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The Role of Timbre in The Memorization of Microtonal Intervals PDF
The Role of Timbre in The Memorization of Microtonal Intervals PDF
Intervals
Pro Gradu
Rafael Ferrer Flores
Department of Music
University of Jyvskyl
September 2007
JYVSKYLN YLIOPISTO
Tiedekunta - Faculty
Humanities
Laitos - Department
Music
Tekij - Author
Rafael Ferrer Flores
Tyn nimi - Title
The Role of Timre in the Memori!ation of Microtonal "nter#als
$ppiaine - %uject
Music& Mind and Technolo'y
Tyn laji - Le#el
Master(s Thesis
Aika - Month and year
%eptemer )**+
%i#umr - ,umer of pa'es
-.
Tii#istelm - Astract
The aim of this thesis /as to determine if timre has any effect in the memori!ation of
melodic inter#als0 For this purpose& a test /as de#eloped in /hich )1 sujects heard
an inter#al& and after + seconds of silence /ere played three options from /hich they
had to select the ori'inal inter#al0 The sound samples composin' each tar'et inter#al&
had one control and three de'rees of timral modification0 %uch modifications
consisted in alterin' the ori'inal partial structure of the sound samples0 %pectral
Modellin' and Additi#e %ynthesis techni2ues /ere used to reali!e these modifications0
Results su''est that is possile to enhance or impair the aility of e3tractin' cues for
memori!in' inter#als y alterin' timral structure0
Asiasanat - 4ey/ords
timre& memory& ear trainin'
%ilytyspaikka - Depository
Muita tietoja - Additional information
bstract
The aim of this thesis /as to determine if timre has any effect in the
memori!ation of melodic inter#als0 For this purpose& a test /as de#eloped in /hich )1
sujects heard an inter#al& and after + seconds of silence /ere played three options from
/hich they had to select the ori'inal inter#al0 The sound samples composin' each tar'et
inter#al& had one control and three de'rees of timral modification0 %uch modifications
consisted in alterin' the ori'inal partial structure of the sound samples0 %pectral
Modellin' and Additi#e %ynthesis techni2ues /ere used to reali!e these modifications0
Results su''est that is possile to enhance or impair the aility of e3tractin' cues for
memori!in' inter#als y alterin' timral structure0
Table of !ontents
" Intro#$ction%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%&
' Theoretical consi#erations%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%"(
)05 Music education0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005)
)0505 6ar trainin'00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000051
)050) "nter#als0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000057
)0) Timre00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000058
)0)05 Timre and scales000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005.
)0)0505%pectral shape0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005.
)0)050)9onsonance : Dissonance00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000005;
)0)0501%cales0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)*
)0)0507Relations et/een timre& consonance and scale000000000000000000000000)5
)01 Memory000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)7
)0105 A three sta'es in one000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)7
)010505%ensory memory00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)7
)01050)%hort-term memory0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)8
)010501Lon'-term memory0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)-
)010507<orkin' memory0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)-
)010) Memory for timre000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000)-
) *m+irical a++roach%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%',
105 Method00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000).
10505 Desi'n0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000).
1050) =articipants000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000);
10501 Materials00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001*
1050105%timuli0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001*
Selection..................................................................................................30
Discrimination.........................................................................................31
Analysis...................................................................................................31
Synthesis.................................................................................................35
105010)Apparatus000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000075
10507 =rocedure0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007)
10508 Results00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007)
10) Discussion0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007-
10)05 Adaptaility000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007.
10)0) Timre descriptors00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000008*
- !oncl$sions%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%.&
References..............................................................................................................59
Appendix A. Instructive of the experiment............................................................67
Appendix B. Questionnaire....................................................................................68
In#e/ of Ill$strations
Fi'ure 50 Representation of sensory dissonance y =lompt > Le#elt000000000000000000000000000)5
Fi'ure )0 Rou'hness and ratios00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000))
Fi'ure 10 63ample of dissonance cur#e computed /ith %ethares( al'orithm0000000000000000)1
Fi'ure 70 Desi'n of the e3periment0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000);
Fi'ure 80 Minima hits from +1 dissonance cur#es0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001)
Fi'ure -0 Mean dissonance cur#e for a set of +1 different timres000000000000000000000000000000011
Fi'ure +0 Representation of timre in relation /ith the steps of different scales00000000001+
Fi'ure .0 63ample of adjustment of timral structure0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001.
