best approach for data analysis in both full and normalized datasets. The analysis of the ‘full version’ shows the separation of Sadhukarn versions from different countries of origin, while the analysis of the ‘normalized version’ reveals the rhyme structure, rhythmic structure, and pitch as crucial parameters for identifying Sadhukarn versions. We conclude that multivariate statistics are powerful tools for identifying relationships among different versions of Sadhukarn compositions from Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia and within the same countries of origin.

La prosodie des marqueurs discursifs

This study aims at examining the possibility of lexicalisation of the prosody of discourse markers, with in mind the idea that it could serve as a criterion for distinguishing this category of items. The wide sample of examples we have been examining lead us to believe that this is indeed the case and that discourse markers – due to the process of grammaticalization they undergo – break free from phrasal constraints and can thus exhibit specific and distinguishable melodic patterns that are transversal across the entire paradigm and essentially linked to the expression of an attentional or thymic dimension.

Citharodic Nomos and Prooimion

A citharodic performance typically included a προοίμιον that preceded a νόμος. Theoretically, there are three possible options: a prooimion (1) was an inseparable introduction to a specific main part; (2) was not performed independently, but could precede various main parts; (3) was an independent piece. Most evidence points to option 2. Standard circumstances of performance must have stereotyped the subject matter that appeared in the introduction, so the proem became an autonomous song that could precede any narrative part, and even be performed independently (if there were no agonistic connotations and transitional formulas). Pseudo-Plutarch’s notions of ancient citharody (De mus. 1132В–С; 1132D; 1133B–C) are interpreted as follows: a proem addressed to the gods was a citharode’s own composition (hence ὡς βούλονται, despite its formal character and epic metre). It was immediately followed by a nome, whose epic narration could be either original or taken from Homer and other poets and set to music according to one of melodic patterns systemized by Terpander. Terpander’s proems likely offered two proofs of this theory: they ended with a formula of transition to another song, which itself did not follow. Apparently, the option to use someone else’s poetry in the main body led to the practice of writing down the proems without the subsequent nomes, so that they were seen as independent works. It is likely that Pseudo-Plutarch’s source was referring to minor Homeric hymns, since they correspond perfectly with the information that we have about citharodic proems.

Relationship between schematic and dynamic expectations of melodic patterns in music perception

Prediction is fundamental in music listening. Two types of expectations have been proposed: schematic expectations, which arise from knowledge of tonal regularities (e.g., harmony and key) acquired through long-term plasticity and learning, and dynamic expectations, which arise from short-term regularity representations (e.g., rhythmic patterns and melodic contours) extracted from ongoing musical contexts. Although both expectations are indispensable in music listening, how they interact with each other in music prediction remains unclear. The present study examined the relationship between schematic and dynamic expectations in music processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). At the ending note of the melodies, the schematic expectation was violated by presenting a note with music-syntactic irregular (i.e., outof- key note), while the dynamic expectation was violated by presenting a contour deviant based on online statistical learning of melodic patterns. Schematic and dynamic expectations were manipulated to predict the same note. ERPs were recorded for the music-syntactic irregularity and the contour deviant, which occurred independently or simultaneously. The results showed that the music-syntactic irregularity elicited an early right anterior negativity (ERAN), reflecting the prediction error in the schematic expectation, while the contour deviant elicited a mismatch negativity (MMN), reflecting the prediction error in the dynamic expectation. Both components occurred within a similar latency range. Moreover, the ERP amplitude was multiplicatively increased when the irregularity and deviance occurred simultaneously. These findings suggest that schematic and dynamic expectations function concurrently in an interactive manner when both expectations predict the same note.

Shared Religious Soundscapes: Indian Rāga Music in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Devotion in South Asia

Music has played a central role in Indian religious experience for millennia. The origins of Indian music include the recitation of the sacred syllable OM and Sanskrit Mantras in ancient Vedic fire sacrifices. The notion of Sound Absolute, first in the Upanishads as Śabda-Brahman and later as Nāda-Brahman, formed the theological background for music, Sangīta, designed as a vehicle of liberation founded upon the worship of Hindu deities expressed in rāgas, or specific melodic formulas. Nearly all genres of music in India, classical or devotional, share this theoretical and practical understanding, extending to other Indic religions like Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. What is less documented is how rāga music has been adopted by non-Indic communities in South Asia: Judaism (Bene Israel), Christianity (Catholic), and Islam (Chishti Sufi). After briefly outlining the relation between religion and the arts, the Indian aesthetics of Rasa, and the basic notions of sacred sound and music in Hinduism, this essay reveals the presence of rāga music, specifically the structure or melodic pattern of the morning rāga known as Bhairava, in compositions praising the divinity of each non-Indic tradition: Adonai, Jesus, and Allah. As similar tone patterns appear in the religious experiences of these communities, they reveal the phenomenon of “shared religious soundscapes” relevant to the comparative study of religion and music, or Musicology of Religion.

