scholarly journals Further Studies on the Acoustical Properties of Syamisen, a Three-Stringed Japanese Musical Instrument

1935 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 216-218
Author(s):  
Jûichi OBATA ◽  
Ayao AMEMIYA
Keyword(s):  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Acoustical Properties

An Experimental Study to Find the Acoustic Quality Indicators of Mulberry Wood

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Mansour ◽  
Mehdi Behzad
Keyword(s):  
Wood Species ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Test Case ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Perceptual Knowledge ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Acoustic Quality

Morus Alba or mulberry is a wood species that is broadly used in making musical instruments in Eastern countries. However, the mechanical and acoustical properties of this type of wood are not investigated properly. In this study a set of features, previously examined for other species, are applied to this wood and its acoustic quality is evaluated. Setar, a Persian musical instrument made of mulberry wood, is selected as the test case of this experiment. Different samples of wood are gathered and categorized based on their appropriateness for Setar construction. The quality of each sample is identified based on the Perceptual knowledge of professional Setar makers. The most effective features are then selected and their average values are calculated for high quality samples. The result of this study helps Setar makers to select proper raw material before making an instrument. In addition, this approach can be applied to other wood species used in music industry.

scholarly journals When Music Speaks: An Acoustic Study of the Speech Surrogacy of the Nigerian Dùndún Talking Drum

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Durojaye ◽  
Kristina L. Knowles ◽  
K. Jakob Patten ◽  
Mordecai J. Garcia ◽  
Michael K. McBeath
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
Communications Systems ◽  
Timing Pattern ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Musical Context ◽  
Yoruba Language

Yorùbá dùndún drumming is an oral tradition which allows for manipulation of gliding pitch contours in ways that correspond to the differentiation of the Yorùbá linguistic tone levels. This feature enables the drum to be employed as both a musical instrument and a speech surrogate. In this study, we examined four modes of the dùndún talking drum, compared them to vocal singing and talking in the Yorùbá language, and analyzed the extent of microstructural overlap between these categories, making this study one of the first to examine the vocal surrogacy of the drum in song. We compared the fundamental frequency, timing pattern, and intensity contour of syllables from the same sample phrase recorded in the various communicative forms and we correlated each vocalization style with each of the corresponding drumming modes. We analyzed 30 spoken and sung verbal utterances and their corresponding drum and song excerpts collected from three native Yorùbá speakers and three professional dùndún drummers in Nigeria. The findings confirm that the dùndún can very accurately mimic microstructural acoustic temporal, fundamental frequency, and intensity characteristics of Yorùbá vocalization when doing so directly, and that this acoustic match systematically decreases for the drumming modes in which more musical context is specified. Our findings acoustically verify the distinction between four drumming mode categories and confirm their acoustical match to corresponding verbal modes. Understanding how musical and speech aspects interconnect in the dùndún talking drum clarifies acoustical properties that overlap between vocal utterances (speech and song) and corresponding imitations on the drum and verifies the potential functionality of speech surrogacy communications systems.

Musical Experience Shapes Neural Processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Wido Nager ◽  
Tilla Franke ◽  
Tobias Wagner-Altendorf ◽  
Eckart Altenmüller ◽  
Thomas F. Münte
Keyword(s):  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Active Listening ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Neural Adaptations

Abstract. Playing a musical instrument professionally has been shown to lead to structural and functional neural adaptations, making musicians valuable subjects for neuroplasticity research. Here, we follow the hypothesis that specific musical demands further shape neural processing. To test this assumption, we subjected groups of professional drummers, professional woodwind players, and nonmusicians to pure tone sequences and drum sequences in which infrequent anticipations of tones or drum beats had been inserted. Passively listening to these sequences elicited a mismatch negativity to the temporally deviant stimuli which was greater in the musicians for tone series and particularly large for drummers for drum sequences. In active listening conditions drummers more accurately and more quickly detected temporally deviant stimuli.

Acoustical Properties of Speech as Indicators of Depression and Suicidal Risk

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Joshua Landau
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Energy Band ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Cross Product ◽  
Female Group ◽  
Suicidal Risk ◽  
Energy Bands ◽  
Band Ratio ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Male Group

Acoustical properties of speech have been shown to be related to mental states such as remission and depression. The objective of this project was to relate the energy in frequency bands with the severity of the mental state using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Recorded speech was obtained from male and female subjects with mental states of remission, depression, and suicidal risk. These subjects had recorded automated and spontaneous speech samples. Multiple regression analysis was used to relate the independent energy band ratio variables with the dependent BDI scores, and thus allow the determination of equitable BDI scores for future patients. For the male group, the square of the 3rd energy band and the cross-product of the 2nd and 3rd energy band were prominent in both the reading and interviewed groups. Therefore the equation with the 2nd lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) score was chosen for the reading male group, and the 1st lowest AIC score was chosen for the interviewed male group. For the female group, the square and cross-product of the 1st and 2nd energy bands were prominent in both the reading and interviewed groups. Therefore the 2nd lowest AIC score was chosen for the reading female group, and the 1st lowest AIC score was chosen for the interviewed female group. The clinician could thus determine the patient’s mood or state of mind by comparing the estimated BDI score with the ranges of total BDI scores: remitted 0 – 20, depressed 15 – 38, suicidal 38 – 46. Keywords: speech, mental states, power spectra, multiple regression, information theoretic criterion

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