Fi'ure ;0 %ynthesis types000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007*
Fi'ure 5*0 Appearance of the e3perimental interface000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000075
Fi'ure 550 Accuracy per inter#al00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000077
Fi'ure 5)0 Accuracy per %ynthesis Type0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000078
Fi'ure 510 Accuracy per "nstrument Type0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007-
Fi'ure 570 Tendency of responses 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007+
Fi'ure 580 Histo'ram of responses000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007+
Fi'ure 5-0 Adaptaility per inter#al00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000007;
Fi'ure 5+0 $#erall Adaptaility00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000008*
Fi'ure 5.0 $ne-/ay A,$?A et/een timres of t/o synthesis 'roups (ad( > (s2(00000085
Fi'ure 5;0 $ne-/ay A,$?A et/een timres of t/o synthesis 'roups& t/o data sets81
Fi'ure )*0 9orrelation et/een eha#ioural and acoustical data000000000000000000000000000000000087
Fi'ure )50 %catter plots of rele#ant timral descriptors and eha#ioural data0000000000000088
In#e/ of Tables an# 0orm$las
Table 1. Convergence of ratios from different sources..................................................22
Table 2. Tabulated frequencies for interval selection....................................................34
Table 3. Example of selection of candidates..................................................................36
Table 4. Different combination of subsets to test syntheses type with one-way ANOVA
.........................................................................................................................................45
Formula 1. Computation of ratios for a 12 tone equally tempered system....................20
Formula 2. Relation of partials and steps of a scale......................................................36
7
" Intro#$ction
This /ork has een inspired y the need for hard e#idence o#er the effecti#eness
of traditional practices in music education& in the area of ear trainin' /ithin /estern
culture0 Althou'h the solution for this prolem is o#iously far more comple3 than the
approach that can e co#ered in a sin'le thesis like this& an atomistic approach makes
possile to focus the prolem on the concept of timre and the memory for it0
The concept of timre encloses more 2uestions than ans/ers for the time ein'&
proaly ecause the disentan'lement of its perceptual characteristics in a systematic
2uantitati#e form is a fairly recent /ork0 The modern conception of timre has a
predecessor 'estated durin' the French 6nli'htenment at the hands of @ean =hillipe
Rameau& /ho predicted the e3istence of music uni#ersals in the inner structure of a
sin'le tone0 ,e#ertheless& the possiility to otain some scientific proof for that
conception came some years later as the result of the influence that pro#oked the /ork
of personalities like Fourier& Helmholt!& and Arey& amon' others B/hom are not
mentioned here ecause the intention is to estalish a rief chain of ideas and not doin'
an e3hausti#e historical re#ie/C0
,o/adays in the analysis of timre it can e said that /e ha#e t/o main ranches in the
academic production& one is the approach that uses a #eral description for the soundin'
2ualities of a 'i#en timre& and the second consists in computin' a numerical
description for it0 The first option is the most common used amon' musicians and non-
musicians& and the second is the outcome of research in an area denominated Music
"nformation Retrie#al0 This former ranch pro#ides the niche in /hich this /ork /ould
rest& since /e are interested in searchin' ojecti#e uni#ersals more than particular
differences amon' indi#iduals or 'roups0
6ar trainin' is a #ery important acti#ity of formal musical trainin' in /hich asic skills
of music literacy are de#eloped& for e3ample the necessary ailities for readin':/ritin'
music0 <estern musical tradition has de#eloped a sustantial numer of forms to fulfil
the main ojecti#e of codin' music y cate'ori!in' the sounds& throu'h uildin'
8
minimal construction locks and creatin' a ta3onomy for its physical characteristics0
<ithin this mentioned forms /e picked one that can e presumed as 'eneric& ecause it
can e found in the asic steps of most methodolo'ies0 "t consists in the identification
of melodic inter#als& /hich can e defined as the perceptual distance et/een t/o
consecuti#e musical tones0
