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.

Terompong Basic Tone Synthesis with Frequency Modulation Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 429
Author(s):  
I Gede Erwin Winata Pratama ◽  
Luh Arida Ayu Rahning Putri
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Frequency Modulation ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Sound Synthesis ◽  
Modulation Method ◽  
The Difference

Terompong is a type of gamelan in Bali Province. This gamelan is commonly used in traditional ceremonies in Bali, especially the Dewa Yadnya and Pitra Yadnya. The terompong are striking instruments, where the bat is made of wood. The terompong is also a two-octave musical instrument composed of 10-12 small metal gong blocks. The gong blocks are arranged parallel, which makes the gong difficult to carry and has to stay somewhere if someone want to play. Of course, with this situation people find it difficult to learn the terompong because they are quite large and heavy. This problem could be solved by replace the original terompong with synthetic terompong. The synthesis referred here the synthesis of sound. In performing sound synthesis, the method used is Frequency Modulation (FM). The result of the synthesis carried out where the difference between fundamental frequency of the original tone and the synthesis tone is almost close to zero. The sound produced almost follows the original sound, but it can't follow the sound of metal being hit with a wooden club.

Acoustic correlates of stress in Turkish Kabardian

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gordon ◽  
Ayla Applebaum
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Acoustic Study

This paper reports results of an acoustic study of stress in the Turkish dialect of the Northwest Caucasian language, Kabardian. Stressed syllables were found to have consistently higher fundamental frequency and characteristically greater duration and intensity than unstressed syllables. No evidence was found for secondary stresses. Schwa and, to a lesser extent, /ɐ/ were shown to undergo slight raising as their duration in unstressed syllables decreased. This gradient raising is likely due to coarticulatory overlap with adjacent consonants rather than a categorical shift in vowel quality. Considerations of articulatory effort rather than perceptual dispersion predict both the categorical alternation between stressed /aː/ and unstressed /ɐ/ in Kabardian and the non-categorical raising of schwa and /ɐ/ in unstressed syllables.

Comparison of vocalisations of introduced European red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) in north-western Patagonia (Argentina) with native European populations

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 714 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Hurtado ◽  
J. M. Smith-Flueck ◽  
P. Black-Decima
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Andean Cordillera ◽  
Northern European ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
European Populations

Polygynous deer are very vocal species, producing calls in various contexts. Male rutting calls in red deer (Cervus elaphus) have been most studied in captive and/or free-ranging European populations. The recent application of ‘source-filter theory’ has identified the independent roles of fundamental frequency (F0) and formants in the production of deer calls and demonstrated the relation between formant spacing and anatomical characteristics such as body size. The present paper describes and characterises the acoustical properties of male rutting vocalisations for a free-ranging red deer population located in the ecotone of the eastern Andean cordillera within the Nahuel Huapi National Reserve (Neuquén, Argentina), and is the first acoustic study of free-ranging red deer stags outside their historic distribution. Recordings were made of seven identified and several unidentified stags at the peak of the rut in 2007. Calculated F0 was found to be higher for these identified stags than for Scottish red deer on the island of Rhum. The analysis of formant spacing was used to calculate the length of the vocal tract (VTL) for the seven males studied; values were comparable to those found in stags from Rhum. The longest calculated VTLs within these males corresponded to those of the four stags with the largest antler racks and the only stags holding harems. Previous studies have shown that VTL correlates with body size, age and reproductive success and that these deer have the ability to lower their larynx and extend their vocal tracts to a maximum, which is probably under sexual selection. Our data fit with this explanation. The higher F0s recorded in this population may result from the influence of wapiti genes, known to be present in these deer, because wapiti have a much higher-frequency rutting call, namely, the bugle. Alternatively, they may be related to the mating strategy, which differs substantially from the northern European populations.

Intonatieve Afwijkingen In Het Engels Van Nederlanders

1981 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 67-86
Author(s):  
N.J. Willems
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Consistent Manner ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
To Come ◽  
High Level ◽  
Pitch Movement

The purpose of the experiments reported on here was to attain an inventory of systematic intonational deviations observed in English utterances produced by native speakers of Dutch. In two production tests acoustic measurements are described of magnitude, slope, duration, direction and position of fundamental frequency contours, produced by native speakers of Dutch and of English on English utterances. In two perception tests the original capricious fundamental frequency contours (sentence melody) were replaced by experimentally controlled artificial contours, without greatly disturbing the remaining acoustic cues. In this way the perceptual relevance of the deviations could be tested by means of a subjective evaluation by native speakers of English. Finally two experiments are described which are of an exploratory character, in the latter of which use was made of spectrally rotated speech. The overall data of the experiments allow for the following conclusion: (a) British English listeners are able to judge the acceptability of resynthesized pitch contours in a very consistent manner. (b) Deviations which appear to be particularly relevant to the perception of non-nativeness are in order of perceptual importance: Magnitude of the pitch movement, WH-attribute (particular configuration often found on so-called WH-Questions), Direction of the pitch movement, Continuation (complex movement often found before a pause in a speech signal) and occasionally Inclination (slowly rising pitch from Mid to High level). (c) The perceptual relevance of some deviations appeared to be dependent on the linguistic structure of the utterance, viz. Overshoot (rise at end), Reset (virtual jump from Mid to High). The ultimate goal of our investigation is to come to an explicit inventory of perceptually relevant deviations. Suc an inventory would be helpful to establish an elementary set of rules concerning English intonation on behalf of Dutch learners of English.

