Timbre Research Articles

Critical Listening in the Ensemble Rehearsal: A Community of Learners

This article explores a strategy for engaging ensemble members in critical listening analysis of performances and presents opportunities for improving ensemble sound through rigorous dialogue, reflection, and attentive rehearsing. Critical listening asks ensemble members to draw on individual playing experience and knowledge to describe what they hear. Focused discussion revolves around key issues that music directors consider during daily rehearsals: tonal quality, balance, blend, articulation, accuracy of performance, interpretation, musicality, and much more. An important component of critical listening is teacher monitoring of repeated listening exercises: A short listening is immediately followed by discussion and then another short listening. Questions guide the discussion, which becomes richer and more focused as students compare/apply their musical understandings with their aural perceptions and then demonstrate with performance. Though written from the standpoint of a typical public school music ensemble rehearsal, the critical listening concepts can transfer to any musical tradition where listening skills and collective performance are emphasized.

The effects of prosody on pitch and voice quality of White Hmong tones

White Hmong contrasts two high-falling tones (one breathy, the other modal) and two low tones (one modal level-tone, the other creaky low-falling). Perceptual studies [Garellek et al. (2013)] have shown that listeners rely on breathy voice to distinguish between the high-falling tones, but ignore creaky voice when distinguishing between the low tones. We test whether such differences stem from prosodic variation, by examining tokens from stories read by native speakers. Vowels were annotated for phrasal position and neighbouring tones. We obtained f0 and voice quality measures. Results support and help elucidate previous perceptual research: (1) the breathy high-falling tone is breathy in all prosodic positions, (2) the breathy high-falling tone has a prosodically-variable f0, (3) the creaky low-falling tone has a prosodically-stable f0. The creaky low-falling tone is creakier than the modal low tone in all positions. Therefore, listeners may ignore f0 in the identification of the breathy high-falling ton...

Re-focusing on the Significance of Saxophone's Invention

본 연구는 아돌프 삭스가 처음 색소폰을 만든 때부터 1846년 첫 색소폰 특허를 받을 때까지의 상황을 다양한 문헌조사를 통해 살펴본 것이다. 삭스는 1838년과 1840년 사이에 첫 색소폰을 만들었으며 이는 베이스 색소폰이었다. 1838년은 삭스가 베이스 클라리넷을 처음 제작한 해였음을 감안할 때 삭스가 베이스 색소폰을 만든 것은 베이스 클라리넷이 할 수 없는 역할을 수행할 새로운 저음 악기가 필요하다고 생각했음을 알 수 있다. 새로운 악기를 만들기 위해 삭스는 당시 널리 사용되던 저음 관악기인 오피클라이드도 또 하나의 본보기로 활용하였다. 목관악기인 베이스 클라리넷의 마우스피스와, 금관악기인 오피클라이드의 황동 몸체를 결합시킴으로써 새로운 합성 저음 관악기인 베이스 색소폰이 탄생한 것이다. 이처럼 목관악기의 마우스피스와 금관악기의 몸체가 결합된 베이스 색소폰은 원래 오케스트라에서 저음 목관과 금관악기를 연계하는 중간 역할을 할 것으로 기대되었으며, 이러한 의도는 1846년 첫 색소폰 특허에 포함된 삭스의 설명문에 잘 표명되어 있다. 한 마디로 색소폰은 처음부터 음량이 목관과 금관악기의 중간이면서, 동시에 음색이 거칠고 다루기가 힘든 오피클라이드보다 더 듣기 좋은 소리를 내는 저음 관악기로 만들어졌던 것이다.This study is an attempt to observe the circumstances from the Adolphe Sax`s invention of saxophone to the granting of its patent in 1846 based on various literatures. Sax made his first saxophone, a bass saxophone, between 1838 and 1840. Considering that the year 1838 was when Sax made his first bass clarinet, he made bass saxophone in order to make a different kind of bass wind instrument which can fulfill the certain needs which cannot be expected from the bass clarinet. In order to make such an instrument, Sax made use of Ophicleide, which was a popular bass brass instrument, as another model. Sax combined the mouthpiece of a bass clarinet with the brass body of the ophicleide in order to make a bass saxophone, a new hybrid bass wind instrument. Sax`s original intention, expressed in an ‘Explanation of the first saxophone patent of 1846, was to bridge a gap between the woodwinds and brasses in an orchestra with a new wind instrument equipped with its woodwind mouthpiece and brass body. In a word, from the beginning saxophone was born with its volume of tone in the middle of woodwinds and brasses as well as better quality of tone than rather harsh and unruly ophicleide.

