Musical Drum Research Articles

Islamic Educational Values in the Bedikekh Culture of the Liwa Community of West Lampung

The values ​​of Islamic education are everything in which there are positive elements that are beneficial for humans to develop human knowledge and insight both in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains so that they can develop optimally in accordance with Islamic teachings in the form of norms and rules contained in Islamic education, such as morals, faith and worship. Bedikekh culture is a custom that developed among the Lampung Saibatin community, namely an art in the form of chanting poetry of praise to Allah taken from the book of barzanji accompanied by musical drums together. In this case, the researcher wants to know the values ​​of Islamic education contained in the bedikekh culture of the Liwa people of West Lampung, which aims to see whether this bedikekh culture is in line with Islamic teachings or deviates from Islamic teachings and provides an understanding of the procession and meaning of bedikekh culture. Researchers try to find the realm of Islamic educational values ​​in bedikekh culture. This research uses qualitative research methods. The data was obtained using several data collection techniques, including interviews, observation and documentation. Then, after the data was collected, the researcher analyzed it by reducing, presenting, and drawing conclusions from the data. Furthermore, the validity of the data in this research uses source, time and model triangulation techniques. This research shows Islamic educational values ​​in the bedikekh culture of the Liwa people of West Lampung. The educational values ​​instilled indirectly are in the form of good morals, such as respecting each other/respecting/not being selfish, polite, helpful, patient, trustworthy and disciplined. The attitude of the members of the bedikekh participants is to follow these morals. This research also explains the supporting and inhibiting factors for bedikekh practice so that readers can better understand what bedikekh culture is

Null effect of perceived drum pattern complexity on the experience of groove.

There is a broad consensus in groove research that the experience of groove, understood as a pleasurable urge to move in response to music, is to some extent related to the complexity of the rhythm. Specifically, music with medium rhythmic complexity has been found to motivate greater urge to move compared to low or high complexity music (inverted-U hypothesis). Studies that confirmed the inverted-U hypothesis usually based their measure of complexity on the rhythmic phenomenon of syncopation, where rhythms with more and/or stronger syncopation are considered to be more complex than less syncopated rhythms. However, syncopation is not the same as complexity and represents only one rhythmic device that makes music complex. This study attempts the verification of the inverted-U hypothesis independently from syncopation. It uses a new stimulus set of forty idiomatic popular music drum patterns whose perceptual complexity was measured experimentally in a previous study. The current study reports the results of a listening experiment with n = 179 participants, in which the inverted-U hypothesis was not confirmed. Complexity did not have any significant effect on listeners' urge to move (p = 834). Results are discussed in the context of the psychological model of musical groove, which offers a nuance to this null result: simple drum patterns motivate listeners to dance because they convey metric clarity; complex patterns invite dancing because they are interesting. Yet, overall, the urge to move does not seem to depend on complexity, at least in the case of idiomatic drum patterns that are typically encountered in the Western popular music repertoire.

Analysis of /t̪a:/ and /t̪ʊn/ bols of the tabla from a musical standpoint

Tabla, the Indian harmonic musical drum, produces several distinct sounds or bols, which are rhythmically arranged into different taals (beat-cycles) to work as a syllabic musical poem. Prior research on tabla has primarily focused on the tabla membrane’s vibrational attributes and how such attributes get influenced by the tabla’s structure. Thus, there is a need to study the tabla from a musical standpoint and understand the linkages between its vibrations and the acoustical attributes of its musical bols. We fill this gap by analyzing the two most important bols; /t̪a:/ and /t̪ʊn/. Towards this, we studied bols produced by ten experienced tabla players using four different tablas tuned to different notes spanning an octave. To extract the tabla’s vibro-acoustical features, we employed two stereoscopically arranged high-speed cameras and an audio data acquisition system in tandem. Our work brings out several salient features of these bols including correspondences between the method of producing a bol and its acoustical attributes, the presence of nearly degenerate modes, the phenomenon of frequency splitting due to asymmetric loading of tabla membrane and the consequential beats, the musical importance of some inharmonicities, and psychoacoustic implications of certain frequencies missing in a bol’s spectrum. Such understanding will not only help us understand the musical acoustics of the tabla better, but also guide us towards an improved tabla design.