"n this task of identifyin' morpholo'ies such as a claimed distance et/een t/o fi3ed
points& the role of memory is the central matter& ecause just as another perceptual
cate'ories like the #isual stimuli e#oked y an sculpture and /hich has its dominion
o#er a constant space& the auditi#e stimuli resultin' from music e3ists only in the
ephemeral present0 "mplyin' /ith this that music has its dominion o#er time and
proposin' that memory can e seen as a human capaility meant to recreate past
e3periences and project them in the futureD just as it is the purpose of learnin'0
The topics mentioned ao#e 'i#es us a frame/ork to e3plore causalities et/een certain
timral characteristics of a 'i#en sound source and the performance of memory&
particularly in the task of recallin' musical dyads0 The main focus is the mnemonic
strate'ies of lon' lastin' effect& just after the short-term memory span0 To this effect /e
run an e3periment in /hich people are asked to memori!e an inter#al& and then after a
period of silence they ha#e to identify the same inter#al et/een three optionsD ein'
t/o of the three options de#iated in tunin' from the ori'inal& and possessin' all the
same timre per trial0 The /hole e3periment consists of -* trials and the construction
of them is three inter#alsE 18*& 88*& +8* cents
5
D fi#e different instrumental sourcesE alto
flute& french horn& ooe& synthetic piano B/hich /e call M"D" pianoC& and o/ed
#iraphoneD and three analysis:adjustment:synthesis methods plus the ori'inal sample0
Thus 'i#in' a cuic matri3 of dimensions 1 3 8 3 7 F -* trials0 The inter#als /ill e
referred as microtonal ecause they fall in a di#ision of the /estern half-tone& /hich is
the standard shortest inter#al traditionally used0 The methodolo'y employed to adjust
the timre is at the core of this /ork ecause in case of succeeded in the first premise
/hich /asE different timres lead to differential mnemonic capailities& the ne3t step
/as to speculate aout /hich kind of modifications /ould lead to those results and /hy0
1 A cent is defined as the hundredth part of a whole tone.
9
The main strate'y consisted in sutractin' the tar'et inter#als from the timral structure
of the tones& ut the entire process is e3plained in detail in section 10501050
The te3t is di#ided mainly in t/o parts& ein' the first the theoretical frame/ork /hich
pro#ides a 'eneral o#er#ie/ and in some cases a plain summary of some /orks related
/ith music education& timre and memory0 The second is a ri'orous empirical
approach& /hich e3plains step y step the e3periment done for this /ork& from the
desi'n& participants and materials to the procedure& results and discussion0
10
' Theoretical consi#erations
A sustantial amount of academic production in music analysis is focused in
/ritten music& and most musicolo'ists /ould a'ree that the in#ention of a set of
symols to code music represented the most important ad#ance in the history of /estern
music0 "t allo/ed the rapid e#olution of music ecause the separation of human and
epistemic ojects BGent > =ople& )**-C0 ,e#ertheless& that code has also a disad#anta'e&
ecause it is just a 'ross representation of the actual sound itself0
The un#eilin' of structure and form is the outcome of analysis& therefore is 'enerally
admitted that music structure relies on rhythm& pitch and timre0 $ther cate'ories can
e considered as the result of the comination of these three features& as it is the case for
melody and harmony0
The set of symols /ritten in a score fitted #ery /ell to study the co'niti#e processes
in#ol#ed in music in terms of rhythm and pitch& ut unfortunately that /as not the case
for music outside those symols& for e3ample the music that makes use of timre as the
main aesthetic resource BFales& )**)& p08+C0
%i'nal processin' technolo'y is related from its semantic ori'in to communication and
codification0 This technolo'y can e seen as a ne/ /ay to represent sounds in a more
accurate /ay& for instance& it is possile to #isuali!e timre chan'es as a function of
time& /hich has permitted speculation aout music structure focusin' on timre features
B<essel& 5;+;C& and /hich 'oes eyond the symolic representation of a sound in a
score& openin' the possiility to understand the role of timre in learnin' music0
<ith the use of ne/ technolo'ies in music education& it is common to find electronic
de#ices in the classroom producin' synthetic sounds& for e3ample in the ear trainin'
class in /hich some teachers also send their students to self-study practices /ith