Transmission of Local and Traditional Music in Indonesian Popular Music (Case Studies of Indonesian Music Groups)

This article explores the dynamic process of transmitting local and traditional music within the context of Indonesian popular music. As Indonesia boasts a rich cultural heritage, the study delves into how traditional musical elements are incorporated and transformed within the works of contemporary Indonesian music groups. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing case studies of prominent Indonesian music groups. Through an in-depth analysis of their compositions, arrangements, and performances, the study aims to unravel how traditional musical influences are transmitted and integrated into the fabric of popular music. The findings reveal diverse strategies Indonesian music groups employ in incorporating local and traditional elements. Case studies showcase the adaptation of traditional instruments, melodic patterns, and rhythmic structures, providing insight into how cultural heritage is woven into the contemporary musical landscape. The discussion section engages with the implications of this transmission process, addressing questions of cultural identity, artistic innovation, and audience reception. It explores how the synthesis of traditional and popular music contributes to the evolution of Indonesia's musical identity and its resonance within a global context. In conclusion, this article illuminates the multifaceted nature of the transmission of local and traditional music in Indonesian popular music. The case studies provide a lens to understand the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation, shedding light on the creative processes that shape the country's musical tapestry. This study contributes to the broader discourse on the global dynamics of music transmission and the significance of cultural heritage in contemporary musical expressions.

Musicality - Tuned to the melody of vocal emotions.

Musicians outperform non-musicians in vocal emotion perception, likely because of increased sensitivity to acoustic cues, such as fundamental frequency (F0) and timbre. Yet, how musicians make use of these acoustic cues to perceive emotions, and how they might differ from non-musicians, is unclear. To address these points, we created vocal stimuli that conveyed happiness, fear, pleasure or sadness, either in all acoustic cues, or selectively in either F0 or timbre only. We then compared vocal emotion perception performance between professional/semi-professional musicians (N = 39) and non-musicians (N = 38), all socialized in Western music culture. Compared to non-musicians, musicians classified vocal emotions more accurately. This advantage was seen in the full and F0-modulated conditions, but was absent in the timbre-modulated condition indicating that musicians excel at perceiving the melody (F0), but not the timbre of vocal emotions. Further, F0 seemed more important than timbre for the recognition of all emotional categories. Additional exploratory analyses revealed a link between time-varying F0 perception in music and voices that was independent of musical training. Together, these findings suggest that musicians are particularly tuned to the melody of vocal emotions, presumably due to a natural predisposition to exploit melodic patterns.

A Musical Stereotype? Repetitive Formations of Women’s Voices in the Trouvère Repertory

This article focuses on the effects of extensive melodic repetition in twelve Old French monophonic songs preserved in chansonniers (song books) from the thirteenth century. All these songs share a specific formal pattern: at least three initial poetic verses (or pairs of verses) set to the same melody. While the methodological point of departure for this study revolves around musical form and melodic construction, five songs within this group of twelve involve women speakers within their poetic texts—a relative rarity in medieval song. In addition to reviewing the cultural, cognitive, emotional, and performative implications of repetition, the article considers how repetitive melodic patterns intersect with and complement the feminine emphases of the text, arguing that this combination is not coincidental. As demonstrated by a close reading of these five songs, repetition has the potential to depict deliberately distinct female figures, ranging from a woman who longs for the touch of her absent crusading lover to the Virgin Mary herself. Repetition thereby serves in these songs to destabilize both the widespread trope of courtly love and the gendered implications of the chanson as a poetic and musical genre.

Cavity Relationships and Melodic Patterns of Ordos "Guru Songs"

Ordos has an ancient traditional folk music culture with unique regional colours. In this characteristic regional folk music culture, the ancient customs of Mongolian people have been well preserved. Especially in the aspect of music, it shows the regional cultural characteristics which are obviously different from other Mongolian regions. Ordos people have preserved the music culture with ceremonial characteristics for a long time, and radiated it to the folk soil, forming the unique Ordos folk music culture nowadays. Ordos music culture represented by court "Gu Ru Ge" is national intangible cultural heritage. Guru song is a long song sung at the beginning of the grand celebration, which is very different from the ordinary long folk songs and can be called the only one in the world. Only through in-depth excavation and exploration can this national treasure be effectively protected and passed on.

The Representation of East Asian Music in Silent Film Accompaniment Scores

The Representation of East Asian Music in Silent Film Accompaniment Scores

Neurophysiological time course of timbre-induced music-like perception.