Neuromotor Development of Children Aged 6 and 7 Years Born before the 30th Week Gestation.

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the level of neuromotor function and somatic development in 6- and 7-year-old children born before the 30th week gestation with that in full-term children at the same age, as well as the correlation between prematurity and motor development. Material and Methods The study group consisted of prematurely born 40 children. Their mean gestational age at birth was 27.8 ± 1.6 weeks (range 24–30 weeks). The control group consisted of 40 healthy children born with normal birth weight (>2500 g). The neuromotor function was assessed using Touwen neurological examination criteria. During the examination, the attention was focused on the hand preference, laterality, synkinesis, and asymmetry. In addition, children's weight, height, and BMI index were measured. Results Premature children showed much worse results than full-term ones in hand function (p < 0,001). They obtained the best results in paper tearing while crossing the body midline turned out to be the most difficult. Considering the quality of walking, the biggest difficulty for the premature children was to walk backwards along the straight line while during normal walking they showed the best results. The results for the muscle tone subcategory in the study group were also significantly worse than those in control group (p < 0,001), as well as the total outcome for the movement coordination and diadochokinesis subcategories (p < 0,001). Conclusion The nondisabled, prematurely born children have significantly lower average outcomes regarding hand function, quality of walking, muscle tone, coordination, and diadochokinesis at age of six to seven, compared to the full-term peers.

Investigation of the Acoustic Properties of Chemically Impregnated Kayu Malam Wood Used for Musical Instrument

The chemical modification or impregnation through preparing the wood polymer composites (WPCs) can effectively reduce the hygroscopicity as well as can improve the acoustic properties of wood. On the other hand, a small amount of nanoclay into the chemical mixture can further improve the different properties of the WPCs through the preparation of wood polymer nanocomposites (WPNCs). Kayu Malam wood species with styrene (St), vinyl acetate (VA), and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay were used for the preparation of WPNCs. The acoustic properties such as specific dynamic Young’s modulus (Ed/γ), internal friction (Q−1), and acoustic conversion efficiency (ACE) of wood were examined using free‐free flexural vibration. It was observed that the chemically impregnated wood composite showed a higher value of Ed/γ than raw wood and the nanoclay‐loaded wood nanocomposite showed the highest value. The reverse trend was observed in the case of Q−1. On the other hand, chemical impregnation has a minor effect on ACE of wood for musical instruments. The results suggested that the chemically impregnated Kayu Malam wood polymer nanocomposite (WPNC) is suitable for making soundboards of violin and guitar instruments to be played longer without losing tone quality.

Reversal of the relation between impressions of voice pitch and height of fundamental frequency: Cognitive biases caused by conversion of tone quality

Reversal of the relation between impressions of voice pitch and height of fundamental frequency: Cognitive biases caused by conversion of tone quality

Images of Instrumental Duets in the Musical Texts of Haydn’s Keyboard Sonatas and Their Implementation by Means of the Modern Piano

The stylistic interpretation and the image-related and semantic expressive articulation in Haydn’s sonatas present pedagogue-musicians and students with difficult challenges. Haydn’s keyboard sonatas are frequently interpreted in the traditions of later time periods, which contradicts the composer’s individual style and the intonational lexis of the compositions. The key to the articulation regulated by the composer’s style may be served by the acoustic images of instrumental ensembles, which is concisely marked in the musical notation. Deciphering them makes it possible to present in a more precise manner the goals of expressive and comprehensive performance. The article presents performance sketches and scenarios, applied in the process of mastery of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas and geared on the formation of the skills of articulation. Practical developments of the exercises presuppose a timbral recreation of fragments of the sonatas by means of digital piano or keyboard synthesizer. The author demonstrates the attempt of work on the sketches on the level of the musical theme, examining it from the point of view of manifestation of acoustic images of instrumental duos: single-timbre (violin and viola, viola and cello) or multitimbre (flute and keyboard, flute and cello). The simplicity of the exposition and the lucid graphics of the placement of the instruments with their typical registral division into “high” and “low” contain a great creative potential for the subsequent variant instrumental ensemble transformations. The practice of amateurish music-making prompts many similar possibilities, some of which are demonstrated in the article: the replacement of the timbre of the soloist instruments, the unfolding of the duo into a quartet, the technique of the vertical shift of timb res. The suggested creative exercises help not only to cultivate timbral thinking, but also to form skills of competent articulation in the work with keyboard instruments of various constructions. Keywords: Joseph Haydn, Haydn’s keyboard sonatas, keyboard synthesizer, digital piano, instrumental duo.