soft/are made for that specific purpose0 At this point one can speculate aout the
effecti#eness of trainin' the ear /ith one synthetic sound or another& or to e more
specific to understand the characteristics of that sound in order to impro#e the
applications0 $n the other hand it is important to understand that the rele#ance of ear
11
trainin' relies on the fact that it is not the ear that it is actually trained& ut the co'niti#e
schema /hich takes the form of an ima'e in the rain of each indi#idual0 Thus to train
the ear can e e3plained as the impro#ement of precision in music ima'ery /ithin a
particular tonal schema& ecause efore readin'& /ritin'& performin' or analysin' music
one has to make an ima'e of it in the mind B=itt > 9ro/der& 5;;)D Aordon& 5;;+C0
The perception of different timres must lead to the ac2uisition of different ima'es& ut
is there a set of characteristics in timre that can imprint in mind etter than othersH 9an
/e find a 'ood set of timres to impro#e the ear trainin'H "s timre a rele#ant feature in
the optimi!ation of learnin' musicH "s there any especially commendale instrument to
teach the most asic aspects of tonal schemaH
Althou'h research in musical timre has a relati#ely short history& there is crescent
empirical e#idence of its rele#ance for the perception of music0 "n traditional music
education in the /estern culture& the most closely related topic to the study of timre
can e found in the courses of orchestration& ut the approach is ounded to its aesthetic
ori'ins& /hich undoutedly is the result of many years of e#olution in seekin' for
functionality for the senses BHelmholt!& 5;87C0 ,e#ertheless that ar'ued functionality
has een reached throu'h unconscious processes& and the stress in peda'o'ical
applications has een left unattended0 There are of course e3emplar efforts like the
/ork of @a2ues-Dalcro!e& 4odIly& and $rff& /hom specified in their peda'o'ical
methodolo'ies the timres to e used in the early sta'es of musical de#elopment
B9hoksy& Aramson& Aillespie& <oods& Jork& )**5C0 Thou'h this area remains
un2uestioned in a systematic /ay& since there is a lack of literature dealin' for instance&
/ith the differential musical ailities ac2uired y usin' only #oice or the instrumental
set su''ested y $rff0 Furthermore in the area of music education for adults it is ur'ent
to understand ho/ different instruments could optimi!e the musical learnin'& for
e3ample in those countries /ere the official curricula does not contemplate musical
trainin' as an indispensale part of education for the plenary de#elopment of the
indi#iduals0
"n the process of learnin' #ie/ed from the co'niti#e perspecti#e& memory has a central
role not as a container of information& ut as a dynamic unit capale of systemati!e the
perception B=ante#& )**5& p01*5C0 Auditory memory is di#ided in three different
12
cate'ories accordin' /ith the span of retention of percei#ed phenomena0 These three
cate'ories are not isolated locks of processin'& instead& they actually /ork to'ether at
any 'i#en instant& and this interaction recei#es the name of /orkin' memory0 The first
cate'ory is the echoic memory& and it is related /ith e#ents happenin' in no more than
fe/ seconds0 The second is referred to as short-term memory and studies the
phenomena happenin' after the echoic memory and /ithin a time span of appro3imately
. seconds0 And the third is the lon'-term memory& /hich can e considered the most
stale ecause the 2ualities of the information it KretainsL& that can e reconstruction of
e#ents that had happen in the past eyond the domain of short-term memory& or
conditions that had een rehearsed se#eral times0 Lon'-term memory is also related
/ith the idea of schema& /hich is a kind of superior learnin' controllin' the perception
of ne/ phenomena BLeman& 5;;8D %nyder& )***C0
2.1 Music education
Learnin' has t/o sidesD one is the iolo'ical fact of 'enetic herita'e& and the
other has to e /ith the sophistication of strate'ies to take ad#anta'e of that 'enetic
herita'e0 Music has these t/o sides /hen it is learned B=apouMek& )**1C& and for that
reason there is no need to recei#e any special instruction to understand music& althou'h
in order to communicate particular /ays to or'ani!e sounds /e actually do0
"n /estern culture for e3ample& the de'ree of systemati!ation of music has e#ol#ed in
schools speciali!ed in the teachin' of music& and music education is suject to certain
con#entions depicted in the contents of the curricula and in the role of music and