A predictive coding approach to modelling the perceived complexity of popular music drum patterns

This study presents a method to estimate the complexity of popular music drum patterns based on a core idea from predictive coding. Specifically, it postulates that the complexity of a drum pattern depends on the quantity of surprisal it causes in the listener. Surprisal, according to predictive coding theory, is a numerical measure that takes large values when the perceiver's internal model of the surrounding world fails to predict the actual stream of sensory data (i.e. when the perception surprises the perceiver), and low values if model predictions and sensory data agree. The proposed new method first approximates a listener's internal model of a popular music drum pattern (using ideas on enculturation and a Bayesian learning process). It then quantifies the listener's surprisal evaluating the discrepancies between the predictions of the internal model and the actual drum pattern. It finally estimates drum pattern complexity from surprisal. The method was optimised and tested using a set of forty popular music drum patterns, for which empirical perceived complexity measurements are available. The new method provided complexity estimates that had a good fit with the empirical measurements (R2=.852). The method was implemented as an R script that can be used to estimate the complexity of popular music drum patterns in the future. Simulations indicate that we can expect the method to predict perceived complexity with a good fit (R2≥.709) in 99% of drum pattern sets randomly drawn from the Western popular music repertoire. These results suggest that surprisal indeed captures essential aspects of complexity, and that it may serve as a basis for a general theory of perceived complexity.

A Stimulus Set of 40 Popular Music Drum Patterns with Perceived Complexity Measures

This study presents an audio stimulus set of 40 drum patterns from Western popular music with empirical measurements of perceived complexity. The audio stimuli are meticulous reconstructions of drum patterns found in commercial recordings; they are based on careful transcriptions (carried out by professional musicians), drum stroke loudness information, and highly precise onset timing measurements. The 40 stimuli are a subset selected from a previously published larger corpus of reconstructed Western popular music drum patterns (Lucerne Groove Research Library). The patterns were selected according to two criteria: a) they only feature the bass drum, snare drum, and one or more cymbals, and b) they plausibly cover the complexity range of the corpus. Perceived stimulus complexity was measured in a listening experiment using a pairwise comparison design with 220 participants (4,400 trials). In each trial, participants were presented with two stimuli, and they stated which of the two sounded more complex to them. The comparison data then served to calculate complexity estimates using the Bradley–Terry probability model. The complexity estimates have an intuitive interpretation: they allow calculation of the probability that one pattern is considered more complex than another pattern in a pairwise comparison. To our knowledge, this is the first set of naturalistic music stimuli with meaningful perceived complexity estimates. The drum pattern stimuli and complexity measurements can be used for listening experiments in music psychology. The stimuli will further allow measures and models of drum pattern complexity to be assessed.

Creating Process of Composition Of The “Kulino” Musical Drama At Theater Aura Indonesia

Music for the Aura Theater is not only a supporter of the presentation of the show, but also as a medium for conveying the core story in a performance that is packaged in the form of songs and becomes part of the storyline. This makes researchers interested in the process of creating songs in their musical dramas. This study aims to identify and describe the process of creating compositions for musical drama songs in Kulino scripts at the Aura Indonesia Theater performance. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method that produces descriptive data. The research location is in the center of theatrical activities of Theater Aura Indonesia with data sources from the chairman as well as the director of Kulino performances and composers. Data were collected by using observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The data analysis technique used in this study is an interactive model whose elements include data reduction, data presentation, and conclusions. The results showed that in the process of creating the composition of the Kulino musical drama song through stages (1) script review, namely the activities of appreciating, reviewing, discussing, or reviewing all the elements contained in the script to be worked on (2) observation, namely the stages carried out by the composer. to get musical inspiration which is then illustrated in the form of rough notes (3) pouring, namely pouring rough notes from observations into the form of musical compositions (4) embodiment, namely redeveloping the finished song by adding other musical instruments, namely keyboard, guitar melody, violin, cello, drum, bass, flute, and saxophone (5) presentation, in which the composer presents the finished song to the director and assistant director.

Computing natural frequencies and mode shapes of a non-uniform circular membrane

This paper presents algorithms to compute natural frequencies and mode shapes of a circular membrane with concentric or eccentric non-uniformity as found in many applications such as Indian musical drums. Algorithm for concentric non-uniformity is based on the theory of linear time varying systems whereas that for eccentric non-uniformity is developed by expressing each eigenfunction as a linear combination of eigenfunctions of the corresponding circular membrane with concentric non-uniformity. Numerical results from these approaches are corroborated by comparison with those from a finite element method and existing results in the literature.