Analysis of acoustical performance of Bi-layer graphene and graphene-foam-based thermoacoustic sound generating devices

The objective of this paper is to investigate the acoustical performance of thermoacoustic sound generating devices made of bi-layer graphene and graphene foam. Bi-layer graphene and graphene foam were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition and characterized using HR Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectra, and FE-SEM. The sounds generated by the thermoacoustic devices are measured using a microphone in a semi-anechoic chamber, and frequency spectrums are calculated using a spectrum analyzer. The effects of the input frequency, the voltage of the AC source, and the addition of DC offset on total sound pressure levels have been studied. In particular, the frequency spectra of the generated sounds, which are related to tone quality, are investigated. Compared with the bi-layer graphene thermoacoustic device, the graphene foam thermoacoustic device generated louder sound at low voltage. Additionally, the spectrum of sound generated by the graphene foam thermoacoustic device was clearly different from the spectrum of sound generated by the bi-layer graphene device. The difference in acoustical performance between the thermoacoustic devices made of bi-layer graphene and graphene foam should be considered when developing graphene-based speakers.

Preliminary measurements of vibrations and resonances of a Kundum xylophone

The kundum xylophone is unique among bar instruments because it has bull horn resonators. The kundum is made and played primarily by the Birom ethnic group found in Vom in the Plateau state of Nigeria, which is in the central and northern part of the Nigeria. It complements both the Western and African musical genres but is played mostly in traditional folk music. The unique tone quality of the kundum is far more superior and richer than other xylophone types found in traditional Nigerian societies. The handmade kundum consists of a row of wooden slabs that are struck with a hammer. The vibrations of the wooden slabs are amplified by closed-tip bull horns placed beneath the slabs. The bull horns are sized to produce a high-pitched note; the kundum uses overtones of the open-closed bull horns. This paper examines preliminary measurements of the vibrations of the wooden slabs, as well as natural resonances of closed-pipe bull horns. Comparisons are made with the resonances of ideal cylindrical and conical open-closed tubes to see if the effect of the curved tip of the bull horns warrants further study.

Band and Orchestra Teachers’ Primary Instrument Playing Inside and Outside the Classroom

Abstract The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to investigate trends, characteristics, beliefs, and music-making practices of band and orchestra teachers. Respondents (N = 791) indicated that they taught band (n = 525) and/or orchestra (n = 381) at the elementary (n = 306), middle school (n = 493), and/or high school (n = 401) levels. These teachers reported that they (a) played their instruments more frequently for their least-advanced students than for their most-advanced students, (b) most frequently used modeling for their least-advanced students to demonstrate technique and model tone quality, and (c) most frequently used modeling for their most-advanced students to demonstrate musicality or musical style. Directors who played string instruments were more likely than their wind and percussion counterparts to report modeling for their most-advanced students. We also found that middle school directors claimed to model most frequently compared to elementary and high school directors. Respondents valued modeling most for being an effective teaching tool but also found that modeling promoted student engagement and motivation and was a relationship-building tool. Almost all of our respondents (94.9%) reported playing their primary instruments outside of the classroom, and the most frequent reasons were that it was part of their identity, it kept their performing skills sharp in order to model for students, and it contributed to personal satisfaction and well-being. Orchestra directors were more likely to play outside the classroom than band teachers, and orchestral string players were more likely to play outside the classroom than wind, percussion, piano, or guitar principals.