Traditionally, pitch variation in a sound stream has been integral to music identity. We attempt to expand music's definition, by demonstrating that the neural code for musicality is independent of pitch encoding. That is, pitchless sound streams can still induce music-like perception and a neurophysiological hierarchy similar to pitched melodies. Previous work reported that neural processing of sounds with no-pitch, fixed-pitch, and irregular-pitch (melodic) patterns, exhibits a right-lateralized hierarchical shift, with pitchless sounds favorably processed in Heschl's gyrus (HG), ascending laterally to nonprimary auditory areas for fixed-pitch and even more laterally for melodic patterns. The objective of this EEG study was to assess whether sound encoding maintains a similar hierarchical profile when musical perception is driven by timbre irregularities in the absence of pitch changes. Individuals listened to repetitions of three musical and three nonmusical sound-streams. The nonmusical streams were comprised of seven 200-ms segments of white, pink, or brown noise, separated by silent gaps. Musical streams were created similarly, but with all three noise types combined in a unique order within each stream to induce timbre variations and music-like perception. Subjects classified the sound streams as musical or nonmusical. Musical processing exhibited right dominant α power enhancement, followed by a lateralized increase in θ phase-locking and spectral power. The θ phase-locking was stronger in musicians than in nonmusicians. The lateralization of activity suggests higher-level auditory processing. Our findings validate the existence of a hierarchical shift, traditionally observed with pitched-melodic perception, underscoring that musicality can be achieved with timbre irregularities alone.NEW & NOTEWORTHY EEG induced by streams of pitchless noise segments varying in timbre were classified as music-like and exhibited a right-lateralized hierarchy in processing similar to pitched melodic processing. This study provides evidence that the neural-code of musicality is independent of pitch encoding. The results have implications for understanding music processing in individuals with degraded pitch perception, such as in cochlear-implant listeners, as well as the role of nonpitched sounds in the induction of music-like perceptual states.

Performance Interpretation of Miroslava’s Vocal Part in The Golden Hoop Opera by Borys Lyatoshynsky

The performance interpretation of Miroslava’s vocal part in The Golden Hoop opera by Borys Lyatoshinsky was considered. The leading role of this character in the development of the overall concept of the opera was clarified. Myroslava’s vocal part was analyzed at different moments of its formation: during the exposition in the first picture, the unfolding and development of the heroine’s vocal intonations in the third and fifth pictures, and during the qualitative transformation of her melody at the final stage of the formation of the image in the sixth and eighth pictures. The intonation specificity of the melodic pattern and its connection with the emotional and psychological development of the image were revealed. Difficulties that the singer must overcome while working on Myroslava’s part were identified, namely, the ability to sing at extreme dynamic values, to quickly change the strength and volume of the voice, to master the technique of intoning jumps for large intervals up and down, the ability to sing in a situation of polytonal and polyladic counterpoint in ensembles and accompanied by an orchestra. The dependence of the performer’s interpretation of the vocal part on the expressiveness of the unfolding and transformation of Myroslava’s image during the opera was determined.

GARAP LAGU BAJU HÉJO: DAMPAK ADAPTASI SALENDRO 15 NADA PADA ANGKLUNG PENTATONIS RAGAM LARAS

Angklung Pentatonic Ragam Laras (APRL) is one of the innovative angklung products created in 2017 through an experimental process by Endah Irawan et al. A variety of tunings pentatonic angklung (APRL) is a musical ensemble consisting of several types of instruments made of bamboo material that apply the concept of collaborative instrumentation between gamelan orchestration and Western music. This ensemble is a new innovation in the world of traditional Sundanese art because it has a distinctive tuning pattern/scale system that collects several tuning patterns in Sundanese karawitan, namely Salendro, Degung and Madenda in different ensembles. The concept of the scale system is adapted from the concept of the Salendro 15 tone scale by R.M.A. Koesoemadinata.This study uses a mixed convergent parallel type method by obtaining both qualitative and quantitative data in order to answer the problem formulation comprehensively. The research results show that the adoption of the 15-tones saléndro tuning by Koesoemadinata R.M.A. affects the musikal work on Baju Hejo song that have been re-arranged especially in terms of the development of percussion and melodic patterns, tuning modulation and surupan, as well as the application of insert tones (miring and malang).

Representing melodic relationships using network science

Music is a complex system consisting of many dimensions and hierarchically organized information—the organization of which, to date, we do not fully understand. Network science provides a powerful approach to representing such complex systems, from the social networks of people to modelling the underlying network structures of different cognitive mechanisms. In the present research, we explored whether network science methodology can be extended to model the melodic patterns underlying expert improvised music. Using a large corpus of transcribed improvisations, we constructed a network model in which 5-pitch sequences were linked depending on consecutive occurrences, constituting 116,403 nodes (sequences) and 157,429 edges connecting them. We then investigated whether mathematical graph modelling relates to musical characteristics in real-world listening situations via a behavioral experiment paralleling those used to examine language. We found that as melodic distance within the network increased, participants judged melodic sequences as less related. Moreover, the relationship between distance and reaction time (RT) judgements was quadratic: participants slowed in RT up to distance four, then accelerated; a parallel finding to research in language networks. This study offers insights into the hidden network structure of improvised tonal music and suggests that humans are sensitive to the property of melodic distance in this network. More generally, our work demonstrates the similarity between music and language as complex systems, and how network science methods can be used to quantify different aspects of its complexity.