musicians in e#ery society0 Ho/e#er& amon' the o#ious differences et/een each
society& one idea has een preser#ed since the foundations of /estern cultureE not all the
indi#iduals in the society are supposed to ecome producers of music& therefore& it can
e e3pected that amon' the three main musical acti#itiesD composition& performance and
analysis B9hoksy& Aramson& Aillespie& <oods& Jork& )**5C& e#ery person must posses a
fair kno/led'e in at least one of them0 9onse2uently it can e presumed that
alphaeti!ed indi#iduals in /estern /orld ha#e a minimum skill to analyse music
B%erafine& 5;..C0
13
<estern culture and its idea of music education has spread in many parts of the /orld&
ut in each 'eo'raphical re'ion there is a particular set of instruments used& as /ell as
the time dedicated to learn music as a part of 'eneral education BHar'rea#es > ,orth&
)**5C0
Gy considerin' the immense di#ersity of musical sound sources& it is una#oidale to
2uestion if there is no other etter /ay to e educated musically than /ith the traditional
practices 'estated in central 6urope durin' the last millennium0 Moreo#er& it is
imperati#e to ackno/led'e that technolo'y is introducin' in a #ery fast manner ne/
sounds and aesthetic forms& and that /e must e prepared to understand ho/ they /ill
affect our perception of music in the near future0
'%"%" *ar trainin1
There are t/o main sources of music educationD the proper music education that
is reali!ed in the institutions dedicated specifically to education or as a complement of
'eneral education& and the music education implicit in the oral tradition of music0 "n the
institutionali!ed music education ear trainin' is at the core of the curricula for e3ample
in Aermany BHar'rea#es > ,orth& )**5& p07+C& "taly /here one of the main aims is Nto
sharpen percepti#e ailitiesO Bp0+;C and =oland Bp051;C0 A rele#ant data in the case of
Aermany is that 51P of the teachers sur#eyed in 5;;8 had e3perience /ith M"D"
technolo'y in the classroom0
9omputer assisted instruction is an approach in ear trainin'& that has een 'ro/in' for
more than a 2uarter of century& like AQ"D$& /hich /as presented as an "nteracti#e
9omputer-Gased system for "mpro#ement of "nstruction and Research in 6ar-Trainin'
BHofstetter& 5;+8C0 More recent methods /hich ein' printed material also include the
possiility to access throu'h internet to auditi#e media& like the Gen/ard > 4olosick
method B)**8C& use a recorded piano to play the e3ercises0 Also recent #ersions of
soft/are dedicated to ear trainin' use synthetic sounds reproduced /ith a M"D" capale
de#ice& for instance Ear Master 5 B)**+C0 Gut a'ain& the documentation related /ith the
2ualities of sound source or timre is poor or une3istent0
As stated y %looda B)**8C& ear trainin' is an area in /hich teachers are used to
14
discuss Nde#elopin' a 'ood earO& althou'h from the scientific point of #ie/ most
peopleLs ears function e3cellently& and there is nothin' one can do to enhance their
functionin'0 The idea is to find out /hat needs to happen in the rain to produce the
eha#iour that musicians /ould associate /ith a N'ood earO Bp05+-C0 For that effect& the
music learnin' theory de#eloped y 6d/in 60 Aordon B5;;+C fits #ery /ellD in his ook
entitled Learnin' %e2uences in Music the main focus of attention is in the concept of
audiation0 Aordon e3plains that audiation happens /hen /e assimilate music that /e
ha#e heard or performed& and also /hen /e assimilate and comprehend in our minds the
music that comes from a symolic representation of it Bp07CD throu'h this description of
the concept it is easy to understand that the term audiation refers the same phenomena
that 9ro/der > =itt B5;;)C descried as Nima'ery in musicO0 They attract the /ork of
He B9oncernin' "ma'ery& 5;-.C to e3plain that Nima'ery representation is the
acti#ation of the same central neural systems that played a role in the ori'inal e#ent& ut
this time in the asence of the ori'inal sensory acti#ityO Bp01*C0 "ma'ery is linked to
perception& and in the particular case of timre it has demonstrated a hi'h correlation y
usin' eha#ioural and neural data BHalpern& Ratorre& Gouffard > @ohnson& )**7C0
'%"%' Intervals
The plain definition of a musical inter#al is referred as the distance et/een t/o
tones& ut this definition rin's some comple3ities if one think aout the perceptual
meanin' of a distance in the /orld of sounds& and e#en more if /e in#ol#e the nature of
a tone0 %o in order to disentan'le a functional definition of inter#al that /ould e useful