Timbre of marching-band brass instruments

The tone quality of brass instruments for outdoor use has varied from time to time and from place to place. Instruments currently in use can be recorded and analyzed. However, many older instruments, typically those in museum collections, are not allowed to be played. Hence, it is necessary to rely on measurements of physical dimensions and acoustic input impedance to form comparisons. In this paper, such measurements are used to estimate two important timbral parameters: the spectral centroid at moderate playing levels and the brassiness potential. For different instruments of the same pitch, like trumpet and flugelhorn, the spectral centroid gives a measure of the brightness or darkness of the tone. The brassiness potential gives a measure of the degree to which the tone develops a “brassy” edge at high playing levels. As one might expect, the trumpet has both a higher spectral centroid and a higher brassiness potential than the flugelhorn. Results will be shown comparing instruments built in different countries and at different times.

Toward a Revolutionary Model of Music Pedagogy

Established in 1795 in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Paris Conservatoire emerged from a training school for National Guard musicians. Aligned with the French Republic’s broader educational reforms, the Conservatoire was marked by its secularization, standardized curriculum, military-style discipline, and hierarchical organization. Among its most ambitious achievements was the publication of new instruction treatises from 1799 to 1814. Covering elementary theory, solfège, harmony, and all the major instruments, these methods articulated the Conservatoire’s pedagogy and circulated widely in nineteenth-century Europe. Hugot and Wunderlich’s Méthode de flûte (1804) exemplifies the Conservatoire’s approach, making a distinct break from methods published only a few years earlier: abstract technical drills predominate, evenness of tone quality in all key areas is emphasized, and the instruction of improvisation is curtailed. Airs, brunettes, and other pieces typical of ancien régime tutors are replaced with exercises demanding repetitive practicing. Meticulous instructions for the mastery of the flute’s four-key mechanism bear a striking resemblance to rifle-handling directions in contemporary military training and combat manuals by Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert, and others. The Conservatoire instruction manuals serve not only as guidebooks to historical fingerings and period performance style; they also can be read as social and political texts. Meant to advance a more rational music pedagogy, these treatises show the extent to which the military model permeated everyday life in post-revolutionary France. Further, they demonstrate a new conception of musical training beyond personal development toward the creation of professional musicians serving a patriotic, republican function. The treatise thus becomes what Michel Foucault calls a “simple instrument,” disciplining musicians’ bodies for the political goals of the state.

Sonification of scalp-recorded frequency-following responses (FFRs) offers improved response detection over conventional statistical metrics

BackgroundThe human frequency-following response (FFR) is a neurophonic potential used to examine the brain’s encoding of complex sounds (e.g., speech) and monitor neuroplastic changes in auditory processing. Given the FFR’s low amplitude (order of nanovolts), current conventions in literature recommend collecting several thousand trials to obtain a robust evoked response with adequate signal-to-noise ratio. New methodBy exploiting the spectrotemporal fidelity of the response, we examined whether auditory playbacks (i.e., “sonifications”) of the neural FFR could be used to assess the quality of running recordings and provide a stopping rule for signal averaging. Results and comparison with existing methodIn a listening task over headphones, naïve listeners detected speech-evoked FFRs within ∼500 sweeps based solely on their perception of the presence/absence of a tonal quality to the response. Moreover, response detection based on aural sonifications offered similar and in some cases a 2–3× improvement over objective statistical techniques proposed in the literature (i.e., MI, SNR, MSC, F-test, Corr). ConclusionsOur findings suggest that simply listening to FFR responses (sonifications) might offer a rapid technique to monitor real-time EEG recordings and provide a stopping rule to terminate signal averaging that performs comparably or better than current approaches.