Development of Sn-doped ZnO based ecofriendly piezoelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting application

In this work, we have a demonstrated zinc oxide (ZnO) polymer-based ecofriendly piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) on a paper substrate for an energy harvesting application. The ZnO thin film is developed on the paper substrate, where different doping concentrations of Sn have been investigated systematically to validate the effect of doping towards enhancing the device performance. The piezoelectric potential of the fabricated device is evaluated by applying three different loads (4 N, 8 N, 22 N), where the source of the corresponding mechanical loads is based on the object of a musical drum stick. The results suggest that the pristine ZnO PENG device can generate a maximum output voltage and current of 2.15 V and 17 nA respectively. Moreover, the ZnO PENG device doped with 2.5% Sn achieved an even higher voltage (4.15 V) and current (36 nA) compared to pristine ZnO devices. In addition, the hydrothermal growth technique used to develop Sn-doped ZnO has the benefits of high scalability and low cost. Hence, the Sn-doped PENG device is a suitable candidate for energy harvesting applications operating in both uniform and non-uniform loading conditions.

Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove while listening to popular music drum patterns

Spontaneous rhythmical movements, like foot-tapping and head-bobbing, often emerge when people listen to music, promoting the enjoyable sensation of ‘being in the groove’. Here we report the first experiment to investigate if seeing the music maker modulates this experience. Across trials we manipulated groove level in the audio beats (high vs low), and manipulated the match between the audio beats and a concurrently observed point-light display (PLD) of the drummer. The visual display was either fully corresponding with the audio beats, or incompatible across three conditions: a static PLD, a corresponding but asynchronous PLD (0.5s time shifted); or a non-corresponding PLD (e.g. high groove audio paired with low groove PLD). Participants (n = 36) rated: (a) their desire to move; and (b) their perceived groove, purely in response to the audio beats, using 8-point Likert scales. The main effects of groove level and visual display were significant in both measurements. Ratings increased for high compared to low groove audio overall, and for the fully corresponding condition compared to the other visual conditions. Ratings of the desire to move also increased in the static compared to the non-corresponding condition, and the two-way interaction was significant. Desire to move significantly increased for high compared to low groove audio in the fully corresponding, static and asynchronous conditions, while this effect was absent in the non-corresponding condition. These findings identify the importance of seeing as well as hearing the musician for an enhanced experience of groove, which necessitates a multimodal account of music perception.

Motivations and Factors that Contribute to Successful Drumline Groups in Malaysia

Drumline has gained more popularity as an independent percussion group with its new music arrangement and attractive drum groove. It is seen that a quite number of drumline groups have been established in Malaysia as part of music activities such as secondary school and university drumline and community group. However, the insufficient emphasis or highlights has likely created diverse perceptions on the development of drumline groups as they have the tendency to have different reasons for joining a drumline group. Therefore, to further investigate this matter, the study focuses on four subscales of intrinsic motivation of Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), which are (a) Interest-enjoyment dimension, (b) Effort-importance dimension, (c) Value-usefulness dimension, and (d) Pressure-tension dimension. The data is collected using questionnaire, with the consideration of the members’ demographic profile, motivation and factors that contribute to the success of drumline groups, specifically in Malaysia. Based on the findings, majority of the members perceived their interest-enjoyment as a reason to join in the drumline ensemble group. They have an agreement on the fact that drumline is a great activity to participate as it is enjoyable and exciting. Also, it is identified that teamwork, enjoyment, and dedication were among the factors that contribute to successful drumline groups. In general, the members are motivated, despite the lack of sponsorship for drumline event or competition.