Bass Handbells of Aluminum

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Rossing ◽  
Deepak Gangadharan ◽  
Edward R. Mansell ◽  
Jacob H. Malta
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Speed Of Sound ◽  
The United States ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Radiation Efficiency ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Bending Waves

Handbells have become very popular musical instruments, especially in schools and churches; about 40,000 hand-bell choirs have been reported in the United States alone. Tuned handbells are generally made of cast bronze, which has been the traditional bell material for many centuries.Demand for handbells of lower and lower pitches has led to the development of bass bells as low as G0 (fundamental frequency of 24.5 Hz). Unfortunately, these large bass bells radiate inefficiently, especially the bells made of bronze. This is because the speed of bending waves in these bells is considerably lower than the speed of sound in air, a condition known as “being below the coincidence frequency.”In order to obtain a higher radiation efficiency and thereby enhance the sound of bass bells, the Malmark Company has created a new bell design using aluminum rather than bronze. These bells are larger in diameter, and they have lower coincidence frequencies, both of which lead to more efficient radiation of bass notes. In addition, they are considerably lighter in weight, and thus are much more easily handled by bell ringers.In this article, the acoustical properties of two G1 handbells, one of aluminum and one of bronze, are compared. The aluminum handbell has a diameter of 48.5 cm, a height of 34 cm, and a wall thickness from 4 to 5 mm. The bronze bell has a diameter of 38.5 cm, a height of 28.5 cm, and a wall thickness from 3 to 4 mm.

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 Effect of Removable Complete Dentures on the Fundamental Frequency of Speech

Folia Medica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 812-816
Author(s):  
Majed Hussein ◽  
Ilian Hristov
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Adaptation Period ◽  
Complete Dentures ◽  
Plastic Properties ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Language Technology ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Male Patients ◽  
The Mean

Introduction: Removable complete dentures alter the spectrum of speech sounds by changing the elasto-plastic properties of certain areas of the oral cavity walls, and the geometric characteristics of the vocal resonator. These relationships predetermine largely the aims of conventional studies on the effect of prosthetic dentures on speech function. Aim: To investigate the effect removable dentures have on the fundamental frequency of speech during different stages of the adapta-tion period. Materials and methods: We analysed 96&times;2 digital sound recordings made by 64 patients (32 male and 32 female). Each patient was asked to say &lsquo;three, two, one, zero, start&rsquo; three times: before denture placement, after denture placement, and after a two-week adaptation period. The pitch contours of F0 and the numeric values were obtained using the Speech Analyzer - SIL Language Technology software. Results: Immediately after denture placement, in male patients F0 increased by 12% on the average, and in female patients &ndash; by 10%. Two weeks after denture placement, F0 regained its normal value (p<0.05).&nbsp; The mean value of F0, whose raising can be interpreted as an acoustic correlate of temporary psychological stress, returned to normal after a brief adaptation period (in this case &ndash; 14 days). Conclusions: The results on the systematic changes of F0 in the course of the complete denture prosthetics are indicative for the systematic speech impediments before, and the absence of such impediments after (in case of successful prosthetics) the adaptation.

scholarly journals Ternary vowel length in Shilluk

Phonology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-125
Author(s):  
Bert Remijsen ◽  
Otto Gwado Ayoker ◽  
Signe Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
The Other ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
The Mean

Ternary or three-level vowel length is typologically rare, and supporting evidence is limited. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the hypothesised case of this configuration in Shilluk. We first describe the role of vowel length in Shilluk phonology and morphology, and then report on an acoustic study in which minimal sets for vowel length (short, long, overlong) are measured for vowel duration, coda duration, vowel quality and fundamental frequency. Short, long and overlong vowels differ significantly and substantially in terms of vowel duration: 96% of the items can be classified successfully for vowel length on the basis of this measurement alone. Of the other measurements, only vowel quality is significant, and this effect is considerably smaller. The mean values for vowel duration – 68, 111 and 150 ms for short, long and overlong vowels respectively – are similar to those reported for ternary vowel length in Dinka.

scholarly journals Rhythm and convergence between speakers of American and Indian English

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Krivokapić
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Dynamical Model ◽  
English Speaker ◽  
Rhythmic Structure ◽  
Indian English ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
Timing Pattern ◽  
Show Evidence

AbstractThe study examines rhythmic convergence between speakers of American and Indian English. Previous research has shown that American English shows tendencies towards stress-timing, and Indian English has been claimed to be syllable-timed (Crystal 1994). Starting from the view that languages differ in their rhythmic tendencies, rather than that they have categorically different rhythmic properties, we examine in an acoustic study the rhythmic tendencies of the two languages, and whether these tendencies can change in the course of an interaction. The focus is on temporal properties (specifically, the duration of stressed syllables and of feet). The results show evidence of mixed rhythmic properties for both languages, with Indian English being more syllable-timed than American English. American speakers show a trend towards changes in foot duration that can be interpreted as accommodation in speech rate or as convergence towards a more syllable-timed foot duration pattern. One Indian English speaker converges in both examined properties towards a more stress-timing pattern. The results are discussed within a dynamical model of rhythmic structure (Saltzman, Nam, Krivokapić, and Goldstein 2008). It is suggested that rhythmic convergence can arise via a tuning between speakers of the prosodic interoscillator coupling function that is proposed in that model.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document