Clarinet charms

Philipp Jakob Riotte (1776–1856) is little known today, but in his lifetime enjoyed success in every musical form then in favour. After early tuition in Frankfurt and Offenbach, he held positions in Gotha, Danzig and Magdeburg, before moving to Vienna in 1808, where he worked at the court opera and then as music director at the Theater an der Wien (1818–21 and 1824–6). Riotte’s obituary in the Neue Wiener Musik-Zeitung noted that his compositions ‘were distinguished by much melody and pleasing harmonious flow, though calculated for entertainment and for the moment, without depth and significant substance’. Riotte’s association with the clarinet and clarinettists began early in his career. His first clarinet concerto in By major was played by Johann Georg Gottfried Hoffmann in Frankfurt around 1804–6 and was published in 1809 by Simrock as op.26 and by Breitkopf & Härtel as op.24. To add to the confusion, when Dieter Klöcker recorded the work in 2003 it was labelled op.28. Although the performing material for this first concerto is freely accessible, the Clarinet Concerto in C minor, op.36 has not previously been available. As editor Martin Harlow observes, this later work is of special historical significance, having been given its 1809 premiere by Iwan Müller on his new clarinet, designed in collaboration with the maker Johann Baptist Merklein. This 13-keyed By clarinet was famously claimed by Müller to be omnitonic, making redundant clarinets in C and A. The Paris Conservatoire initially rejected Müller’s invention on the grounds that the loss of the different tone qualities of the various pitches of clarinet would be unacceptable. But there are technical issues as well; one wonders whether, for example, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto k622 could ever be fluently performed in A on any design of By clarinet.

Breathtaking: An alternative approach to breathing for trumpeters

Name: Danny Teong Main Subject: Trumpet, Early Music Performance Research supervisors: Wouter Verschuren, Susan Williams Title of Research: Breathtaking: An alternative approach to breathing for trumpeters Research Question: Breathing simultaneously through the nose and mouth: What are the benefits for trumpet playing? How can this technique be learned? Summary of Results: Breathing in trumpet pedagogy is a controversial area. Trumpet method books contain seemingly conflicting instructions, and breathing through the mouth and focusing on low abdomen breathing dominates conventional brass pedagogy. This research attempts to explore the teachings of Willem van der Vliet, a retired trumpet teacher, who presents an alternative approach of including the nose in the inhalation process. I have used interviews, surveys, and investigated scientific and esoteric sources to attempt to explain the breathing mechanism and to understand how and why Willem’s approach to breathing works, and how it can be learnt. Biography: Danny started playing the natural trumpet since 2011, and has freelanced with early music groups in the Netherlands and Germany. He is intrigued by the limitless rhetorical possibilities of early music and enjoys the portrayal of a singing trumpet via variations in articulation and sound colour. Danny is currently doing his master’s degree with Susan Williams in Koninklijk Conservatorium, with support from Adriana Jacoba Fonds.

Perceptual Differences between Novice and Professional Music Theater Singers

Research examining contemporary commercial music styles of singing has increased significantly over the last 10 years. While acoustic analysis has helped determine which characteristics define various vocal genres, a discrepancy still exists in how those acoustic characteristics are perceived, described, and evaluated. The current study recorded seven novice and four professional musical theater singers performing belt, legit, and mix vocal samples. Novice singers were defined as first- and second-year students in an undergraduate musical theater program, while professional singers were defined as having played at least one major role in a music theater production in regional Equity theaters. Five regional Equity casting directors listened to the recordings and rated each sample on the basis of style (belt versus legit) and tone quality (brassy versus fluty and bright versus dark). Results were compared across experience level (novice/professional) and pitch. Additionally, relationships between style (belt/legit) and quality (brassy/fluty, bright/dark) were examined. The statistically significant correlation emerged between the raters' perceived singing style and the singers' indicated singing style. Auditors identified the style (belt/legit) more reliably for the professional singers than for novice singers, and ratings of other qualities varied significantly between raters. The singers were successfully able to produce voicing styles that matched the perceptual expectations of the casting directors. Not surprisingly, professional singers were somewhat more successful in this regard than were the novices. There appears to be little consensus among the auditors, however, about which acoustical qualities define a belt, mix, or legit style.

Assessment of the human ability to reproduce known sounds via a synthesis procedure

One method used to measure the properties of tinnitus perception is allow listeners to “synthesize” their tinnitus by summing sounds of various center frequencies, intensities, and bandwidths. The values of the parameters can be set by the listener, and the acoustic parameters of the resultant sound are thought to describe the characteristics of an individual’s tinnitus. However, the validity of this method is unknown. Here, we present data establishing the abilities of normal-hearing listeners to reproduce the acoustics of known stimuli including pure tones, complex tones, and noises containing various bandwidths and frequencies. Of particular interest is the validity of this method in estimating acoustic properties of high-frequency sounds &amp;gt;8kHz. Results will be interpreted in the context of the limits of auditory perception and in the context of data collected on listeners reporting tinnitus of tonal and noisy qualities.