Steve Handoyo’s Creativity in the Arrangement of Orchestral Campursari Music

This thesis aims to analyze the creative process of an arranger named Steve Handoyo in Semarang. The researcher used interdisciplinary approach with qualitative method and interpretative case study. The supporting data were collected from observation, interview, and documentation. Triangulation were used to maintain the validity of the data. The analysis of the data was in the sequence of data reductin, presentation, and verification. The findings shows that Steve Handoyo’s creativity are projected in three elements of Barret’s theory of creation, which are; (1) Conceptual Elements (impuls, feelings, ideas). This element is realized from Handoyo’s experience in campursari and orchestra. He also uses his feelings and imagination as the source of creativity.(2) Operational Elements(media, materials, technique). The used media are computer, midi, VSD plug in, violin, drum, cuk, and keyboard. The musical materials came form his experience learning Campursari and Orchestra, while the technicalities developed from the combination of musical instruments, including violing, drum, and keyboard with the sampling of “viona house”. (3) Synthesis Elements (persepsi bentuk visual). From his experiences, Steve Handoyo imagines to apprehend the work he is going to make. Based on findings and discussion, Steve Handoyo does not include all the elements of orchestral instruments into his work, the authors hope for Steve Handoyo's later work with orchestral music can be adjusted to the rules of orchestration that includes all elements of the Orchestral instrument so it does not sound just an orchestra feel.

Acoustics of Idakkā: An Indian snare drum with definite pitch.

The vibration of a homogeneous circular membrane backed by two taut strings is shown to yield several harmonic overtones for a wide range of physical and geometric parameters. Such a membrane is present at each end of the barrel of an idakkā, an Indian snare drum well known for its rich musicality. The audio recordings of the musical drum are analyzed and a case is made for the strong sense of pitch associated with the drum. A computationally inexpensive model of the string-membrane interaction is proposed assuming the strings to be without inertia. The interaction essentially entails wrapping/unwrapping of the string around a curve on the deforming membrane unlike the colliding strings in Western snare drums. The range of parameters for which harmonicity is achieved is examined and is found to be conforming with what is used in actual drum playing and construction.

Modelling perceived syncopation in popular music drum patterns

Recent studies suggest that rhythmic syncopation is a relevant predictor for groove. In order to validate these claims, a reliable measure of rhythmic syncopation is required. This article investigates whether a particular notation-based model for estimating syncopation in Western popular music drum patterns adequately predicts perceived syncopation. A listening experiment was carried out with 25 professional musicians. Six popular music drum patterns were presented to the participants in all 15 pairwise combinations, and the participants chose the pattern from each pair that was more syncopated (win), compared to the other pattern (lose). Perceived syncopation was defined as the proportion of wins for each stimulus. The experiment showed that the model works well in general, but that it overemphasises the weight of syncopes on weak metric positions. This exaggerates the syncopation value of one particular drum pattern and generally leads to inflated syncopation values in the upper syncopation range. In consequence, the fit between the model and perceived syncopation was poor, even when flexible logarithmic functions [Formula: see text], p < .001) or exponential approach functions ([Formula: see text], p < .001) were used to link the model predictions to perceived syncopation. The model was revised and a numeric optimisation process was carried out to improve its fit. The revised model produces syncopation estimates that have a linear relationship with the perceived syncopation measures and a good fit with the data ([Formula: see text], p = .469). However, this revised model is based on only six drum patterns that cover a very limited range of rhythmic phenomena. In order to create a general model of syncopation in popular music drum patterns, further modelling work is necessary that involves a larger number and a wider variety of patterns.

Fast, Nondestructive, and Cost-Effective Methods to Detect Pesticide Residues: A Case Study of Several Repatriated Karuk Tribe Artifacts

Abstract This study describes the use of three different nondestructive methods to determine whether or not nine artifacts belonging to the Karuk Tribe had been treated with common inorganic and organic pesticide agents. A portable X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer was used to estimate the concentrations of arsenic, mercury, and lead at two different locations on each artifact. Black beads on a necklace were found to contain 2.1% lead and 0.23% arsenic, which can be attributed to the natural composition of the beads. Leather on a drum mallet was found to contain 0.49% lead and 0.10% arsenic, which were due to the pigments used to decorate this item. Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry analysis of swab samples taken from the surfaces of an elk horn, bow, and musical drum showed nondetectable levels of arsenic and lead. Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry analysis of a second set of swab samples taken from the surface of each artifact showed nondetectable levels of p-dichlorobenzene, naphthalene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and other common organic pesticides. These results suggest that these artifacts were not treated with pesticides for preservation purposes, and hence they can be handled, worn, and used as intended.