for the present project it ecomes necessary to rin' the concept of pitch as a
Nmorphoporic mediumO B%hepard& )**5C0 Gy usin' this concept& and just as e3emplified
y %hepard& it can e ar'ued that the specific #isual idea /e ha#e of a trian'le does not
chan'e if this trian'le chan'es its position in spaceD /hich implies that #isual space is
also a morphoporic medium0 "n the same sense& the percei#ed pitch space has
morphophoric 2ualities in a manner that ideas of auditi#e forms& such as the trian'le&
can e sketched0 Furthermore& melodies could e re'arded as those forms& as could e
scales& /hich from a reductionist point of #ie/& are nothin' else than sets of inter#als0
"n this thesis& the aim is to in#esti'ate ho/ different timres affect the memori!ation of
15
inter#als& so it is useful to think aout inter#als as sound units /ith particular
morpholo'ical characteristics0
The most rele#ant issue in the perception of inter#als is related /ith the re-co'nition of
patterns& ut ho/ this phenomena takes place in#ol#es a physiolo'ical system and its
capailities0 A tone in a musical conte3t outside the controlled en#ironment of a
laoratory& should e concei#ed as the sum of multiple pitches& /hich e3cite the
hearin' system in a manner that makes it to con#ey an analysis of such pitches& as /ell
as a reduction of them into a sin'le most salient feature kno/n as pitch0 Further
e3planations on ho/ this analysis > reduction takes place had re#ealed that many areas
on the physiolo'ical and neurolo'ical domain are in#ol#ed& and these had een
e3tensi#ely studied durin' the past )* years BGurns& 5;;;C0 For instance& it is kno/n
that humans are ale to discriminate appro3imately 5&7** different fre2uencies& in
discrimination tasks that in#ol#e the comparison of sounds at t/o fre2uencies in
immediate succession BHandel& 5;.;C0
Accordin' to the model descried y Deutsch B5;;;C& pitch is only one sudi#ision of
the ar'ued analysis reali!ed y the hearin' system& /hich is processed and stored in
parallel areas /ith inter#al si!e and timre& amon' other patterns like loudness and
duration0 Furthermore& it is e3pected that these ar'ued sudi#isions ha#e interaction
et/een themD in fact some e#idence su''est that the perception of inter#al si!e tend to
e distorted dependin' on timral #ariations B<arrier& Ratorre& )**)D Russo& Thompson&
)**8C0
2.2 Timbre
Timre is still at the e'innin' of )5st century an elusi#e concept& perhaps
ecause the necessity for an accurate description of it can e seen as a fairly ne/ task0
"t mi'ht e possile that the 2uest for an accurate conception of timre is the result of
the separation of the sound from its source& /hich /as a conse2uence of the industrial
re#olution& and /ith it also the ecomin' of recordin' technolo'y B%chafer& 5;++C0 This
separation rou'ht ne/ sounds that /ere not necessarily the result of an acoustic source
ut sometimes a crude si'nal created /ith a /a#e 'enerator0 Furthermore& the rele#ance
16
of recordin' technolo'y for our recent conception of timre and musical meanin' is as
stron' as it is also unattended y consumers outside the circle of the e3pertise& and it
must e underlined that the sophistication of recordin' techni2ues pursues an aesthetic
ideal BRa'orski-Thomas& )**8C rather than ein' an e3pression of other means& like for
e3ample peda'o'ical efficiency0
The ad#anta'e of countin' /ith an acoustic source as reference& /as the possiility of
associate a certain timre /ith its source in terms of #isual or #eral domains& in such a
/ay that the description of the sound /as made easy& for instance the e3pressionE Nthis
sounds like a000 -somethin' you ha#e e3perienced efore-O0 This #eral e3pression
encloses se#eral cues for memory BRo'ers& )**8C& /hich y some means completes the
information that could satisfy the description of a sound0 $r not& in the case of those
sounds that are so stran'e and ne/ that a #isual reference can e only fictional0 Gut so
far& this kind of #eral descriptions has een the constant throu'h history& at least in the
/estern culture& e#en for music e3perts ein' them instrumentalists& composers or
musicolo'ists0 "n the case of these e3perts& it can e found a #ery elaorated lan'ua'e
to discuss for e3ample aout the desired soundin' result of a particular piece of music0
,e#ertheless this code shared y musicians is far to e homo'eneous& and in some cases
it can e also contradictory at a metaphorical le#el dependin' on the su-cultural
conte3t0
An etymolo'ical approach for the /ord timre re#eals its French ori'ins and accordin'