Reed chamber resonances in free reed instruments

Western free reed instruments such as the accordion, harmonica, and harmonium do not normally employ pipe resonators to determine the pitch, but all do feature some sort of reed chamber or cavity in which the reed is mounted. The reed chamber will necessarily have resonances which can affect the tone quality and the pitch, but, since the cavity volumes are small and the resonances have high frequencies, the effects on the reed vibration generally tend to be small. In some cases, however, a resonance of the reed chamber can be close to the vibration frequency of the reed tongue. In this case, the cavity air vibration can become large enough to influence the self-excitation mechanism, possibly interfering with tongue vibration and the resulting musical tone, and in some cases preventing the sounding of the reed at all. For various configurations of the reed chamber, reed motion during the initial transient stage of free reed vibration has been analyzed, exploring effects on the rise time and final amplitude of vibration due to changes in reed chamber configurations. [Work partially supported by United States National Science Foundation Grant PHY-1004860.]

Antiproliferative Properties of Leaf Extract of Hopea ponga (Dennst.) Mabberly

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate the antiproliferative properties of hydroalchoholic extract of Hopea ponga leaves. METHODS: The antiproliferative capacity of extract was assessed by employing different assays such as by brine shrimp lethality assay, MTT assay and trypan blue assay in HeLa cells. Results were compared with standard vincristine. RESULTS: In vitro antiproliferative study of the hydroalcoholic extract of H.ponga was evaluated by brine shrimp lethality assay, MTT assay and trypan blue assay in HeLa cells. The results indicated that the hydroalcoholic extract of H. ponga possessed good antiproliferative property when compared to the standard drug vincristine. CONCLUSION: The result suggests that the hydroalochoholic extracts of H. ponga plays an important role in antiproliferative activity.The activity may be due to the presence of flavonoids. It is further suggested that in vivo studies and characterisation of fractionated extracts May be conducted in this extract, to establish its effect. Hopea ponga ( Dennst.)Mabberly. H. ponga has been used as a source of timbre for construction and agricultural implements shows its potential as being used as antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, so it can be concluded that this species should be conserved and explored further.

La diversidad tímbrica en el dictado musical a dos voces como estrategia para superar las dificultades de transcripción

El dictado musical, la escucha y posterior transcripcion de fragmentos musicales, es el ejercicio mas frecuentemente empleado en la formacion y evaluacion de las competencias auditivas de los alumnos, en particular en la asignatura de Lenguaje Musical en conservatorios y escuelas de musica. El piano es el instrumento mas utilizado en esta actividad, que suele presentar importantes dificultades para los alumnos. La investigacion realizada tuvo como objetivo principal estudiar hasta que punto la dificultad de transcribir dictados a dos voces podia verse afectada por los timbres escogidos para ejecutar las melodias. En el estudio participaron 57 alumnos y 50 alumnas de segundo curso de Ensenanzas Profesionales de conservatorios profesionales de musica de Madrid. Se compusieron dictados a dos voces especificamente para la investigacion, de los cuales se selecciono un conjunto de cinco por un grupo de expertos. Los dictados seleccionados se grabaron empleando cinco combinaciones de instrumentos distintas: piano, trompeta y trombon, trompeta y violoncello, violin y trombon, y violin y violoncello. Ademas, se elaboro un cuestionario para recoger informacion en torno a la experiencia previa de los participantes en la realizacion de dictados. Los alumnos participantes, divididos en cinco grupos, realizaron los mismos dictados, pero interpretados con combinaciones timbricas diferentes segun el grupo asignado. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes obtienen mejores puntuaciones cuando los dictados que transcriben son ejecutados con instrumentos de timbres contrastantes. Las conclusiones revelan que la utilizacion de instrumentos distintos al piano podria ser una estrategia idonea para iniciar el trabajo de dictados a varias voces.