Two Multicultural Recipes for Flower Drum Song

In the history of U.S. immigration Asians have been burdened with various derogatory stereotypes because of political and economic interests. The readjusted legal restrictions on immigration and citizenship following World War II did not immediately trigger a shift in social attitudes towards Asian American heritage. As a precursor to the idea of a multicultural society, mainstream media added a less derogatory stereotype to the repeating negative stereotypes, bolstering the illusionary assumption of Asian identity and commercializing Orientalism. The focus of this essay is Chinese American stereotype presentation in the late 1950s with attention paid to how race and gender shaped the representations of culture, identity, and political citizenship as seen through the lens of an immigrant and the lens of two dominant culture icons. C. Y. Lee’s novel The Flower Drum Song and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Flower Drum Song are compared to uncover the difference between how an immigrant Asian American cultural producer and two American mainstream cultural moguls commercialized the portrayal of the Asian American identity in terms of cultural citizenship.

Effects of air loading on the acoustics of an Indian musical drum.

The effects of air loading on the acoustical properties of tabla, an Indian musical drum, are investigated by idealizing it as a composite membrane backed by a rigid cylindrical cavity. The coupled boundary value problem for membrane vibration and acoustic pressure, assuming acoustic radiations to be the only source of dissipation, is solved using a Green's function method. It is shown that air loading helps in only fine tuning of the harmonicity of the composite membrane in the right hand tabla, but significantly improves the harmonicity in the left hand tabla. In both cases, it increases the decay time of the musically important modes. With a suitably defined error as the objective function, optimum tabla designs are found, which yield the most harmonic frequency spectrum. The obtained results are found to be consistent with the actual design of the tabla. Modal sound synthesis of the percussion instrument has also been attempted.

Electronic speckle-pattern interferometry: Techniques for non-contact vibration measurements of musical percussion instruments

Electronic speckle-pattern interferometry (ESPI) provides a non-contact optical system that can be used to record images showing operating deflection shapes of structures being driven sinusoidally at resonant frequencies. In high-Q systems, these shapes can approximate the normal modes of the test object. Due to the sensitivity of the optical measurement system, non-contact excitation can be achieved acoustically using a speaker. The use of ESPI is described in relation to measurements of musical bars, plates, and membranes under various boundary conditions, though the methods described can be applied to many other types of structures. In addition, a dual-ESPI system that provides simultaneous measurements of two surfaces of an object is illustrated (e.g., two heads of a musical drum). These measurements provide information regarding the degree of coupling and the relative phase of the two vibrating surfaces. Finally, the ESPI techniques are applied to the fluid-structure interaction of an orchestral crotale (a thick metal disk) at various degrees of submersion in water.

Vibration analysis of a musical drum head under nonuniform density and tension using a spectral method

Vibration analysis of a musical drum head under nonuniform density and tension using a spectral method

Coupling of drumhead vibrations: Experimental and numerical analysis

Many musical drums, such as snare drums, bass drums, and tom toms, consist of two stretched membranes at opposite ends of a cylindrical shell. Vibrations of the two heads are coupled acoustically by the enclosed air and mechanically by the shell itself. The degree of coupling varies with modal frequency and shape, and depends on several factors including the geometry of the drum shell (diameter and length) and the tensions of the two heads. Experimental measurements of coupled vibrations on drums of various sizes have been made using an electronic speckle-pattern interferometer to image the deflection shapes, amplitudes, and relative phases of both heads simultaneously. These measurements are compared with a finite element model of the system that illuminates the role of the vibrational patterns of the enclosed air in the coupling process.

Measurements of coupled drumhead vibrations using electronic speckle-pattern interferometry

Many musical drums such as snare drums, tom toms, and bass drums consist of two membranes at opposite ends of a cylindrical shell. Striking one head causes both to vibrate, as their motions are coupled due to the enclosed air as well as the shell itself. An optical system consisting of two electronic speckle-pattern interferometers was constructed allowing operating deflection shapes of both heads to be viewed simultaneously while the drum is driven acoustically at a resonant frequency. This system allows the determination of the relative phases, orientations, and amplitudes of the vibrational patterns on the two heads. Previously reported results for coupled drumheads were verified and extended to include the effects of degenerate single membrane mode pairs that are split due to non-uniform tension in the heads. Examples of higher frequency coupled patterns are also shown. Parameters influencing the degree of coupling are described briefly and compared qualitatively with results from a finite element model.