to Fales B)**8C& the concept in the sense of sound 2uality is the result of a process of
e#olution occurred durin' the ei'hteenth century0 "t /as implicit in se#eral acceptations
/hich /ere actual metaphors of the timre itself& such as consonance or unison& /hich
referred indirectly to a Nne/O separation of this 2ualia of sound0 The prolem since
then has een to find a descripti#e #ocaulary to parse a sound into perceptual
phenomena0
"n this intend there are some references that are /orth to mention& one of them /as
pulished in 5+-8& and it is included in the #olume S? of the Encyclopdie /ritten y
Rosseau in his article aout sound0 This is supposed to e the first definition of timre
in the modern sense& ut y jud'in' the similarities it has /ith the definition of the
"nternational %tandards $r'ani!ation pulished in 5;-*& /e can confirm that it has not
17
chan'ed too much in nearly )** yearsD althou'h the former includes a note /hich makes
an e3plicit reference to the spectrum of the sound& the similarities consist in that oth
descrie /hat timre is not& rather than postulatin' ojecti#e facts aout /hat timre
actually is0 Another 'roup of pulications correspond to those 2uoted y Huron B)**5C
as theoretical approaches& in reference to the /ork of %la/son B5;.8C and McAdams
B5;;8C
)
0 %chaeffer(s Trait des objets musicaux B5;-.C could also e considered as an
antecedent of this 'roup althou'h his /ork could e descried in 'eneral terms as a
ta3onomical approach created for music peda'o'y purposes0 A third 'roup constitutes
perhaps a foundation in the field of music co'nition due the disco#erin' of a
multidimensional perceptual space for timre BArey& 5;++D <essel& 5;+;D McAdams&
<einser'& Donadieu& De %oete& 4rimphoff& 5;;8C0
$li'ated to this effort& ecause /e rely on it& is to point to the /ork of Lartillot >
Toi#iainen B)**+C& /hom had een de#elopin' a computational approach that can e
re'arded as a compendium of 2uantitati#e timre descriptors& /hich are taken from the
/ork of many researches in the area of music co'nition0 The nature of the tool makes
possile the processin' of a sound y modules that emulate the physiolo'ical and
neurolo'ical particularities of the human auditory system& thus pro#idin' an accurate
idea of ho/ the sound is Nmakin' senseO to the rain0 These descriptors could ha#e any
#eral laels ut their 2uantifiale result makes them e3cellent in terms of reliaility
ecause the measurement /ill al/ays e the same for a particular sound sample0 These
measurements represent the est solution to make connections et/een data e3tracted
from an audio si'nal and eha#ioural or neural data 'athered from people& ecause they
pro#ide 2uantifiale 'round to formulate statistical inferences0 <ith this computational
tools /e elie#e that the old prolem of non homo'eneous and sujecti#e description of
timre is 'radually startin' to disappear& and is lea#in' in its place ne/ attracti#e
prolems related /ith the perceptual sutleties of timre0
2 the year of this reference has been changed from 1986, because it is not clear which is the specific
work Huron is pointing at.
18
'%'%" Timbre an# scales
'%'%"%" S+ectral sha+e
To concede that timre can e computed from a sound si'nal implies that /e
posses a special /ay to represent the sound phenomena /hich is useful& amon' other
thin's& to apply different forms of analysis on it0 This representation also kno/n as
di'ital sound is essentially an arran'ement of inary ciphers encodin' a sound /a#e0
Althou'h there is a standard principle& /hich consists in encodin' the situation of a
'roup of particles in small portions of time and space& there has een a considerale
increment in the amount of mathematical al'orithms that seek to achie#e this principle
in a more efficient /ay0
Gy ha#in' a representation of a sound /a#e in a i dimensional form& /e can fi'ure out
that the /ider the /a#e means more displacement of particles and so more ener'y
1
& and
the amount of repetitions of a /a#e in a fi3ed time span is related /ith the fre2uency of
that sound Bor pitchC0 Gut this analysis of periodicities of a /a#e only /orks in an ideal
scenario& ecause the truth of music relies in the comple3ity of its /a#es& in such a /ay
that if /e /ant to 'o eyond the superficial kno/led'e aout #olume or pitch& it
ecomes necessary a more detailed analysis& one that perhaps y lookin' for
periodicities in the superficial periodicities /ould re#eal a three or multidimensional
form to represent the sound0 This prolem of decomposin' a comple3 /a#e into the
sum of its simpler components /as sol#ed y @ean-Gaptiste @oseph Fourier B5+-.-
5.1*C& and this decomposition applied to sound is kno/n as spectral analysis0
"n a detailed analysis of the spectrum of a sound& it can e oser#ed that there are
certain components that has more po/er than others& such components are referred as
principal components of the spectrum& and the distriution and differentiated po/er of
these components are uni2ue for each sound& ut some part of this components remain
unchan'ed in sounds that come from the same source& thus dra/in' a certain shape0
Timre could e re'arded as this non-#ariant shape dra/n y the principal components
in the spectrum0 "n other /ords& timre can e found in the spectrum of a sound ut this
3 or volume of particles displaced
19
imply that the spectrum /ill not contain rele#ant information concernin' other 2ualities
of that sound& like pitch for e3ample0
This is actually a confirmation for the predictions of @ean =hillipe Rameau B5.-1-5+-7C&
/ho askedE N9an it really e that /e hear three sounds e#ery time /e hear oneHO& in
relation to the spectral components he could hear& and se#eral of his collea'ues could
not0 $r it /as not the case that they /ould not really hear them ut as a matter of
perceptual 'roupin' they heard not the principal components& ut the timre itself
BFales& )**8C0
'%'%"%' !onsonance 2 3issonance
The special se'mentation done y Rameau made him suspicious aout the role
of those components for the entire harmonic system as it /as concei#ed at his time& and
the /ay the rules of composition had een settled alon' years of e#olution as a
conse2uence of constant e3perimentation in the 2uest for an aesthetic ideal0 This
disco#erin' made him and his successors to ha#e a ne/ consciousness aout the inner
structure of a sound& thou'h this could not e pro#en y scientific methodolo'ies until
the time of Helmholt! B5.)5-5.;7C0
"n his /ork Die Lehre von den Tonenmfindungen, Helmol!t estalished the
mechanical and physiolo'ical asis for the concepts of consonance:dissonance& y
analysin' the phenomena of soundin' t/o tones simultaneously& keepin' one at a fi3ed
fre2uency& and soundin' the second at different fre2uencies0 "n that /ay he claimed that
the difference et/een consonant and dissonant phenomena /as related /ith the
difference of their fre2uency& ut specifically /ith the sound produced y the
comination of the spectral shape of one tone /ith the spectral shape of the otherD if the
principal spectral components
7
of one sound resemled the other under a certain
threshold B11 H!C& then the inter#al
8
could e considered dissonant& and if this
resemlance /as outside this threshold& and additionally had a numerical relation close
to an inte'er then inter#al could e considered as consonant0 This /as later studied and
rectified later y =lomp > Le#elt B5;-8C& /hom added that such threshold /as in fact a
4 also referred as overtones or partials.
5 see a definition in section 2.1.2.
20
cur#e /hich chan'es as a function of fre2uency& this cur#e is contained /ithin t/o
linear oundaries /hich they called critical and/idth0 The area et/een these lines is
/ider at lo/er fre2uencies and narro/er at hi'her fre2uenciesD N%imple-tone inter#als
are e#aluated as consonant for fre2uency differences e3ceedin' this and/idth0
<hereas the most dissonant inter#als correspond /ith fre2uency differences of aout a
2uarter of this and/idthO Bp0 87.C0
'%'%"%) Scales
There is one inter#al /hich is the most important ecause can e found in the
music of many cultures as a oundary for a scale B4rumhansl& 5;;*C& and in /estern
tradition has een considered the most consonant in second place just elo/ the unisonE
the octa#e BFu3& 5;--C0 "f t/o tones are soundin' in unison that means that the salient
fre2uencies of their spectrum are so similar that the relation of distance can e
e3pressed as 5E5& in other /ords& for the most salient fre2uency of the spectrum in one
tone& there is another soundin' at the same fre2uency in the other tone0 "n the case of
the octa#e the relation is e3pressed as )E5& ecause the salient fre2uency of the second
tone doules the salient fre2uency of the first0 This numerical relations are kno/n as
ratios& and this is a synonym of inter#al& in such a /ay that a scale could e seen as a set
of ratios of fre2uency /ithin an octa#e0 There mi'ht e as many scales as are lan'ua'es
in the /orld& ut the most popular scale used in /estern culture is one that di#ides the
inter#al of an octa#e in t/el#e e#en parts& its ratios can e otained y the formulaE
Ratio
i
=2
i
12